2023 Beer Memberships: Adding, Keeping, and Dropping

Hoarders - Kept, but they’re on thin ice for me… the Anniversary party was awesome, but the Friday/Sunday events were garbage, and I expect way more from them… if they keep letting standards slip, I’m out. BT Party gave me hope though.

MT League - HARD DROP… and they deserve every shard of shatter from this drop. What a dumpster fire… oh how the mighty have fallen.

Everywhere - Add… no brainer too. I know everyone there and already feel like the membership has paid off. Plus, Ryan Dick’s the man… need I say more!?!?

Erosion - Add, and I’d suggest you look into them. It’s Patrick Rue’s new venture. Proudly Member #1

Shadow Puppet (NorCal) - Add, and if you live near Livermore, I suggest giving them a try… even better than Altamont, and that’s saying something!

 

MT Theory - dropped, because I wasn't invited back, but was gonna drop it regardless

SARA - always keeping, although renewals are around the Jan/Feb timeframe

Lost Cause (mead) - already renewed

 

MT Theory -- Dropping, though I did get invited back. Hasn't felt worth the money in the 3 years I've been it, and I've got a good enough backlog of stouts to work through now. Maybe will give the League another try next year if they're still around.

Solaris - Keeping. It's nearby, I dig the people and the vibe, and the beers are interesting and getting better and better.

 

Russian River dropped (really because they dropped me - they decided not to continue doing it after 2 years). I really enjoyed it over the past couple of years though. So now I'm officially membership-less and it feels liberating!

 

Keeping:

Private Press - never leaving. ever.

SARA - duh

Highland Park - super easy, inexpensive, great beer, zero drama

Xul Beer Co - my new source for ridiculous pastry stouts since MT sucks

Afterthought Brewing - tons of tasty saisons at great prices? yes please

Referend Bier Blendery - probably keeping, depending on how much I like the recent beers I've gotten. It's a bit expensive and I've got a lot of saisons, so we'll see.

Dropping:

MT Theory - dropping for a variety of reasons, but mainly the beer quality has taken a serious nosedive. Asking us to ante up $700 again for more of the same, minus the $160 bar credit is just ridiculous given the past couple years of bullshit. Having to pre-pay for a bunch of bottles of beer that I'll likely drainpour half of is just not going to happen. Had they changed things up and offered a pay-as-you-go deal like Private Press, or even just a lower number of included bottles, I might have considered it. Since they just copypasta'd last years email (minus the bar credit), and are now scrambling to offer a $70 discount to get renewals, I'm guessing I'm not the only one dropping MT this year.

Structures (splitting this one) - dropping only because they'd said this year was going to be the last year of the club, which sucks, because the beer is killer.

Adding:

Nothing. Unless I magically get a La Coterie invite or something.

 

I've been in the MT League for seven years and am likely going to drop out. Partly because I'm not sure MT stays open another year, partly because I worry their stouts won't trade for lambic like they used to if they do stay open, and partly because even if the stouts do keep trading well, it will take me many years to drink all the lambic I've already hoarded. I figure I'll take a year off and reassess.

No other clubs to drop or add.

 

I'm surprised they dropped any Theory members. Was it because your purchases were way down?

 

Dropped:
MT Theory - I feel a tiny bit sad/nostalgic due to three years in Theory and 3-4 in League prior to that, but given all the crap that's happened the past couple of years, Leisuretown closing down, and the fact I bought almost no additional beers for myself this past year, it was still an easy drop. No one who bought beers through me wanted to take over my membership either.

Private Press - Really just gave my membership to a friend since I've been having problems drinking dark beers starting this past year, which really sucks. He's loving the membership though.

Keeping: None

Adding: None

Honestly, I'm not sure if it's that I'm not really able to drink the dark BA stuff anymore, there's just been a large wash mediocre beers over the past couple of years, or that nothing's really exciting me in general, but I think I'm pretty much over craft beer. Everything seems to have been done a dozen or more times over; the beers (within respective styles) are generally all starting to taste the same; nothing has stood out to me and mades me say, "DAMN! I need to get more of that!" in a couple of years at least; and people are still hyping "amazing" beers that literally ALWAYS are little more than "meh."

 

I need somebody to gift me their Private Press membership.

 

Keeping:
Private Press - I can't heap enough praise upon this club. I was incredibly lucky to get in for year 2 when Brad opened the last 25 slots up to the hundreds of people on his mailing list, and it's easily my favorite membership. The beer hits hits a perfect sweet spot for me - complex and nuanced enough to spend an hour contemplating, yet enjoyable enough to mindlessly sip. I'd be all in on the beer alone, but Brad's personal touch puts it over the top. In a world where breweries still strive to expand and slug it out for shelf space, he's focused on maintaining a sustainable model that's predicated on a finite but loyal audience. Obviously I'm biased, but I think he has the right idea.

Highland Park (splitting) - Low yearly fee, no bullshit, good beer. There aren't too many releases that blow my socks off, but there are also very, very few that disappoint me. I'd struggle to find something to complain about, other than the fact that they don't release enough barleywines.

