2018 Membership drop/renewal

[ewwiccc]

are all pickups done in person, they don't allow proxies?

any one here in La Coterie?

The dream :'(

 

[CommanderofAwesome]

to late for a lot of us. i did the stupid survey every year asking for 375, even 500ml...

WAYYY too late.

Plus beer quality decrease, lack of exclusivity, sours being ****, etc. Easy non renewal.

 

[bread1]

any one here in La Coterie?

I am, which made my already list of too many memberships even more out of hand this year:
Side Project - Keeping this forever / until too many people shitlord and ruin it

Perennial - First year on this, very glad that they've been allocating extra bottles to member for some of the BA stouts; definitely planning on keeping.

De Garde - Will probably re-up if I can find a new proxy, nice to have easier access to De Garde without trading

Une Annee - The most local of my memberships, so the taproom discount comes in handy, included bottles end up at a good price/bottle point. Member beers have been better this year too, so will likely keep, especially if the BA stouts turn out well

The Rare Barrel - Liked the offerings for 2017, 2018 seems like it's been weird so far. Definitely on the fence with this one.

Transient - Low commitment since it's just a few bottles / opportunity to reserve, but on the fence with keeping

Funk Factory Magnum Club - Pretty sure I'm going to drop this one; it's getting out of just being Meerts variants but occasions to open magnums are few and far between, not to mention the price and really short pick-up window for releases

 

[swivelhips1]

I know I am a homer, but I have been really happy with HPB's "bottle friends" club. It was $175 for 10 bottles, a glass, and 10% off everything at both locations. Communication has been great and everything has been timely. If you figure bottles average about ~$12 and the glass is ~$10, then that is about $40 for the ability to buy bottles online and get 10% off everything. I suspect I won't quite save $40 with the 10% coupon, but it won't be far off. A few exclusive bottles and ease of online sale + pickups make it an easy keep for me. It doesn't matter much to me since I am so close to brewery, but I think the only nice addition for people in greater LA area would be ability to buy cans for pickup (obviously with a much shorter pickup window than bottles).

 

[pen15clubmember]

Splitting Pure and Ale Apothecary with a buddy. Can't speak to any of the beers because none have been picked up yet, but I think Pure makes a lot less sense for non-locals. They give you first dibs on some can releases, but won't ship them so it's useless to us outside of the off chance that one of us happens to be in SD during a window. Probably drop Pure next year unless our dicks are blown off by the BA stuff. Need to drink them Ales before making a decision there.

I'm also splitting Lost Abbey S&S with 3 other bros. Overpriced, but doesn't hurt the wallet toooo bad when split that many ways and it gives us another reason to get together for a share. We're talking about doing that mini-Catador one, too.

Sucks to hear about De Garde...was really bummed we missed out on it, but it sounds like we didn't miss much. Tho I don't fully grasp the issues. Limited choices plus lots of club stuff is showing up on shelves? I don't understand their distro in the Bay Area, but I know we've had some shipments in the past. Still, I think I'd be ok with just getting whatever they offered unless it's a bunch of random Bus.

We did CASA and Good Beer Co last year. Dropped them both. Heard CASA is shipping cans this year, but doubt it's worth the extra cost. GBC was an easy drop: it felt like ~80% of the club beers were available locally, plus they went from a manageable, cheap club to a $300+ and too many bottles club.

I'm also in two wine clubs solo and should probably ditch at least one of them. Living close to wine country, it's nice to be able to pop in for free drinks the MEMBERS ONLY areas, but doing that once every other month is not really worth it, especially for the sparkling one I'm in. Etude's Pinots are so damn good, tho...

 

[KevSal]

Splitting Pure and Ale Apothecary with a buddy. Can't speak to any of the beers because none have been picked up yet, but I think Pure makes a lot less sense for non-locals. They give you first dibs on some can releases, but won't ship them so it's useless to us outside of the off chance that one of us happens to be in SD during a window. Probably drop Pure next year unless our dicks are blown off by the BA stuff. Need to drink them Ales before making a decision there.

