Recently a reader asked me if they should get their husband a beer subscription. Then I thought I would sign up for a paid review service to see what came my way - and low and behold the first review I was sent was for the "Beer of the Month Club" by a website called "Amazing Clubs" of Stamford, CT. So let's see what we have - so I can buy something for 50 bucks USD I get for this review.
Am I amazed? First, for $27.95 per month for a year you get 12 micro brews sent to you. Under $2.34 USD a beer and that includes shipping. And what beers do you get? I am informed that certain Connecticut citizens promise as follows:
We feature only premium, hard-to-find microbrews from boutique breweries nationwide. Previous selections of the Beer of the Month Club have originated from microbreweries in Oregon, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Ohio, Illinois and dozens of other states. All of our beers are selected by our panel of beer experts for their flavor, color and limited availability and nearly all of our featured breweries have been awarded multiple honors at competitive tasting festivals.That is a decently decent idea - especially if you are sitting in a place where there isn't a good beer shop within, say, an hour's drive, where you cannot get to something new and interesting. Second, what if there isn't any thing you like coming through the door? Check #6 - they give full refund...if you trust that they will.
So what's the down side? You do not trust the idea. Fair enough. I have not sampled anything and am, frankly, looking at picking up 50 bucks to write this which means 24 Thousand Island Pale Ales and a few other things for the stash when I hit the border next. But it is because I can reach that thing my beer shop, I am not signing up. Why? Well, as I suggested to the nice lady who emailed me, if you (like me) do have a shop nearby...ok, two hours...28 bucks in the US gets you from half-again to twice the variety - but will they be from Ohio or Florida? Mmmm: Ohio. So if you can trust and they earn your trust and, especially, if you are stuck someplace like Houlton, Maine or...ok, no where is like Houlton, Maine but you take my point. This may be the break you need to get those beers of Ohio.
Like anything this is about trust. Who knows? It is an idea and an idea you can try out. As the shipping rules relax over time in the beer trade maybe these will get more popular - who knows? Not for me. But if you want to try, you could try. Have any of you tried this sort of service?
Comments
Tedo - November 29, 2006 7:36 am
My question with these things is how are they shipped? I mean the last thing you want is your beer sitting in the back of the UPS truck getting baked before they arrive at your door.
Alan - November 29, 2006 8:21 am
That would seem to be key. That being said, I had beer FedEx'ed from our sponsor the Cracked Kettle in Amsterdam (this is not an ad, this is a fact) and it worked fine. In a former life I was a wholesale cut flower shipper and we used ice packs to move irises and tulips around in summer. So it can be done but it all comes down to the packing.
ag - November 29, 2006 8:37 pm
hi,
i would like to reccomend this blog about beer
http://beerdiaries.wordpress.com/
blork - November 30, 2006 1:16 pm
Does this work for Canadians? You know how those customs people are -- I can imagine getting my monthly $2.34 USD beer along with an invoice from Canada Customs for $40.
(It's happened before -- I've had to pay duty for free things for pete's sake!)
blork - November 30, 2006 1:23 pm
D'oh! I just saw #11 in the FAQ:
11. Can you ship outside the United States?
We apologize but due to the perishable nature of some of our gourmet items, we can only ship within the continental 48 United States.
Alan - November 30, 2006 1:24 pm
I think you have to take that into account, too. I am happy to pay my customs duties when I do beer runs (35% usually) so this would be the same.
Skippy - December 4, 2006 11:24 am
This Cracked Kettle deal seems sweet. They'll ship to Canada no problem? Can someone steer me towards other sites that will safely and reliably ship to this beer wasteland I call Canada?
Great blog BTW. Alan, I don't know how you do it!
Email would be appreciated...thanks!
Alan - December 4, 2006 12:53 pm
No problem? You will have to check with Customs about any proposed shipment to Canada. Mine was tiny (but lovely) but I may get a bill in the mail as it was opened by them. I always pay my Customs guards full freight on any shipments and am happy to do so.
Skippy - December 4, 2006 3:28 pm
Well, I emailed them and they assured me they ship to Canada with few problems. But I was interested in something more substantial (6-8 bottles of liquid gold).
How can I go about notifying Customs if this company sends directly to me? Will Customs just send me a bill? I'm willing to pay whatever charges there are, but I'm not sure how it works, exactly. Do you have any idea what kind of charge I'd get on a 40 Euro order or so?
Alan - December 4, 2006 3:33 pm
I am unsure. I have only paid at the border or when books or CDs are delivered to the post office paid there. I have never dealt with FedEx and how that works. Maybe give your local office a call and let us know what they say.
At the border, for Ontario, the 4 fees (PST, GST, excise and LCBO markup generally equal 37% more). As my shipment only had 3 bottles they may not bother sending me a bill in the mail but they certainly opened and repacked the box.
Let us know as I am very excited about the Cracked Kettle service and happy to hear you want to try it as well.
Teresa Sheller - March 9, 2010 6:47 pm
BEFORE ORDERING FROM THIS COMPANY "AMAZING CLUBS" 1ST SEE THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU RATING AT -
http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/business-reviews/internet-shopping/amazingclubscom-in-austin-tx-90071753
Beer Hund - May 25, 2010 11:46 am
I have been a member of Amazing Clubs domestic beer of the month for over a year and have not been impressed. Although the beer selection is fair, they have a cheap rag of a newsletter that comes with the beer. It is only one page, printed on cheap paper, the ink smears, the back is all advertising for other clubs, and the reviews are cut and pasted from the brewerys' self-assesment. The one I was a member of a few years before was much more professional. I don't recall the company name though. I just remember Beer of the Month.
Mike - May 28, 2010 1:37 pm
I was given a 6-month Beer of the Month club membership for Xmas; the selection was only decent. The first month in particular was awful, it was a bunch of very weak Pocono lager from Lions Head. That's a very cheap, mediocre-at-best beer. And considering I'm less than 90 minutes from that brewery, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I read I'd be receiving micro-brews.
Some of the selections were decent, even above average (last month's Maibock was great), but I agree with Beer Hund about the quality of the newsletters. And with my membership expiring in June, they have been emailing me 2x a week trying to get me to extend it.
I appreciate beer being delivered to my door, but the selection wasn't good enough to warrant me continuing the membership. I'm glad I didn't pay for it.