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Monthly Microbrews

Bars, pubs, and watering holes of every kind were hobbled from the outset of the pandemic. Many folded, a few rebelled, and some adapted — but the craft breweries that kept their kegs full learned that beer lovers were thirsty for hand-crafted, small-batch suds whether or not their local haunts were open for business. Some of the names on this list are among the hottest new beer subscription clubs to hit the market. Others are industry pioneers with pre-internet mail-order roots. All, however, guarantee a pleasant surprise in the mail every month.


Related: Raise a Glass to These Great Gifts for Beer Lovers

Beer of the Month Club

U.S. Microbrewed Beer Club

The U.S. Microbrewed Beer Club is one of five subscription options under the umbrella of the Beer of the Month Club, which has tallied an impressive 1 million-plus customers since its founding in 1994. This first offering includes 12 bottles from two different "lightly distributed U.S. microbreweries." Each order contains three bottles each from four different styles of beer for $32 plus $15 shipping. 


Related: Best Non-Alcoholic Beers to Get You Through 'Dry January'

Beer of the Month Club
Beer of the Month Club

International and Domestic Variety Beer Club

If you just can't choose between domestics or imports, the Beer of the Month Club also offers the International and Domestic Variety Beer Club, which offers up more variety than any other club in the network. There are 12 beers in this monthly box, as well, but in this case, they're beers without borders. Four different styles are included for $36, plus $15 shipping, with two styles from select U.S. microbreweries and two from international breweries. 


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Brewvana

Brews Less Traveled Beer Club

Regional and under-the-radar brews make up these 8- or 16-beer boxes from Brewvana. A different city is featured each month along with outstanding but lesser-known beers. Prices start at $69 plus $11 shipping for a standard 8-beer box, and you'll pay just $20 more to double the order. The subscription also includes access to live streams with guided tastings, interviews with brewers, and other city-specific info each month.

Beer of the Month Club

Hop-Heads Beer Club

As the name implies, the Hop-Heads Beer Club is all about the dankest IPAs, IPLs, and other well-hopped styles like hoppy red and pale ales. It's $35 per month plus $15 shipping, and like all five of the Beer of the Month Club choices, Hop-Heads can be combined with any or all of the club's other subscription offerings, including the cheese club, wine club, chocolate club, cigar club, or flower club. 


Related: 19 of the Oldest Breweries in America

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Rare Beer Club

The last and most exclusive of the five Beer of the Month Club selections is the Rare Beer Club. Founded by the late, great beer writer and critic Michael Jackson, it starts at $38 for two bottles, $59 for four bottles, or $79 for six. If you have the means, the beers are really that good and really that rare. Some are brewed in one-off batches. Others are brewed with previously forgotten methods and traditions. All are true originals that you'll likely never see again.   


Related: Looking for a Great Boozy Gift? Flaviar's Spirits Subscription Box Could Be It

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Beer Across America

Beer Across America claims a lineage longer than even that of the vaunted Beer of the Month Club. In fact, with a founding date of 1992, it claims to be the very first beer subscription club and the original industry trendsetter. Either way, you can still subscribe to Beer Across America for $46 per month. You get 12 unique beers from two different independent craft breweries in four different styles and varieties. Shipping is free and it's known as a top choice for brew-lovers on a budget. 


Related: 17 Cheap Beers That Locals Love

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Original Craft Beer Club

The Original Craft Beer Club partners with a dizzying number of awesome breweries, all of which are small and 100 percent independent. The tried-and-true no-frills service offers cost-to-quality value that is hard to match among beer clubs. Delivery options are monthly, every other month, or quarterly. Shipments are $45 for 12 beers per month or $90 for 24. Each shipment features beers in four different styles from two different breweries. Shipping is always free no matter your package, and there are no membership fees. 


Related: The Best-Selling Craft Beer in Every State

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Hops Collective

Three different subscription options are available through Hops Collective, each of which is sourced straight from microbreweries and include limited-release or otherwise rare or hard-to-find beers. Subscriptions start at $43 a month and can be garnished with chocolates, gourmet foods, cheeses, and more.  


Related: Fall Beers and Ciders: Craft Brews to Toast the Season

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Craft Beer Box

You choose your level of hoppiness and the curators at Craft Beer Box will fill your subscription accordingly with three each of four different beers. Next, just choose how many 12-beer boxes will come and how frequently, and before you know it, you'll be sipping stout, pilsner, kölsch, saison, session IPAs, and sour beers for $80-$432, depending on how much you order. 


Related: Where to Order Beer, Wine, and Liquor Online

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Beer Drop

Unlike so many subscription clubs that deliver beer by way of total surprise, Beer Drop turns the reins over to you, the drinker—or at least the buyer. Billing itself as the most customizable club on the market, Beer Drop lets you choose your beer styles, swap out cans, skip drops, and opt out whenever. It's affordable, too. Each delivery comes with two cans each of five different styles for a total of 10 at a cost of $4 per can. Shipping is $8 flat no matter your order size. 


Related: Bucket List Drinking Pilgrimages You Need to Make

LA Beer Hop

LA Beer Hop

LA Beer Hop is not a group that loves beer on an academic level. They give bus-based beer tours around the 500 square miles of craft brew heaven that is Los Angeles. The wife and husband who run LA Beer Hop are both Certified Cicerones, and the subscription package they offer comes with a bonus that they're perfectly suited to deliver. Once a month, LA Beer Hop hosts a live virtual beer tasting to walk you through the history, background, and profile of every beer in your box. Each $75 box comes with six beers in cans and bottles.

Craft Beer Kings

Craft Beer Kings

Craft Beer Kings has one of the most impressive assortments of specialty subscriptions that any beer lover will be able to find. Starting at $70, each box contains an assortment of 12- or 16-ounce beers with themes like IPAs, hazy IPAs, stouts, dark beer, sours, and California beer. Mixed boxes like IPA/stout, and stout/sour are also available.


Related: How Home Brewing Can Save More Than 50% on Craft Beer

Tavour

Tavour Gift Boxes

Craft beer supersite Tavour doesn't have a subscription club, but it does offer a big enough variety of craft beer gift boxes to keep them coming for months on end without getting the same one twice. Each box is curated by Tavour beer experts and shipping is free. Prices range from $35-$99 and themes include sour beer, sample stout, mixed beers, and IPAs. 


Related: 15 Cheap Imported Beers Better Than Budweiser

Crate Joy

First Sip Brew Box

The First Sip Brew Box from Cratejoy is pitched as the perfect gift for "the ultimate craft beer enthusiast" — but for legal reasons, it doesn't actually come with any beer. What it does come with is lots of super-cool, high-quality craft-beer-related merch and swag from select breweries. You can show your love of good beer and support small businesses as a recurring subscription or as a single box.  


Related: 21 Summer Beers to Cool You Off on a Hot Day