I'm also splitting Lost Abbey S&S with 3 other bros. Overpriced, but doesn't hurt the wallet toooo bad when split that many ways and it gives us another reason to get together for a share. We're talking about doing that mini-Catador one, too.

Sucks to hear about De Garde...was really bummed we missed out on it, but it sounds like we didn't miss much. Tho I don't fully grasp the issues. Limited choices plus lots of club stuff is showing up on shelves? I don't understand their distro in the Bay Area, but I know we've had some shipments in the past. Still, I think I'd be ok with just getting whatever they offered unless it's a bunch of random Bus.

We did CASA and Good Beer Co last year. Dropped them both. Heard CASA is shipping cans this year, but doubt it's worth the extra cost. GBC was an easy drop: it felt like ~80% of the club beers were available locally, plus they went from a manageable, cheap club to a $300+ and too many bottles club.

I'm also in two wine clubs solo and should probably ditch at least one of them. Living close to wine country, it's nice to be able to pop in for free drinks the MEMBERS ONLY areas, but doing that once every other month is not really worth it, especially for the sparkling one I'm in. Etude's Pinots are so damn good, tho...

im jelly of that sweet sweet jacket club you're in!

 

[JulianB1]

Holy **** you Cali guys get into a lot of beer clubs.

 

[sdreaper]

Holy **** you Cali guys get into a lot of beer clubs.

We have nothing else better to do while we sit and wait for the earthquake to finally kill us off....

 

[facesnorth1]

SARA: Lifer Nothing else matters

Casey: Took almost a year to realize maxing was stupid. Now I buy a bottle or 2 every month and love it. His beers have improved tremendously over the years. The dry hop stuff is all .

De Garde: I really liked this club, don't understand the complaints. I miss out on the majority of extras sales, I don't wish for anything, and I don't care.

Ale Apothecary: not all their beers are hits, but I really dig them, I like Paul, and my trustee goes to both Bend and Tillamook often enough that it keeps it simple.

CCB: I remember back in 2013 while enjoying a tasty Apocalypse Cow, getting a text to send an email at XXX time to join el catador, and I was so into my beer that I was like 13 seconds too late. I tried every year to get in, until I realized it had become a blessing in disguise! Finally edition 7, so many people had dropped they now have room for me. I couldn't resist. With Bourbon Huna, LIL, etc., I thought wow I stuck gold. But none of them tasted near as good as the originals. Then this last edition was awful. Just about ready to drop them, but on the fence now due to these potentially interesting collabs. Assuming they don't screw them up.

Schramm's: Got a new job in '14 which took me out to Indiana. Decided to hit Schramm's "on the way home". Met James, tasted HoD and SR, fell in love. Couldn't afford lifetime ($500), but was assured the annual would include the same benefits and price would be grandfathered at $60 per year. I figured the annual was a no brainer. Still grouchy that they've gone back on so many promises, and I barely buy anything any more, it's so expensive. But I can't bring myself to drop as I love their mead too much...

Bullfrog: it's just there, no renewals or anything. I worked in Williamsport for a while, and went here every night. Loved the vibe especially with the old staff, and the music scene. Had a lot of good times here. I don't like some of the decisions he made (looking at you CoP), but some of my favorite beers ever came from this brewery (Beekeeper, Et to Brut, Grrrz batch 1 trio).

Formerly: Crooked Stave (I remember being sad when this ended), Hoarders (split just one year like 4 years ago with 2 other guys and I have the same mountain of bottles that you all have), JWB OG (what a dbag this guy, and I didn't complain at all in any way until he dropped us) , Tired Hands (up there with OG for worst club experience, and most disliked brewery/brewer, will save details for another day)

Glad I didn't join: Crooked Stave (still have a ton of 4 year old 375's, plus I'm a lifetime member, right?), Lost Abbey (I still get nostalgic about their former glory, but so $$$), Sole (sadly this is my local, I sure dodged a bullet), Plan Bee, Springhouse (another sorta local, I could smell this was a turd a mile away), most other clubs

Mildly regret not joining: Barrel culture (maybe what I hoped JWB OG would become?), Garagiste (too spendy tho)

Wish I got in: CW (I did maybe 30 cannonball runs at 14 hours a pop prior to this club opening, and now I can barely go up anymore ), 3 sons (this is what I want CCB to be! )

 

[KevSal]

even tho its in the pacific forum im glad more people across the US are chiming in, its cool to see what other clubs are going on, especially some i had no idea existed!

