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The 8 Best Beer Subscriptions in 2021: Reviews and Buying Guide!
Last updated 28th March, 2021

There are few things as disheartening as walking to the fridge with your heart set on opening a cold one only to find that you’re out of beer. That’s why many people are shortening their grocery lists and instead picking up a beer subscription service. While joining a beer of the month club won’t guarantee you always have beer on hand, it will provide an abundance of other benefits - such as exposing you to a world of diverse beer types you may not have experienced yet.

However, if you’re new to the world of beer subscriptions, picking the right one can be difficult. That’s why we’ve provided this complete buying guide to walk you through choosing the best service for you, along with reviews of some of our favourites.

Why Buy a Beer Subscription?

Discover New Beers

With new beers hitting the market so often, it can be difficult to hear about the newest beers of the month - much less try them. A beer subscription can introduce you to a new world of beer you may have not discovered otherwise.

Great Value

While there are some pricier options for those looking to be a bit more adventurous in their budget, there are dozens of cheap beer subscriptions that allow you to have fresh, new beers deliver to your door without breaking the bank. Each box includes several beers for one convenient value.

Never Run Out

With new beers delivered right to your door, it’s hard to run out with a beer subscription. Having a beer subscription allows you to enjoy a drink whenever you want without having to worry about an empty fridge.

Delivered to Your Door

When you invest in a beer of the month club, you’ll have beers delivered right to your doorstep every month. This takes the work out of cracking open a cold one, allowing you to indulge in some of the newest or best beers without ever leaving your house.

Top 8 Beer Subscriptions

1. Beer52

Experience the world without ever leaving your house with Beer52’s international beers. Each monthly box features beers - you choose between light or mixed - from a new part of the world. It also comes with the latest edition of Ferment Magazine and a snack to enjoy while you drink. Beer52 has an impressive loyalty scheme that gives you discounts and credits for rating and reviewing their beers or when you recommend Beer52 to a friend. You can choose the amount of beers you get in each box, and you also have the ability to pause your account whenever you need to.

  • Trustpilot reviews: 4.4
  • Number of beers: 8, 10, or 12
  • Type of beer: Light or mixed craft beer based on a monthly theme
  • Examples of beers: Browar Gosciszewo Surfer Wheat Beer, Hop Nation Brewing Co Karma Oatmeal Stout
  • Price per box: £24 (8 beers), £29 (10 beers), or £34 (12 beers)
  • Price per beer: From £2.83
  • How to cancel: Cancel or pause your subscription by logging into your account, going into your subscription settings, and choosing either option
  • Free gifts: The latest edition of Ferment Magazine and a snack

2. Flavourly

Flavourly is a great option for those new to craft beer subscription boxes as it has an impressive introductory mix case of 24 that comes with two free tasting glasses. After you subscribe, you’ll receive a box of eight craft beers - either all light or a mixture of light and dark. Each box comes with Flavourly’s magazine, as well as a surprise snack to enjoy while you drink.

  • Trustpilot reviews: 4.5
  • Number of beers: 8
  • Type of beer: Light or mixed craft beer
  • Examples of beers: Chairman Chevalier, Brehon Blonde
  • Price per box: £19.90
  • Price per beer: From £2.49
  • How to cancel: Sign in to your account, go to “subscribe and save” or “beer club”, and click cancel
  • Free gifts: Two tasting glasses (first box), Flavourly magazine, and Snack

3. BeerBods by Beer Hawk

Coming from one of the UK’s best online craft beer shops in Beer Hawk, their spin-off beer subscription box Beer Bods make drinking a shared experience even from home. Every eight weeks, you’ll be sent a case of 8 different beers. Then each Thursday, you’ll be sent the story behind one of the beers and will be able to share a drink online with other Beer Bod subscribers. Their community of beer lovers is growing fast too. While this leaves you only getting a box every two months or so, the curation is impressive with a wide variety of options. You can also buy any of their subscriptions as a beer gift!

