Beer52 craft beer club: review and the chance to WIN BEER!

Here at Bristol Bites, we love food and drink based subscription services. There are now all sorts available, from those containing snack products to those featuring all of the ingredients needed from entire meals, and those that feature all sorts of new products to try out.

But did you know that such a subscription service also exists for craft beer? Beer52 was founded by James Brown in 2013, and was the direct result of a motorcycle-based “craft beer road trip” that he took around Europe. During the course of his trip, he discovered that there are in excess of 12,000 microbreweries around the globe, producing a wealth of amazing beers in a variety of styles.

Wanting to share his discoveries with a wider audience, he quickly put together a team of craft beer experts, tasked with sourcing the very best exclusive and small batch beers from tiny, experimental breweries around the world. Every month, they pick eight such beers, sending them out to subscribers who get to discover interesting beers that they won’t find in the supermarkets. In addition, each subscriber is sent a copy of Ferment – a monthly magazine produced by Beer52, which makes an interesting read for craft beer lovers.

When the box arrived, the first thing that struck me was the packaging – I loved the fact that they feature beer and food pairing suggestions on the outside of the box…

At the top of the box, there were actually two magazines – a copy of Ferment, and a copy of Craft Beer Rising…

And then we got to the good stuff. Eight very different bottles of beer – plus a packet of Popchips and a small bar of chocolate to accompany them…

And what a selection it was. We had the Dutch Kaapse Karel – a refreshing American Pale Ale – alongside the French Meduz Blanche wheat and barley beer, which was more citrusy than the likes of Hoegaarden and with plenty of character. We had DNA: a unique IPA that combines both East Coast US and East Anglian brewing styles in a collaboration between Dogfish Head and the Wells & Young Brewery in Bedford. The Belgian Curtius blond beer in its champagne-style bottle has yet to be drunk, but the malty, hoppy and treacly 7.5% Brauerei Göller Hoppeditz went down a treat.

A bottle of the Swedish Oppigårds Indian Tribute was another bitter and hoppy IPA, and we loved the packaging of the Beercelona from the Barcelona Beer Company, an American Pale Ale that was one of the weaker bottles at 5%. Last but not least, the Cerveza Mica de la Sierra: a fruity and refreshing pale ale from the Iberian Peninsula which is surprisingly sweet.

The selection of beers that the Beer52 box contains changes from month to month, but the price always stays the same: 8 bottles for £24 per month, which seems pretty reasonable. And that’s for a rolling monthly contract – sign up for a quarterly, six monthly or yearly subscription, and the price can drop to as low as £21 per month.

What’s even better, though, is that I have a discount code to share with you all, meaning that if you type in the code Emily10 when you register, you’ll get a £10 discount on your order. The perfect idea for a Christmas present, maybe…?

Alternatively…I’m giving one lucky reader the chance to win a one month Beer52 box so they can try out the service themselves. To enter, simply complete as many or as few actions as you like via the Gleam widget below. The competition closes at 11.59pm on November 22nd – good luck!

Bristol Bites 1 month Beer52 subscription giveaway