Wish i got into that 3 sons one!

 

[facesnorth1]

I love how the Beer Travel, Events and Releases feature of this forum compiles and tags threads from all regions. You find all sorts of cool threads that way and brings people together from different areas!

 

[swivelhips1]

Casey: Took almost a year to realize maxing was stupid. Now I buy a bottle or 2 every month and love it. His beers have improved tremendously over the years. The dry hop stuff is all .

I guess I could add that I have also been in the Casey club since the beginning and don't ever have plans to leave. It is bonkers to me that people max out on stuff from them but it is their money I guess. I usually plan my purchasing around ~2 trips per year to Casey. I have family in Colorado so its easy to make those happen and I will only buy bottles in the 3 months leading up to when I visit and that way I don't ever have to worry about proxies. Pretty much only buy unfruited stuff and the occasional grape beer and am very happy with that.

 

[Gene1]

I guess if I were running a new brewery membership, I’d collect a list of everyone who complained about this year’s de Garde Keepers and just exclude them to avoid problems.

Everything was made clear up front, and the extra bottle sales were always intended to be something aside from / over and above the membership stuff. If people are complaining because we got a handful of really wonderful “over and above” stuff - but thry for some reason felt entitled to even more - I really can’t imagine how they’d ever be satisfied. The cost per ounce of included beer is one of the lowest of any membership right now, and the level of service for members (including the Keepers portal) is exceptional.

 

[SAISON FUCK]

Afterthought Blended Barrel is the only membership I am a part of. Fantastic saisons.

I used to be a Bruery Hoaders member and a sad J. Wakefield member, but no longer.

 

[user 305778]

Tired Hands (up there with OG for worst club experience, and most disliked brewery/brewer, will save details for another day)

I find this part of your club statements interesting. To me, there wasn't even really a club for Tired Hands. You put in a certain amount of money and get exactly that amount out plus a certain percentage off bottles. Since I would have bought those bottles anyway and spent money at Tired Hands anyway, there was no risk here. And since no bottles were included, I didn't even have to buy ones that sounded poor or overly expensive if I didn't want to unlike other clubs. It sounds like you had a some bad interactions in some way with Jean though.

 

[SanDiegoJoe2011]

Dropped Funk Factory Magnum Club.

Wasn't awful, wasn't great; however, the upcoming release calendar looks significantly better than last year.

 

[chemman141]

I know I am a homer, but I have been really happy with HPB's "bottle friends" club. It was $175 for 10 bottles, a glass, and 10% off everything at both locations. Communication has been great and everything has been timely. If you figure bottles average about ~$12 and the glass is ~$10, then that is about $40 for the ability to buy bottles online and get 10% off everything. I suspect I won't quite save $40 with the 10% coupon, but it won't be far off. A few exclusive bottles and ease of online sale + pickups make it an easy keep for me. It doesn't matter much to me since I am so close to brewery, but I think the only nice addition for people in greater LA area would be ability to buy cans for pickup (obviously with a much shorter pickup window than bottles).

The fact that they switched to in person only starting on a monday for their bottle sales made the $175 for that alone worth it. To me the fact we got 10 bottles, a shirt, glass, 10% off is an added bonus. Without this membership I would not be getting anymore HPB bottles as I live over an hour away.

 

[chemman141]

I guess if I were running a new brewery membership, I’d collect a list of everyone who complained about this year’s de Garde Keepers and just exclude them to avoid problems.

Everything was made clear up front, and the extra bottle sales were always intended to be something aside from / over and above the membership stuff. If people are complaining because we got a handful of really wonderful “over and above” stuff - but thry for some reason felt entitled to even more - I really can’t imagine how they’d ever be satisfied. The cost per ounce of included beer is one of the lowest of any membership right now, and the level of service for members (including the Keepers portal) is exceptional.