  • Trustpilot reviews: 3.9
  • Number of beers: 8
  • Type of beer: a wide variety of curated beers
  • Examples of beers: Red Handed by Arundel Brewery
  • Price per box: £24
  • Price per beer: From £3.00
  • How to cancel: Login to your account, go to your settings, and cancel membership. If you’ve already paid for the next box, your money will be refunded.
  • Free gifts: The story behind each beer sent to you weekly

4. HonestBrew

When it comes to flexibility in subscription boxes, HonestBrew has the widest set of options. When you sign up, you can choose between subscribing to their Honesty Box or to a membership. The Honesty Box gives you a surprise box of beers each month, while a membership allows you to have a box of beers selected by you delivered when you want them. HonestBrew carries a wide variety of beers to provide a unique box each and every month.

  • Trustpilot reviews: 4.4
  • Number of beers: 6, 9, or 12
  • Type of beer: Light, mixed, or dark
  • Examples of beers: Siren Soundwave, Signature Brew Roadie Session
  • Price: From £10 a month (spend and save credits)
  • Price per beer: From £2.08
  • How to cancel: Login to your account, go to your settings, and cancel membership
  • Free gifts: 15% off beers in the shop

5. BrewDog

The Godfather of craft beer in the UK, you’ll recognise this name from their provocative marking and efforts to support Britain during COVID-19. From creating hand sanitisers, using their pubs as vaccine hubs, and more, they’ve dedicated all their resources to helping the cause. During this, they’ve also continued offering both of their craft beer subscription services: Fanzine with 3 cutting-edge beers a month and Bottlebox with 8, 12 or 18 bottles hand picked each month. BrewDog is also a carbon negative company, meaning you can drink without harming the environment.

  • Trustpilot reviews: 2.4
  • Number of beers: 3 (Fanzine) or choose between 8, 12, or 18 (Bottlebox)
  • Type of beer: Light or mixed
  • Examples of beers: BrewDog Clockwork Tangerine
  • Price per beer: From £1.23
  • How to cancel: Login to your account, go to your settings, and cancel membership
  • Free gifts: None

6. BrewRepublic

If you’re unsure what exactly you’re looking for, then BrewRepublic might be the best option for you. With one of the widest varieties of plans, BrewRepublic offers four different beer subscriptions: one for craft beer, one for traditional beer, one for hop hunters, and one for luxury, which includes three exclusive picks from top-notch breweries. All suitable as a gift for a beer lover too, and each box comes with a free Craft Master glass to enjoy your beers in.

  • Trustpilot reviews: 3.5
  • Number of beers: 12
  • Type of beer: Craft, traditional, hoppy, or top-notch exclusives
  • Examples of beers: Love Lane Pale Ale, Siren Broken Dream
  • Price per box: £30, £35, or £40
  • Price per beer: From £2.50
  • How to cancel: Login to your account, go to your settings, and cancel membership
  • Free gifts: Craft Master glass

7. Hoppily Beer

Few things go as well with a cold beer as a good snack. With Hoppily Beer, you’ll be able to purchase a snack add-on so that every box comes with a variety of artisan snacks. We’re talking crisps, nuts, pork crackling or even snacking cheese. One of the things we love about Hoppily is that they even have a range of vegan beers to choose from. With all of their options, you can pick between 8 or 10 craft beers each month, and you can cancel your subscription at any time with ease.

  • Trustpilot reviews: 4
  • Number of beers: 8 or 10
  • Type of beer: Craft beer in a wide variety of options including IPA
  • Examples of beers: Heard It Through the Bassline by Electric Bear Brewing Co
  • Price per box: £25 (8 beers), £30 (10 beers)
  • Price per beer: From £3.00
  • How to cancel: Login to your account, go to your settings, and cancel membership
  • Free gifts: 10% discount on individual purchases, free birthday beer

8. BelgiBeer

For lovers of Belgian beers, BelgiBeer is an authentic Belgium-based company providing craft beers from a different Belgian brewer each month (there’s a tongue twister for you)! You have the option to purchase a glass from each brewery for your box each month, helping to create a collection. Each box also comes with a few surprise gifts, one of them being beer mats so you can enjoy your cold beer without damaging your furniture with condensation. You can even buy add-ons after confirming your purchase by emailing their support team.

