Despite what some other websites say, beer of the month clubs actually do make awesome gifts for beer lovers — if you pick the right beer club for the right beer drinker!

I’ve been reviewing beer subscription services for over 11 years and I can tell you that people love to give them and since there are a lot of repeat customers, I assume beer drinkers love receiving them.

Review by: Jessyca Frederick
Even though my day job is reviewing wine clubs over at WineClubReviews.net, sometimes a girl just wants a beer (especially after golf). There aren't a ton of beer clubs out there, but I'll steer you toward the right one for your beer lover. FYI: If you buy something through my site I might earn a commission.

Step 1 - Know your beer lover

When shopping for a beer gift of any kind, but especially a beer of the month club (because it’s a commitment), I recommend starting with understanding your beer lover. I’ll help you sort it out whether you’re a beer expert yourself or you think all beer tastes the same.

There are three general categories that beer lovers fall into these days (and I do mean general). Please read all three so you make sure you know which category to be shopping in:

Domestic Beer Lovers, Imported Beer Lovers, Craft Beer Lovers

Domestic Beer Lovers

All of this is to say they’re a very popular style of beer but be warned, if you are buying for a craft beer lover, do NOT under any circumstances, unless they ask for it by name, buy them domestic beer (unless you’re trying to pick a fight).

Because this style of beer is ubiquitous in stores across the country, there aren’t any beer clubs featuring this style. There are however a few one-time domestic beer gifts.

Import Beer Lovers

Typically, generic “imported beers” are dry lager-style beers or “international style pilsners.” Like their large-production domestic counterparts, many of these beers are served at sports venues, in most bars and restaurants, and sell well at retail outlets like grocery stores and big box stores.

If you’re buying for an imported beer lover, there are a couple of terrific choices for international beer lovers willing to branch out to more styles from smaller producers. We have two recommendations for international beer subscriptions: The International Beer Club and The Rare Beer Club.

Craft Beer Lovers

Craft beer drinking is about discovery of new flavors and styles, it’s about supporting the little guy, and it’s about creating a sense of community. Rather than list off a bunch of craft beers (there were, in 2016, more than 5,200 craft breweries in the country) I'm going to to give you some tools to figure out your craft beer lover and help you find the right beer subscription.

Only IPA Far and away the most popular style of craft beer produced in America, IPA drinkers are in a league of their own. Many will order any IPA just because it’s an IPA. Some want to try every famous IPA the second it becomes available for sale. Others will travel the country to visit breweries and try more IPAs.

IPA lovers will often wax poetic about their favorite hops (as this where the IPA flavors come from). These are specialists and you should choose the right beer clubs for them. There are three beer clubs we recommend for IPA-only drinkers: Hop Heads and Beer Drop.

The Weirder the Better These craft beer lovers seek out all of the crazy Frankenstein beers they can find. They’ll go nuts about the latest beers fermented in oak-aged barrels, or beers made with unusual ingredients like watermelon, habañero peppers, bacon, or coconut. They often love beers with creative names and sexy labels (just like wine drinkers), trade beers with friends, and buy seasonal beers that are only available a few months a year. For these beer drinkers, there is one beer subscription that will make their hands clap — Beer Drop.

The Locavore Locavores prefer their local brewpubs and microbreweries to all others. This is mostly because they really enjoy the camaraderie of hanging out at the pub with other beer lovers and truly want to support their local brewmasters.

These are passionate beer lovers who feel a pride of ownership in their local brewpubs (even if they don’t actually own a piece of the action). I don’t recommend buying beer gifts online for locavores. If you live near your beer lover, go down to a local brewpub (either their favorite or one they have been meaning to try) and ask them what kinds of gifts you can buy (I recommend a gift certificate, but they might have their own in-house beer club or membership program, or paraphernalia like t-shirts and growlers).

