Last month, I was e-mailed about the Beer of the Month Club. Now I haven’t been in a beer club for awhile. Being a non-whale hunter and having plenty of beers to choose from has left me fat and happy.
But I did jump at the chance to see what would be offered for someone who was just interested in trying the club. Not the fancy Rare Beers or the Michael Jackson beers, but the regular stuff. What would I get?
And I got four beers that I had never had or even heard about. That was a good start. An Altbier from Chicago, a hockey themed Bock and then two beers from Ridgeway in England which is better known as the brewery that puts out those Christmas beers that you see in Cost Plus with names like Lump of Coal or Rudolph’s Revenge. But these were different. One was another gimmicky named Holiday ale Pickled Santa but the other was a 2015 blonde barleywine. Nary an IPA to be seen.
To be honest, none of the four beers was off the charts spectacular. All were solid and despite the horribly hot Los Angeles Thanksgiving weather none of the beers were the worse for the hot wear.
And that is really the key with these clubs. They provide a curation service. You don’t have to think. You just get a box of 12 beers (3x 4 breweries) with descriptions of the four beers and breweries. If you want to expand your palate and taste beers from places you might not visit then this is for you. It is also great if you and a friend go in together and split them. Or if you have beer friends on your Christmas list. You can have the beers delivered to you and then parcel them out to the people on your list. Which gives you an excuse to drink with them.
Don’t get locked into thinking that you have to drink them all and like them all. When I opened the box, I took a minute to tell myself that it was an adventure to enjoy and in that measure, the Beer of the Month Club delivers.