My issue with them is personal for sure. I assumed this was like other memberships and access to a limited number of public beers would be more than 20% of what they have offered (its probably less than that, but I don't care enough to run the numbers). Totally my bad, definitely would not renew after one year and definitely would have never signed up if they were more clear about how few bottles they would be offering us.

 

[user 305778]

My issue with them is personal for sure. I assumed this was like other memberships and access to a limited number of public beers would be more than 20% of what they have offered (its probably less than that, but I don't care enough to run the numbers). Totally my bad, definitely would not renew after one year and definitely would have never signed up if they were more clear about how few bottles they would be offering us.

You signed up for a DeGarde membership?

 

[chemman141]

You signed up for a DeGarde membership?

Yes, regretted it basically right away. I was against it at first and then my buddy talked me into it. Should have gone with that gut instinct telling me it was a pure money grab.

 

[trio2shine1]

Yes, regretted it basically right away. I was against it at first and then my buddy talked me into it. Should have gone with that gut instinct telling me it was a pure money grab.

If getting 86'd from a place doesn't give you them feels I don't know what will.

 

[user 308679]

I guess I could add that I have also been in the Casey club since the beginning and don't ever have plans to leave. It is bonkers to me that people max out on stuff from them but it is their money I guess. I usually plan my purchasing around ~2 trips per year to Casey. I have family in Colorado so its easy to make those happen and I will only buy bottles in the 3 months leading up to when I visit and that way I don't ever have to worry about proxies. Pretty much only buy unfruited stuff and the occasional grape beer and am very happy with that.

I could have written this myself, with the exception that I live in CO. $80 for on-line ordering, 3 months storage, and 1 member bottle. My one and only membership. No plans to leave.

 

[chemman141]

If getting 86'd from a place doesn't give you them feels I don't know what will.

I'm not 86'd from there, at least I haven't been told as such. However I heard they prefer the passive aggressive move of making you drive all the way to Tillamook to tell you in person you're not welcome. Real class act over there.

 

[coldstorage]

i·ro·ny1
ˈīrənē/:

Real class act over there.

 

[chemman141]

i·ro·ny1
ˈīrənē/:

Sometimes I do things for you people, you're welcome.

 

[Padraig]

Did anyone in the Mikkeller SD club ever receive a membership card? No sign of mine plus I got a different club t-shirt to the one I ordered and I can’t spend the merchandise voucher because there’s hardly anything available in the webshop.

jwacky

 

[kwijibeer]

2018:

Crooked Stave: lifetime member. I know they got a lot of flack from how they handled the "lifetime members" and the program. heck, even their staff. But I rejoined this year because there are a couple I do really enjoy and wanted to start getting a few bigger format bottles (1.5L magnums). Most of this years releases have been available in the large format. Membership price not too bad. I Got 2 member 750ml bottles. And if you RSVP for pickups, you get a pour at the taproom. No need for proxies to be members so anybody can grab it. And if a proxy grabs it, they can get the pour too. Doesn't have to be the member. This is a nice perk for non-member friends to pick up for me. Communication is good and easy to use the site to purchase bottles. Moderate pricing on bottles.

Casey: been a member since the beginning. Originally split the first couple years. Solo now. I don't max out. Very selective in what I get now since it can burn a hole in the wallet quickly. Honestly, I prefer his non-fruited stuff. A stone fruit varietal here and there, but mostly just non-fruited and dry hopped stuff. And fortunately, it's usually the cheapest offerings. You do have to have another member pick up though but thankfully the members are very accommodating. Communication is impeccable and pick ups are easy. It's usually just a matter of getting there or finding a member proxy. Fruited beers expensive (Cut, CFP), non-fruited and FS are moderate.

Ale Apothecary: this is my 3rd year. really dig the uniqueness of these beers. Hit or miss with what I liked the past couple years though. There were some quality issues but it sounds Paul addressed them and is really stoked about his new room and setup. He thinks it'll be top notch moving forward. Considering the price I see for bottles when I can find them (very pricey), the membership price is very reasonable when you look at what you get! Pickup is only available starting in November so there's no real pickups before then. And you get until early the following year to pick it up. This year they allowed purchase of certain bottles online but you had to pickup within 30 days. (These were outside the 12 member bottles that are available in November). The pickup date in Nov and member bottle share is really a great frigging time!!