Step 2 - The Beer Clubs

Beer subscription services have been around since the 1990s and for much of that time the number of available options has been all over the map. Right now is a good time to give a beer subscription because there is a nice selection of them on the market, each catering to a different kind of beer drinker (and beer gift giver).

Hop Heads IPA Beer Club

For lovers of hoppy beers (IPAs of course, but also other hoppy styles like Session beers, pale ale, red ale, and DIPA), this is a great beer of the month club. The beers from the Hop Heads club are pre-selected by a team of beer fanatics who scours the country looking for great hoppy beers (mostly IPAs).

Here’s how Hop Heads Beer Club works as a gift:

1. You buy a gift subscription of whatever length you choose, from 2-12 months;
2. You choose which month shipments should begin;
3. You choose how often shipments should be delivered (monthly, every other month, or quarterly);
4. You choose to pay in one installment or as each shipment goes out;
5. Each month (or whichever frequency of shipments you chose) a box of hoppy beer is delivered to his or her home or office.

Some recent Hop Heads selections: Ellicottville’s Stainless Steel IPA with pineapple and other tropical fruit tones, featuring a blend of Zeus, Bravo, Cascade, Denali, Columbus, and Citra hops; Ellicottville’s Keepin’ it Peel Citrus IPA with grapefruit and lime peel, featuring Centennial and Citra hops; Stemaier’s IPA hopped up with Centennial, Cascade, and Nugget hops.

Give a Hop Heads Subscription See Where Hop Heads Ships

The Original Craft Beer Club

When it comes to simplicity of buying, and drinking, I think The Original Craft Beer Club is a top choice for a beer of the month club. In addition to a wide-ranging selection of craft beer styles and breweries, the prices are moderate and they offer all kinds of bonus gifts when you give longer subscriptions.

Here’s how The Original Craft Beer Club works as a gift:

1. You choose to give 12 or 24 beers each month (4 styles, either 3 or 6 of each);
2. You buy a gift subscription of whatever length you choose, from 1-12 months;
3. All subscriptions come with a complimentary 1-year digital subscription to Beer Connoisseur magazine. Additionally:
   • Gifts of 3-months or more include a free ergonomic beer opener;
   • Gifts of 6-months or more include a free set of fun coasters and the beer opener in #4;
   • Gifts of 12-months or more get a $25 discount and include both bonus gifts in #5;
4. You choose how often shipments should be delivered (monthly, every other month, or quarterly);
5. You choose which month shipments should begin;
6. You pay in one installment;
7. Each month (or whichever frequency of shipments you chose) a box of delicious craft beer is delivered to his or her home or office.

The Original Craft Beer Club doesn’t list the beers they’ve shipped on their website, but they do include which breweries they’ve worked with. Here is a recent selection of breweries offered by the Craft Beer Club: Full Tilt Brewing, 16 Mile Brewing, Sweetwater Brewing, Peak Organic Brewing, and Centennial Beer Company.

Give a Craft Beer Subscription See Where Craft Beer Ships

The Rare Beer Club

The history of this beer club is storied, as it was founded by a gentleman named Michael Jackson (not that one) back in the day when it was truly difficult to find great craft beer in most markets, especially in large-format bottles (mostly 750ml, like wine bottles). Many years ago, a subscription gift company called Monthly Clubs bought The Rare Beer Club from Mr. Jackson and has worked tirelessly to keep the same spirit of sending out rare and special beers in 750ml bottles.

These days you can find large-format beers in most markets, but you won’t find the selections from The Rare Beer Club anywhere — many are imported from international craft brewers and are not otherwise available in the United States, some are brewed and bottled just for The Rare Beer Club or released to The Rare Beer Club before they’re available more widely.

Here’s how The Rare Beer Club works as a gift:

1. Choose two, four, or six bottles per shipment (2 styles, either 1, 2, or 3 of each);
2. You buy a gift subscription of whatever length you choose, from 2-12 months;
3. You choose which month shipments should begin;
4. You choose how often shipments should be delivered (monthly, every other month, or quarterly);
5. You choose to pay in one installment or as each shipment goes out;
6. Each month (or whichever frequency of shipments you chose) a box of rare beer is delivered to his or her home or office.

