ProductReportCard Editors' In-Depth Review
Pros And Cons
Pros
- Most flexible membership with no minimum commitment.
- Good variety of American craft beers
- Members can re-order past favorites at discounted prices (12 or 24 packs)
- Informative newsletter
Cons
- Can't control which beers you receive and no access to international beers
- Entirety of previous beer selections not available to public on website
- Doesn't ship to Alaska or Hawaii at all (in addition to dry counties)
Key Features
Products
A panel of beer experts carefully selects a variety of seasonal, freshly brewed craft beers from small microbreweries over the United States.
Quantity
There is no minimum membership requirement. Each shipment will include 12 standard size bottles (12 ounces).
Membership Options
Flexible membership with option of purchasing between 1 - 12 shipments or an indefinite number of shipments. Each shipment of 12 bottles will contain 4 styles of beer from at least 2 different breweries. You can opt to receive deliveries every month, every other month or every three months. You can pay for all of your shipments at once or in installments (your credit card would only be charged for individual shipments during the months they were received).
Cost per Beer
If you order less than 12 shipments, it averages out to about $3.25 per beer, but, if you order 12 shipments, the cost decreases to $3.07 per beer.
Newsletter
As part of your membership, Clubs of America will include their monthly newsletter, Beer Expeditions, in your shipments. The newsletter will include information about each brewery and tasting notes on the beers themselves.
Gift Information
To notify gift recipients, Clubs of America includes a complimentary personalized gift announcement that can be sent by email or traditional mail to you or the recipient. You can also print the gift announcement yourself directly on the website.
Previously Featured Beers
Abita Brewery in Louisiana (Turbo Dog Lager & IPA), Atlanta Brewery in Georgia (Red Ale & Pale Ale), Sand Creek Brewery in Wisconsin (Woody's Wheat & English Ale), Millstream Brewery in Iowa (White Ale and Oatmeal Stout), etc.
Shipping Schedule
Shipments will arrive during the 3rd or 4th week of the month. As mentioned, you have the option of receiving deliveries on a monthly, bimonthly or quarterly basis.
Satisfaction Guarantee
There is a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The website states that "you have the right to expect that your gift will arrive at its destination on time, in perfect condition, in the months you specified-no surprises." Clubs of America obviously cannot guarantee that every selection will be suited to individual tastes. If you are unhappy with a particular selection, however, you should contact customer service.
Reputation
The Great American Beer Club doesn't any consolidated customers reviews on independent (unbiased) websites, and the individual reviews I saw were positive but few and far between. That said, I think this is a great beer club to join or to give as a gift for a few reasons. First, as one of the more established clubs, you can expect great service. Second, you are guaranteed to get a very good variety of domestic microbrews (at least four styles in every shipment). Third, they offer the most flexible membership of any beer club and will even allow you to further customize your delivery schedule if you just call and ask. Finally, you can call to reorder your favorite beers in 12 or 24 packs at a discounted rate. Depending on what you are looking for, the only other club that might be better is the C&H Gourmet Monthly Club's Original Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club. It has a two-month minimum, but, for the same monthly price, C&H claims to have a more formal selection process, archives all previous beer selections on their website, offers an easy online reordering system (also with discounts) and will allow you to leverage some of their other "of the month" clubs to combine with your membership (ie. beers + cigars). Overall, both clubs sound great, and I don't think you can really go wrong with either one if you want to experience a wide variety of domestic microbrews.
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