De Garde: first year Keeper. I didn't split. I didn't get to take advantage of the member tour. I didn't get a single "wish" beer. I couldn't afford to get any of those Zalto glasses (rather just didn't want to fork over a ton of money for a drinking vessel that i had to entrust somebody to pack/ship). I do like their beer though and since I don't trade that often, it was a nice way to get access. Finding proxies easy. Communication was good and online purchasing was easy. Pricing of spontaneous beer is very reasonable on the wallet. All in all, it was okay for me. I didn't go in with any assumptions or expectations other than what was disclosed at the very beginning to all Keepers. Pretty clear to me. No real complaints except a wish beer would've been nice.

Primitive (Longmont, CO): new membership program started this year. split with a friend. They do "lambics in a bag" type deal. Can get 1.5L in a convenient easy way to store/stack without all the glass bottles. Lighter. Space saving. Ahhhh. Everything 100% spontaneous which is something I really enjoy and want to taste some CO terroir. 12 boxes (=18 750ml bottles) for the membership is pretty awesome. Extra boxes available and a very decent price! I think the beers have been decent enough and am really curious to see how they progress. Very nice folk. Easy pickups.

2019:
Dropping: CS since I've obtained what I really want and don't need tons more right now (unless they do some 100% spontaneous coolship releases), dG
Keeping: Casey and sticking to just a few bottles here and there, Ale Apothecary, Primitive
Passed: Black Project (seems like a cluster from what I've read/heard. Also super pricey for so-so quality beer. I quit doing the lotteries. Know a few members who didn't renew)
Would like: a local (Colorado/Denver) place with great stouts. I love sours, but I need a little balance. I know it's sour, but is Amalgam going to do a membership?

 

[SpentBrain]

2018:

Crooked Stave: lifetime member. I know they got a lot of flack from how they handled the "lifetime members" and the program. heck, even their staff. But I rejoined this year because there are a couple I do really enjoy and wanted to start getting a few bigger format bottles (1.5L magnums). Most of this years releases have been available in the large format. Membership price not too bad. I Got 2 member 750ml bottles. And if you RSVP for pickups, you get a pour at the taproom. No need for proxies to be members so anybody can grab it. And if a proxy grabs it, they can get the pour too. Doesn't have to be the member. This is a nice perk for non-member friends to pick up for me. Communication is good and easy to use the site to purchase bottles. Moderate pricing on bottles.

Casey: been a member since the beginning. Originally split the first couple years. Solo now. I don't max out. Very selective in what I get now since it can burn a hole in the wallet quickly. Honestly, I prefer his non-fruited stuff. A stone fruit varietal here and there, but mostly just non-fruited and dry hopped stuff. And fortunately, it's usually the cheapest offerings. You do have to have another member pick up though but thankfully the members are very accommodating. Communication is impeccable and pick ups are easy. It's usually just a matter of getting there or finding a member proxy. Fruited beers expensive (Cut, CFP), non-fruited and FS are moderate.

Ale Apothecary: this is my 3rd year. really dig the uniqueness of these beers. Hit or miss with what I liked the past couple years though. There were some quality issues but it sounds Paul addressed them and is really stoked about his new room and setup. He thinks it'll be top notch moving forward. Considering the price I see for bottles when I can find them (very pricey), the membership price is very reasonable when you look at what you get! Pickup is only available starting in November so there's no real pickups before then. And you get until early the following year to pick it up. This year they allowed purchase of certain bottles online but you had to pickup within 30 days. (These were outside the 12 member bottles that are available in November). The pickup date in Nov and member bottle share is really a great frigging time!!

