International Beer of the Month Club

A personalized beer club subscription offering handpicked beers of the world delivered right to your door. International and domestic variety option for those who do not want to give up the wonders of US micro-brews.

This post contains affiliate links which help support our blog at no cost to you. All opinions are our own, based on our personal experience & taste for beer styles.

When it comes to beer box subscriptions featuring international micro brews there aren’t that many options, and of those that are available, most are priced at prohibitively expensive levels.

Fortunately you can count on two solid choices, both expertly ran by the veterans at MonthlyClubs.com.

The first one is represented by the two slightly different international beer clubs reviewed below.
The second one, The Rare Beer Club, is extensively reviewed here.

How it Works

A monthly subscription for an international beer box becomes active instantly, as soon as the secure online transaction to purchase it is completed. The purchaser sets the number of shipments, their destination address and their frequency (you can buy a 3-month shipment (or less or more), a shipment plan for every other month, billed at the time of shipment etc.)
A sturdy, carefully packaged box containing twelve 12 oz beers is sent to the receiver’s address along with a proprietary news letter with intelligently written information on the featured microbreweries and beer styles included.
A reorder option is available for the featured beers in the event that the receiver desires to purchase more of a specific style outside of the regular shipment schedule

Two Available Beers of the World Plans

Typical beer line up for the US & International Beer Club.

A typical line up for the US & International Variety Beer Club includes 3 beers each from 4 different breweries, 2 based outside the US and 2 domestic.

The two plans to choose from in terms of the actual beer shipped are described below. The main difference between them is whether they feature only international selections or a combo of international and domestic micro-brews.

US & International Variety Beer Club

This monthly subscription includes 3 beers each from 4 distinct styles, sourced from 4 different breweries. Two are from countries with strong brewing traditions and established, world famous beer styles and the other two are from hand-picked US based micro-breweries who specialize in brewing specific international styles such as English Brown Ale, etc.

International Beer Club

This option includes 6 beers each from the 2 styles offered by the same international breweries from the option above. It is essentially a six-pack from each of two micro-brewers based outside the US. Typically these breweries are based in countries with rich brewing history and traditions such as Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, the UK etc.

TIP: A combination plan can be custom built, featuring alternating cases from each plan or even including the The Rare Beer Club or one of the other clubs available. This option is known as the Design Your Own Club.

How the Beers are Picked

To ensure consistently high quality the extensive process for beer selection used by the clubs’ team relies on several essential factors:

Each beer is tasted and approved by a panel of experienced brew masters.
Only a fifth of the beers tasted and rated on appearance, aroma, mouthfeel, finish and overall character and flavor make the cut.
The panel members actively attend various beer festivals, judge competitions and travel to meet with new breweries and importer to identify potential candidate beers for inclusion in the clubs.
Hard to find or limited release beers are often secured for inclusion in the clubs’ assortment based on decades of relationships between the club’s team with breweries around the world. Many beers are brewed exclusively for the two clubs and are not available outside them.
Certain seasonal beers are appropriately selected, brewed and sourced and their shipment determined to coincide with the time of the year the styles are typical for. For example Maibocks, Doppelbocks, Marzens, spiced winter warmers, refreshing summer Hefeweizens.

Past International Beers Shipped

To get a better sense of the type of brews from around the world you can expect to receive under the framework of each of the monthly clubs discussed take a look at the sample list below.

TRE FONTANE, Trappist Tripel Ale from Abbazia delle Tre Fontane in Rome, Italy
STIEGL, Austrian Gold Lager from Stieglbrauerei in Salzburg, Austria
MONK’S CAFÉ, Flanders Oud Bruin from Brouwerij van Steenberge in Belgium
MAHOU, Italian Session IPA from Mahou San Miguel Brewery in Madrid, Spain
WEIZEN, a Czech Hefeweizen from Primátor A.S. Brewery in Náchod, Czech Republic (Eastern Bohemia)

A Great Gift That’s Easy to Give

Besides the indisputable value of tasty, high-quality beers of the world an international beer club membership makes a great gift for a number of additional reasons.

the recurring nature of the gift (typical durations gifted are 3 to 6 months) is appreciated long after the arrival of the first shipment
the beer membership comprises an experience which transcends past simply the physical aspect – it is an the exploration of flavors, the learning of and about new styles and breweries, enjoying beer and food pairings and more.
fast and uncomplicated gift giving – seamless shopping experience – the online transaction also has the option for an elegant e-mail gift announcement or a printable pdf announcement that can be personally presented. Besides that there is no need for wrapping the gift, shipping it, etc. All the details are professionally handled.