Beer clubs have never really flourished for some reason. People are more willing to accept a mixed carton of wine turning up at their door every month or quarter than they have been for beer. I can think of a lot of reasons this might be the case, but it may be changing.
Yesterday I had a carton of beer land (FA!) on the door step from a new beer club called Beer Masons. As you can see from the photos, it’s a pretty impressive package on the outside and more so on the inside.
I have spoken to Chris Badenoch who identifies his job as GrandMaster Brew and Brand and these guys come across as very serious about beer. This is confirmed when you open the box and get a strong waft of hops, courtesy of the very slick information pack that includes samples of three malts for you to taste and three hops which you smell straight away (for the uninitiated – DON’T TASTE THEM!). The information is good for the novice embarking on their path to beerdom – including good tasting notes for the beers included- though I’ll have to find out whether the information changes with each new pack.
The 17 beers included in this one were Maudite (from one of my all-time favourite breweries – Unibroue), Franziskaner Hefeweizen, Hobgoblin from the Wychwood Brewery, 3 Ravens Black from the highly-regarded Melbourne 3 Ravens brewery, Gouden Carolus Classic, the Red Angus Pilsner from the brewing arm of the De Bortoli wine company and Reserva 1925 from Spanish brewer Alhambra.
It’s a very interesting mix of good beers, including some that would take some searching for. At $120 this isn’t targeted at the budget conscious beer buyer who scans the junk mail for the best buys at the local beer barn. The company say they are after the discerning drinker and for someone who is interested in receiving a good mix of hard-to-find beers with complementary and useful information it is probably worth the outlay. Members also have access to additional information and other specials on the website, that also contains quite a bit of free content – that again seems well researched and helpful.
All in all, a great one-off gift for the beer lover in your life, or regular treat for yourself.