De Garde: first year Keeper. I didn't split. I didn't get to take advantage of the member tour. I didn't get a single "wish" beer. I couldn't afford to get any of those Zalto glasses (rather just didn't want to fork over a ton of money for a drinking vessel that i had to entrust somebody to pack/ship). I do like their beer though and since I don't trade that often, it was a nice way to get access. Finding proxies easy. Communication was good and online purchasing was easy. Pricing of spontaneous beer is very reasonable on the wallet. All in all, it was okay for me. I didn't go in with any assumptions or expectations other than what was disclosed at the very beginning to all Keepers. Pretty clear to me. No real complaints except a wish beer would've been nice.

Primitive (Longmont, CO): new membership program started this year. split with a friend. They do "lambics in a bag" type deal. Can get 1.5L in a convenient easy way to store/stack without all the glass bottles. Lighter. Space saving. Ahhhh. Everything 100% spontaneous which is something I really enjoy and want to taste some CO terroir. 12 boxes (=18 750ml bottles) for the membership is pretty awesome. Extra boxes available and a very decent price! I think the beers have been decent enough and am really curious to see how they progress. Very nice folk. Easy pickups.

2019:
Dropping: CS since I've obtained what I really want and don't need tons more right now (unless they do some 100% spontaneous coolship releases), dG
Keeping: Casey and sticking to just a few bottles here and there, Ale Apothecary, Primitive
Passed: Black Project (seems like a cluster from what I've read/heard. Also super pricey for so-so quality beer. I quit doing the lotteries. Know a few members who didn't renew)
Would like: a local (Colorado/Denver) place with great stouts. I love sours, but I need a little balance. I know it's sour, but is Amalgam going to do a membership?

Amalgam already offered up their membership, went to PK members first. I assume it didn’t go to general public, most people likely renewed. I passed, thought all of the PK member beers were overrated (all but Palisade Reserve) and has more infected/gusher beers than ones that were drinkable.

Westbound and Down also offered up their membership (Phil is running that barrel program too).

 

[facesnorth1]

Casey: been a member since the beginning. Originally split the first couple years. Solo now. I don't max out. Very selective in what I get now since it can burn a hole in the wallet quickly. Honestly, I prefer his non-fruited stuff. A stone fruit varietal here and there, but mostly just non-fruited and dry hopped stuff. And fortunately, it's usually the cheapest offerings. You do have to have another member pick up though but thankfully the members are very accommodating. Communication is impeccable and pick ups are easy. It's usually just a matter of getting there or finding a member proxy. Fruited beers expensive (Cut, CFP), non-fruited and FS are moderate.

Ale Apothecary: this is my 3rd year. really dig the uniqueness of these beers. Hit or miss with what I liked the past couple years though. There were some quality issues but it sounds Paul addressed them and is really stoked about his new room and setup. He thinks it'll be top notch moving forward. Considering the price I see for bottles when I can find them (very pricey), the membership price is very reasonable when you look at what you get! Pickup is only available starting in November so there's no real pickups before then. And you get until early the following year to pick it up. This year they allowed purchase of certain bottles online but you had to pickup within 30 days. (These were outside the 12 member bottles that are available in November). The pickup date in Nov and member bottle share is really a great frigging time!!

De Garde: first year Keeper. I didn't split. I didn't get to take advantage of the member tour. I didn't get a single "wish" beer. I couldn't afford to get any of those Zalto glasses (rather just didn't want to fork over a ton of money for a drinking vessel that i had to entrust somebody to pack/ship). I do like their beer though and since I don't trade that often, it was a nice way to get access. Finding proxies easy. Communication was good and online purchasing was easy. Pricing of spontaneous beer is very reasonable on the wallet. All in all, it was okay for me. I didn't go in with any assumptions or expectations other than what was disclosed at the very beginning to all Keepers. Pretty clear to me. No real complaints except a wish beer would've been nice.

Feel almost exactly the same about my experiences with these 3 breweries (Casey, AA, dG), with exception that I didn't wish for any beers with dG.

But the non-fruited, and particularly the dry hopped are my favorite Caseys, also very selective purchasing as I have way too many bottles. AA is great, even though they can be hit or miss, I'm usually still excited about their stuff. And felt the same about dG, just great having access as I enjoy their beers and don't really trade.