2021 Beer Memberships: Adding, Keeping or Dropping?

Keeping - 3 Sheeps, Lost Abbey
Adding - Speciation (after a hiatus; cost came down and splitting with a local)
Added - Hex Meadery (end of summer)

 

I think the waitlist is so long from the initial day of signups that I think even if they had put you on it later you wouldn't stand a chance of getting let in. Seemed like the cutoff for the members the first year was signing up within the first ~30 minutes the form was live.

I'm curious if they'll expand this year, last year they kept it the same size and something like 95+% of members renewed. They added from the waitlist but it wasn't many people.

 

thank you!

 

I love when memberships give perks for patronizing the brewery. I think that's always nice.

The oxymoron joke: Memberships seem to exist for 2 reasons. (1) small breweries are trying to help build capital (and loyalty) to grow their program/brewery. (2) To offer exclusive benefits, which most often seems to include beers that would otherwise sell out, negating the need to stand in line, attend a release, or be the fastest clicker. -And, of course, there are usually member-only bottles as well. #2 seems to be way more prevalent than #1, which seems to be at odds with the idea of a lager-focused brewery. So, just an attempt at humor based on current beer nerd preferences.

Seems like years ago there used to be a lot more of those, "Drink here, pay a yearly membership, get discounts/perks" programs for local breweries. I remember coming across them constantly for $75/year ballpark. They were always a great value - you could easily recoup that money. Doesn't seem like there are very many of them anymore, but I am all in favor of them.

 

Yes, I agree that these are the nice ones to find. I have Pollyanna and for $50.00 a year I get a 20oz. draft beer for the cost of 16oz. Basically every 5th beer is free; so it pays for itself rather quickly. There are numerous other benefits too (discounts on merchandise, liquor, etc.) Find a local brewery that gives you perks!

 

Recently added a MoRE Bairal Society membership to my P3, Barclay's, and Orange & Brew memberships.

 

Keeping all 3 of mine:
Forager
Boiler
Modern Times

 

Keeping:
Barclay
Eighth State
Phase Three
Whiskey Hill
New Groove

Dropping:
Afterthought

 

Keeping: Afterthought
Adding: Hopefully a split of a P3 membership
Dropping: Funk Factory (Just don't have the time to run up to madison a lot)

 

Keeping & Adding: None

Dropping: Funk Factory for real this year because we're moving. It feels like an end of an era. I said I'd drop it last year but it was a pretty reasonable deal so I caved and renewed despite having a cellar full of their beer.

 

Adding: Funk Factory (I love driving and I love Funk Factory)
Dropping: Une Annee, it’s expensive & I’m now swimming in LGM bottles. Although that’s a good thing, I just don’t need another year of bottles.

 

Keeping: Side Project and Casey
Dropped: Lost Abbey
Adding: the lady friend joined De Garde

#SaYzOnLyFe

 

This is like "dropping" chlamydia and "adding" wealth.

(I don't think Solemn Oath is very good)

 

Pardon my ignorance, but do the people with memberships to places like Modern Times know people that live in that area who pick up the bottles for them? Or do any of these breweries ship their membership beers?

Memberships aren't so common around Minneapolis, so I don't have much experience with them. I'd gladly do one for the right brewery, but I haven't ever heard anything about Barrel Theory expanding theirs, and I don't know if Fair State continued theirs past the second year they did it.

 

I've never heard of a membership which will ship to you (out of state anyways) and although I assume there might be one somewhere, in general people have proxies who pick the beers up for them. Some people also just make the trip themselves to pick up the beer X times a year. Memberships can be pricey, and once you add in shipping, proxy thank you beers, etc. they can get out of control. I'm still thankful I didn't sign up for a Bruery membership 10 years ago or whenever it was I was thinking about it.

 

While not an extensive membership (low price point and it’s been reduced to just a couple member-only beers that are included in the price, but you do get first access to limited releases), Fonta Flora will ship beers to their out-of-state members. I happen to love their sour program, and the barrel aged stouts and barleywines have been very good in my opinion. They don’t have the name recognition or following that other breweries have, but their stuff checks nearly all the boxes for me, including ease of access from out-of-state.

Needless to say, I’m keeping FF and also adding Perennial this year.