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Craft Beer Club Subscription Box Review – February 2016

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseFeb 28, 2016 | 2 comments

Craft-February-2016-Box

Craft Beer Club
4.8 overall rating
5 Ratings | 0 Reviews

The Craft Beer Club sends craft brews from around the country. Each month, they send a selection of different beers and information about the breweries behind them.

Craft-February-2016-Inside

If you sign up for an ongoing subscription (as opposed to a single month), you’ll receive a bottle opener and tasting glasses with your first box. Hop over to my first Craft Beer Club box review for details on these welcome gifts.

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Craft-February-2016-Contents

The Subscription Box: The Craft Beer Club

The Cost: $39 per month for 12 bottles or $74.11 for 24 bottles.

The Products: Craft beers from breweries around the US. Each shipment contains 4 different styles (3 or 6 of each kind, depending on the subscription).

Ships to: US. Shipping is free, except for orders to HI and AK.

Check out all our reviews of The Craft Beer Club and the Drink Subscription Box Directory for more boozy boxes!

Craft-February-2016-Flyers

The Craft Beer Club includes flyers that provide information about the brewing companies and beers featured in the month’s box. This month’s box includes beers from Free State Brewing Company and Erie Brewing Company.

Craft-February-2016-Flyers2

On the reverse, the flyers always include “Food for your Brew” recipes and some fun trivia.

Craft-February-2016-FreeState

AD Astra Ale by Free State Brewing Company

The first brewery featured in this month’s Craft Beer Club box is Kansas’ Free State Brewing Company. AD Astra Ale “is a deep amber-colored ale balancing complex malt flavors with subtle herbal hop additions.” Its name is a reference to the Kansas state motto ad astra per aspera, which means “to the stars through difficulties.” I found it to be easy to drink, but maybe a little unmemorable.

Oatmeal Stout by Free State Brewing Company

Free State’s Oatmeal Stout is “rich with flavors of chocolate, caramel, coffee, and vanilla… [with] a hint of herbal and wood-like characters.” I love dark beers, and this one is remarkably smooth. The flavor is rich, creamy, and complex.

Craft-February-2016-Erie

Bayfront Blonde from Erie Brewing Company (4.2% ABV)

Erie Brewing Company is one of Pennsylvania’s rising star breweries. The first of their beers in this box is Bayfront Blonde, “a light-bodied Blonde Style Ale [that’s] golden in color with bright, citrusy flavors and a pleasant, honey-sweet finish.” Sadly, I was not a fan of this brew. I found the flavor a little funky.

Mad Anthony American Pale Ale by Erie Brewing Company (5.5% ABV)

Mad Anthony, on the other hand, was delicious. It’s an American Pale Ale “boasting the perfect balance of malt and hop flavor.” I’m a big fan of the citrusy, bright flavors!

Verdict: I enjoyed this box from The Craft Beer Club, and I loved both the Mad Anthony American Pale Ale and the Oatmeal Stout. When it comes to value, the cost of each Craft Beer Club box breaks down to just over $3 per beer. While that’s not exactly a steal,  I think the price is fair. I love the convenience of having craft beers sent directly to my door, and it’s so much fun learning about new American craft breweries every month!

Have you tried any of the beers featured in this month’s The Craft Beer Club?

Starting at $54.00
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The Craft Beer Club discovers exceptional craft brews from around the country and delivers them each month direct-to-you or your gift recipient. Every selection is produced by small-production, independent brewers who use only traditional brewing ingredients and time-honored brewing methods.

Lindsey Morse
Lindsey Morse

Lindsey is a professional baker, cold brew coffee addict, and rosé aficionado who loves writing about food and wine. When she’s not sharing her love of subscription boxes with the world, you’ll find her in the podcasting studio, perfecting her cake decorating techniques, or cursing her way through the New York Times daily crossword puzzle. 


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2 comments

Kelly

Are you able to select the kind of beer you like? I’ve been looking at this for my husband but he doesn’t really like IPAs and I’m afraid he would get a ton of them. His preference would be porters or stouts.

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Lindsey

Hi Kelly,

It looks like Craft Beer Club does not have the ability to customize boxes at this time. From the their website: “At this time, we do not have the option to customize the monthly beer shipments. If there is a specific style that you do not like (porter, wheat beer, etc.) we can make notes in the account to not feature those styles for you. However, this does mean that if your monthly shipment does include one of those styles, we will skip you that month, unless you are in a less frequent membership option.”

Hope that helps!

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