2024 Beer Memberships: Adding, Keeping, and Dropping

SARA - keep
Private Press - keep
Floodland - keep

not looking for more. I suppose if SP or Pips were offered I’d seriously consider it.

 

SARA - keep
Lost Cause - keep

That is about enough as I find myself drinking more lagers and lambic and less of the heavy hitting stouts.

 

ADD:
- None

KEEP:
- Highland Park Bottle Friends
- SARA's Cellar

DROP:
- None


This is a massive change from a few years ago, when I had SIX memberships (Lost Abbey, Horus, Cellador, and Modern Times, in addition to those above). It's nice drinking through some of the insane backlog, although the FOMO is still real.

 

KEEP:
Private Press - Easily my favorite club. Brad's approach to stouts, barleywines, and strong ales is precisely what I'm looking for out of those styles. Brad is life.
Highland Park - Relatively low cost of entry, mostly very good beer, and a laid back club structure. Some of the recent stouts haven't really been on the mark for me, but the hit to miss ratio is still good.
Firestone Walker - I have a huge soft spot for Parabola, old anniversary blends, and beers of that ilk, so it's easy for me to like this club. I'd prefer less merch and it's not the best value in clubs, but I'm enjoying it enough to at least stick around for another year.

DROP:
Structures - They stopped doing the club, sadly. I'd renew or rejoin without hesitation if they resurrected it.

ADD:
Probably none. If something interesting enough crosses my path, I'd consider it.

 

Probably another year of no memberships and no FOMO

 

Just recently moved back to southern CA from Chicago, happy to be surrounded by awesome memberships.

Keeping:
Highland Park
Revolution (if you consider the season pass a membership)

Adding:
Bruery Reserve - honestly just really missed their barrel forward, not overly sweet/thick stouts

 

Le Keep -

Everywhere. Yes, it is a finger's length pricier than the other breweries and one of these ol' years I may indeed drop it, but not this year. The former Bruery boys took this nascent brewery in a new direction from the rest by adding fresh, toasted adjuncts (banana, marshmallow) to their barrel aged brews and, in a bit of a twist from the norm, developed their lighter beers from average to the point where they're on a par the other fine breweries in the area. Splurging on release parties for members is not a bad concept either.

Highland Park - Reasonable prices - which helps me to afford Everywhere - and tasty beer.

 

Adding- Not sure if I'll be adding anything new. Possibly Mostra.

Keeping- HPB Bottle Friends. Had this membership for 3 years now and don't see any reason for dropping it. Price, beers, people, and the members Brunch all make it worth it.
Moksa Advocators. Love the member bottles and the guaranteed bottle of most of the big releases make it worth it. Plus the Jamboree bottle share has been a big treat.
Everywhere. Easily the best membership I have been a part of. Member beers, pick up parties, monthly flights, and how they will go out of their way to accommodate you is all top notch.

Dropping - None.

 

Keep: Highland Park. I've been very happy with this membership. Low cost is great. The low number of included bottles actually is a plus for me since I don't waste money on beers I don't want. The free local shipping is AMAZING if you are in their area and maybe the most important perk for me. The quality of the beers has been good, too.

Drop: None, I only have the HPB membership after dropping League.

Add: None. My palate has really collapsed down to such a small range of beers I enjoy these days that memberships aren't worth it. I also have become too lazy to go pick up from anywhere more than 15 minutes away. If it isn't a coffee stout, vanilla stout, non-adjunct stout, hazy IPA (with specific hops and only from high end places), or WC IPA with specific hops then I'll just drink wine or a cocktail.

 

It took me two years on the wait list.

 

Keep: Mad Fritz

Add: None (Every year I think of joining FW, but never pull the plug.)

 

I was so close to joining FW this morning. I may still join though. If a guaranteed chance to buy Invitational tickets was included, it would be done already.

 

Keeping: Highland Park. Love the price and love the beers. Wish i was closer being in orange county but still worth a trip to LA to visit the brewery every quarter to pick up bottles. Keeping Bruery Hoarders. No complaints here. Great beers, down the street from me, beers next year look great. Only problem with bruery is wish their ipa's were better but end up going to green cheek for that.

Adding: none

Dropping: None

 

That would be an awesome perk. Unfortunately, due to life events, we usually only make it to the Invitational every 4-5 years.

 

I think memberships open in March? So you've got a bit of a wait. I don't think it's like an F5 race to get in, but they do sell out.

 

Seems like half my memberships aren't on a Jan-Dec cycle, so a couple of these I just renewed.

KEEP:

Private Press - my favorite membership. Most of the beers are top tier, and even the few I'm not a huge fan of are still excellent. Plus it's local and hanging out with Brad is the best.

SARA - For the first time, some of this year's member beers missed the mark for me. I'm not dropping it, but kind of a bummer for a membership that's been consistently amazing in the past.

Afterthought - huge range of saisons (everyone needs a Malört barrel aged saison!) and low prices. Now that I've got a reliable proxy, definitely keeping this one. Plus low membership cost and lots of gin barrel aged beers.

DROP (maybe):

Highland Park - not because I don't like the beer, but I don't think the bf and I both need a membership here as I rarely max out my allocations and probably don't need the extra beer.

Xul Beer Co - might drop depending on how this year's member beers are. They've been heading down that diabeetus Florida pastry stout path, and that's just not what I'm into. Also proxy and shipping jacks the price up quite a bit.

Structures - club ended, I am sad. They make fantastic stouts and barleywines and I'm just not motivated to try to trade for them.

ADD:

Probably nothing. I'm curious how Modern Times has been since I dropped them, but no one whose palate I trust has been drinking this year's beers.

If nebuleus ever did a club, I'd fly out to Portland and camp overnight to join. Unlikely though.

 

Keeping:

HPB, I really enjoy the format, low included bottle count and focused included beers.

Bruery Hoarders, I thought about dropping it but with beers like; One and Dunn, Monster Brunch, this years Hoarders Cuvee and high hopes for BT Shortstacks, I'll give them another go.

Adding none.

 

Keep:
My Bruery Hoarders auto renewed, so I'm keeping it.

Drop:
Currently only have Hoarders. Dropped Firestone last year, and after their response to our cellar theft I'm glad I did.

Add:
Not looking to add.