  • Trustpilot reviews: 3.9
  • Number of beers: 4, 8, 12 or 24
  • Type of beer: Belgian craft beers
  • Examples of beers: Verzet Moose Blues
  • Price per box: From £21 (various)
  • Price per beer: From £1.75
  • How to cancel: Login to your account, go to your settings, and cancel membership
  • Free gifts: Beer mats and surprise gifts

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Buying Guide

Types of beer

From craft beers to IPAs to lagers, there are a wide variety of beer types and brewing styles to choose from. Some beer subscription services specialise in just one type of beer, whilst others may focus on beers from a certain country, region or type. As a result, if you have a preference for one type over another, you’ll want to consider that when shopping for the right service for you, otherwise you may end up with a fridge full of beer you don’t particularly enjoy. If you have developed any preferences yet, however, you may want to try a more adventurous box that specialises in providing a wide variety of beers in every box.

Your budget

Beers vary in price, and so beer subscriptions are no different. As a result, before investing, you’ll want to consider your budget. You’ll want to stay within your budget, of course, but you also don’t want to sacrifice taste or convenience. Thankfully, there are both expensive and cheap beer subscription options, so you’re almost guaranteed to find one you enjoy in your price range.

How often you drink

While your budget is one of the most important things to consider when looking for the best beer subscription service, you’ll also want to take into account how much you drink. There are a variety of options available, each one with a differing amount of beers. If you don’t plan on drinking a lot, you won’t want to invest in a service that delivers often or delivers a large number of beers at one time. You may also want to pick a plan that you can cancel easily or pause whenever your fridge is fully stocked.

Storing your beer

Now when you've got a whole host of beers coming your way every month the last thing you want is to not have somewhere to keep them cool and fresh for when they're ready to drink. For some of the larger boxes make sure you've got space in a fridge to keep them cold when they arrive, or store them in a garage or storage room to be transferred to the fridge later. Why not have a look at our Best Mini Fridges Blog so that you can store your fancy new craft beers out the way of prying hands and to keep them cool at all times.

FAQs

What is considered a craft beer?

A craft beer is any beer that is brewed by a small, independent business focused on quality and flavour as stated by SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers. There are other factors as well, however, such as, in order to be a craft beer, the beer must be brewed in a facility that produces less than six million barrels per year.

What does IPA mean in beer?

IPA stands for India Pale Ale, which includes a wide variety of hoppy beers in the pale ale category. Popular in the craft beer community, IPAs have a strong flavour with both doubled and tripled options with more hops and usually more alcohol content.

Conclusion

With so many options by type, size, and delivery cadences, it can be hard to pick the right beer subscription to help make nights at home just as interesting as the pub. However, even with all this in mind, we have two strong recommendations to share with you.

The HonestBrew beer subscription box is one of the top options for the beer-lover looking for flexibility. Whether you want to be flexible in plan size or choosing your beers, HonestBrew offers several plan options.

We also really like the Beer52 beer subscription box. With a focus on great-tasting craft beers picked by expert curators and a loyalty scheme for the best value, they’re a market leader for a reason.

Whether you have found the right beer subscription for you or not, or perhaps as a gift for beer lovers in your life, we hope our buying guide has helped you understand the difference between all the options out there and answered any questions you have on size, beer types, or budget.

Before you go, if you're in the market for a beer gift for a beer lover, we think beer subscriptions are a great purchase. But we also know there are so many other choices out there too. If you're looking for that perfect beer gift for that person in your live take a look at our Best Beer Gifts for Beer Lovers article for even more inspiration

Affiliate disclaimer: on some or all of the products above, we receive a small commission if you make a purchase via our site. This does not impact the price you pay, but it allows us to keep helping people by writing these reviews, so thank you!


Tom
Co-founder at Mancaves HQ

A true man cave enthusiast. When he isn't trawling through Instagram looking for new ideas, you can find him navigating through the streets of London.