Recent selections from The Rare Beer Club: [exclusive] Reserve Series Rosé from Calicraft Brewing, a sparkling ale made with Zinfandel must (freshly pressed grape juice) and raspberries; Doppel Alt from Golden Prairie Fermentations, an Imperial Altbier with a lot of candied aromas and a fruit-forward yeasty character; Brouwerij de Brabandere Wild Tripel Ale, never before sold in the US, made with Amarillo and Cascade hops, blended with Foederbeer aged 24 months in oak foeders (big barrels).

Give a Rare Beer Subscription See Where Rare Beer Ships

The International Beer Club

For someone who loves imported beers, but is willing to try new things, I recommend the International Beer Club. Brought to you by the same team who tirelessly sources hoppy beers for The Hop Heads Club and special beers for The Rare Beer Club, this is their take on international microbrews.

Each shipment contains 6 bottles each of 2 styles of international craft beer. I feel the biggest drawback to this beer subscription is the lack of variety (only two styles per shipment). On the flip side, these are new and unique beers in the American market and the discovery factor is still worth it.

Here’s how The International Beer Club works as a gift:

1. You buy a gift subscription of whatever length you choose, from 2-12 months;
2. You choose which month shipments should begin;
3. You choose how often shipments should be delivered (monthly, every other month, or quarterly);
4. You choose to pay in one installment or as each shipment goes out;
5. Each month (or whichever frequency of shipments you chose) a box of hoppy beer is delivered to his or her home or office.

Recent selections from The International Beer Club: Brouwerij Alken-Maes was featured with two beers, the Grimbergen Double (a darker Belgian Double Ale) and the Grimbergen Blonde (a copper-colored Belgian Blonde Ale); Brouwerij de Brabandere Bavik Super Pils, a German-style Pilsner from Belgium; and Pivovar Samson Praga Dark Lager (a malt-forward Dunkel) from the Czech Republic.

Give an International Beer Subscription

See Where International Beer Ships

The Make Your Own Beer Club!

Wait, what’s that? The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club (the company who proudly ships the Hop Heads, The Rare Beer Club, The International Beer Club, and a couple of others, too) lets you create your own magical beer club. You can customize one shipment from each, or alternate between Hop Heads and Rare Beer, or really any combination you can think of.

They also offer a terrific Wine of the Month Club, Cheese of the Month Club, Cigar Club, and a Chocolate Club — and you can mix those in, too. Go have fun making your own extra-special beer club!

Give a Make Your Own Beer Subscription

See Where Make Your Own Beer Club Ships

Other Beer of the Month Clubs

You know what? That’s only a few beer clubs I’ve talked about and I’m going to stop there. Why? Well, there are a few reasons…

• I don’t want to lose you — there’s more reading to do about giving a beer club as a gift
• Some of the other beer clubs are very similar to these, but I’ve shown you the best choices
• Some of the beer clubs are not very good and rather than call them out as such, I’m just not talking about them at all

Step 3 - Check that your beer club selection can ship to your beer lover

United States alcohol shipping laws are complex so not all beer clubs can ship beer to every state. The origin of this issue dates back to the repeal of Prohibition and it affects wine and spirits, too. Each type of alcohol has separate rules for every state in the country, so it becomes important for you, the consumer, to make sure you can ship your chosen beer club to your favorite beer lover.

Fortunately I’ve made this pretty easy — see the lists below to check if the club you want ships to your beer lover’s state. Please note: I make every effort to keep this list up to date but recent changes to shipping policies at FedEx and UPS are causing lists to fluctuate wildly. At the time of purchase you may find my information is outdated, and I apologize in advance if that happens.