Adding:
Firestone Walker - I've always been a big fan of stuff like Parabola, Sucaba, and the anniversary blends, and the club has been on my radar, but it seemed like it was a bit scattered in intent. Cocktail beers, weird ideas, etc. However, next year's beer list seems quite focused on their strengths (at least the BA stuff, can't speak to the cans), the logistics are easy, and free shipping on extra purchases over something like $40 are easy to hit considering I'll grab stuff for friends. It's a high cost of admission, but I suspect I'll be happy with it.

Being dropped:
Structures (split) - They indicated before this year started that it's the final year, which is a bummer considering the quality of the beer. If they change their minds, I'll renew without question. If they don't, I'm still glad to have joined for this year.

Dropping:
Modern Times -

 

Significantly down. Multiple months where nothing was purchased. At least at the tasting room I got to give about $100 tip using the rest of my bar credit.

 

Keeping:
de Garde Keepers. their house funk make my toes curl, and their recent grape blends have been phenomenal. The Keepers beers for the new year have been really unique too

Adding/dropping: None

 

Keeping:

• Alesmith - I'm pretty happy with the club beers and the people I share with enjoy many of them. Very glad to see them moving away from Oznr which was my biggest complaint. Wish I could get down to San Diego more often to enjoy the onsite benefits.
• Firestone - Joined last year and I've been happy with the club. Yes, it is pricey, I enjoy the beer and the small format, good customer service, local pick up, lottery early access to FWIBF, and the swag has been interesting, including food pairings, a nice bottle stopper, bottle bag, hat, socks, glassware (of course), etc.
• Bruery Hoarders - may be my last year. Share interest on these beers is near zero, which means I'm accumulating 750s. I did think the anniversary party this year was really well done. We'll see how this year goes.

Adding None but keeping an eye on Highland Park and Private Press if such an opportunity opens up.

Left MT last year before all the drama. But most of the existing members I know are following this thread's theme and dropping them.

 

Adding: None

Keeping:

- SARA - Great beers, great people.
- Highland Park - Great beers, great people. I've probably paid for the club with the bar discount.

Dropping:

- Cellador - #RIPinPeace. I've been a member since the beginning, and Tier V since they've had it. Love the beers, love the people, but they are shutting down their brewery tasting room at the end of the month. I have no idea if they are going to continue the Syndicate under the new direction of the company, but I imagine they may take a "gap year" or something like that, if they do want to continue the club at some point. Looking forward to what they do next, either way.

Undecided:

- Modern Times League - I honestly don't know if I agree or disagree with the sentiments of so many who are massively disappointed in the company, the beers, the club, etc. I have been in the League for many years, but I have never bought a whole bunch of extra stuff, and I think what I *have* bought this year has been pretty good still. And while this has been a rough year of staff transition and the sale of the company, it sounds to me like that may all be a thing of the past, based on the messaging from our new Maui overlords. So I might just roll with it and stay in the club next year for my barrel-aged strong ale fix, because I am dumb like that. We'll see.


It does seem kind of appealing to have a massively reduced number of beer club memberships. I used to have SEVEN. So two sounds like nothing. Could give me a better opportunity to keep drinking draft beer at home on the ol' keezer, and put a little dent in my overgrown "cellar."

 

Dropped MT League last year because I saw the writing on the wall

Dropping Horus

Keeping Firestone Walker

 

Keeping:

Barreled Souls - upgraded to the double barrel tier. Their BA program is going from strength to strength and not having to ship across the country like every other membership I’ve ever had is a massive bonus. They hold onto the bottles for ages as well so I just need to drive up to
Maine once a year at the most. Their barleywines in particular have been excellent.

Private Press - the beers continue to be absolutely phenomenal. Absolute God tier barleywines.I also love all the merchandising stuff Brad does. The more outlandish and impractical the better.

De Garde - love the oaky house style their and gin BA stuff in particular. They act as an affordable lambic replacement.

Barclay - will keep it going if I can get into the burned down and rebooted set-up.

Dropping:

Casey - had 5 great years but have decided to move on. It’s a very well run club and would recommend it to anyone interested in wild ales. De Garde also competing for that spend and need to cut down on cost, particularly shipping and proxies.

Modern Times - while things have definitely improved under Maui in the last couple of months I just can’t justify the spend for the current quality ($640 for the shipped League option).

Adding:

None. Have been availing of the Floodland proxy offer this year but wasn’t selected to join Oakworks. Would join if possible. Also completely missed the Freakfolk online sale.

 

Been a Highland Park Brewery Bottle Friend from the beginning, but I'm moving out of CA so I'm going to have to let it go. Have a feeling I'm going to miss the upcoming brunch and Griffith day, too.

 

Added:
Everywhere- Greatness was an incredible first BA release. The barrel tasting also gave me hope for what’s to come. The ideas shared for the next releases definitely built up some anticipation.

Private Press- Very well blended BA beers. Aside from the small upfront fee, only paying for what I decide to buy is nice.

Renewed- Bruery Reserve- I don’t buy much anymore. I split the membership and take my share of the included bottles.

Undecided- MT League. Still enjoy most of the releases, but not sure how much I want to gamble on getting everything I’d be paying for upfront. Also would need to gamble that Native Son pickups remain. Considering the other options I’m in, leaning towards letting this go and allocating the budget to Everywhere and Private Press.