Step 4 - Determine how many months you can afford (Or how much it costs to ship a beer club)

Now that you’ve verified you can send the perfect beer subscription to your favorite beer lover, let’s figure out how much you’ll spend.

If you chose Beer Drop, you’ll be purchasing a gift certificate (electronic gift card) so you’ll spend exactly what you want. For the rest of the beer clubs, here’s how far your money will go.

Under $50

Original Craft Beer Club - 1 shipment
All other subscriptions - no gifts under $50
One-time beer gifts Under $50

$50-100

All subscriptions - 2 shipments
One-time beer gifts Under $100

$100-150

All subscriptions - 3 shipments
One-time beer gifts Under $150

$150-200

All subscriptions - 4 shipments
One-time beer gifts Over $150

More than $200

All subscriptions - 5+ shipments
One-time beer gifts Over $200

Step 5 - Decide when to buy your gift (and announce it)

Each beer club company has its own way of helping you announce your gift. I’ll walk you through it so you know when to purchase your gift and how you’ll announce it.

The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club

Hop Heads, International, Rare Beer, and Make Your Own

You can order any time, and you can control some aspects of the first delivery:

• Have the order ship ASAP: Beer shipments usually arrive in the last week of each month, a specific delivery date cannot be selected (because once the beer leaves their warehouse, they no longer control the delivery). Due to unique challenges required to deliver beer in certain regions, occasionally the first shipment of a membership can take an additional 1-2 weeks to arrive depending on when your order was placed.
• Pick the month the first shipment arrives based on this information: You can choose your start month, so you should plan to start shipments the month AFTER the big day — especially if the big day is in December.

When and how to announce your gift:

• Email or print it yourself: The process is the same for creating the announcement:
  • You specify who it’s for and who it’s from
  • You create a personal gift message (up to 500 characters) to be included in the announcement
  • You tell them what is coming (which club you purchased, how many shipments they’ll be getting, when the first shipment will arrive, and how often they’ll be getting shipments)
• You can have the message emailed to the recipient immediately or pick any future calendar date for email delivery
• Download and print a PDF with the information you provided and give it to your favorite beer lover in person

Give a Hop Heads Subscription


Give a Rare Beer Subscription


Give an International Beer Subscription


Give a Make Your Own Beer Subscription

The Original Craft Beer Club

You can order any time, and you can control some aspects of the first delivery:

• Have the order ship ASAP: The first shipment SHOULD arrive within 10-15 business days (M-F) from when you ordered.
• Pick the month the first shipment arrives based on this information: You can choose your start month, so you should plan to start shipments the month AFTER the big day — especially if the big day is in December. The purchase will be charged to your credit card within the first week of the month, and the shipment will arrive within 10-15 business days thereafter.

When and how to announce your gift:

• Mail a Greeting Card ($2.50) - A greeting card will be mailed separately from the first shipment of beer and will be delivered 5-7 days from the date you place your order, regardless of when the first delivery ships. You can include a personalized gift message up to 200 characters.
• Include a Greeting Card in the first box ($1.99) - A greeting card will be included in the first shipment of beer. You can include a personalized gift message up to 200 characters.
• Print it yourself (free):
  • Choose a photo from a selection of beer photos
  • You tell them what is coming (which club you purchased, how many shipments they’ll be getting, when the first shipment will arrive, and how often they’ll be getting shipments)
  • You specify who it’s for
  • You create a personal gift message to be included in the announcement
  • Download and print a PDF with the information you provided and give it to your favorite beer lover in person

Give a Craft Beer Subscription

That’s It!

You now know everything you need to know in order to select and give a beer of the month club to your favorite beer lover. If I’ve missed something, please check the Frequently Asked Questions below or contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why the beer club naysayers?
• What is craft beer or a microbrew and why do I care?
• Why can’t all of the beer clubs ship to every state?
• Why do shipments require an adult signature?
• What happens if my favorite beer lover is not home when it’s delivered?