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You’ve likely seen or heard of plenty of different clubs for beer lovers, but if you’re looking exclusively for IPAs, the pickings can be rather slim. There’s a reason for that.
Because IPAs have such a brief window of freshness, clubs are obligated to keep a much closer eye on stock than they would with other beer styles, and members simply need to consume their orders in a timely manner. With the latter in mind, if you love hoppy brews and are game to go through your cans or bottles relatively quickly, an IPA of the month club might be perfect for you. Here, we explore a select few of the best on the market.
7 The Best IPA Beer Clubs of 2023
- Best All-Around: Craft Beer Kings
- Best Value: Half Time
- Best for Customization: The Hop-Heads Beer Club
- Best for Variety: The Original Craft Beer Club
- Best for Local IPAs: Tavour
- Best for Rare IPAs: Beer Drop
- Best for Hazy IPAs: Craft Shack
- Best for New England IPAs: Beer Gift Gods
Best All-Around : Craft Beer Kings
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Craft Beer Kings
- Starting Price: $50 per month
- Free Shipping: Yes
- Products per Delivery: 6 or 12
With nine different beer subscriptions, four of which are dedicated to IPAs, Craft Beer Kings truly lives up to its name.
Multiple subscriptions specifically for IPAs
Unique beers hand-selected by CBK's team of experts
Each box is a surprise
Shipping costs extra
Craft Beer Kings, a Los Angeles-based retailer, and beer club is perhaps the most well-rounded in the game. The online shop’s selection is impressive—you can peruse a boatload of different beers, including Hazy IPAs, Sours, Dark Beer, and more—and the variety doesn’t end there.
On the subscription front, Craft Beer Kings offers nine different themed boxes that cater to every kind of craft beer enthusiast out there, and you’ll find IPAs in several of them. Whether you opt for the general IPA club or Hazy IPAs, or a combination box (choose from the IPAs and Sours or Stouts and IPAs monthly subscription plan), you know you’ll be getting a fresh and fun assortment of 16-ounce cans each month based on your tastes. Some of these offer a choice of six- or 12-can boxes, and others only offer a six-can option. Six-can shipments are roughly $50 (a little more than $8 per can for the latter) and 12-can boxes are around $95 (approximately $8 per can). Craft Beer Kings ships to the lower 48 states.
Best Value : Half Time
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Half Time IPA Hop Head Beer Club
- Starting Price: $80 per month
- Free Shipping: Yes
- Products per Delivery: 12
With a dozen beers in each shipment, Half Time's IPA of the Month Club delivers on both variety and value.
Six breweries featured in each shipment
Free shipping
First shipment includes a "welcome gift"
Beers are chosen for you
Great beers and reasonable prices always make for a satisfying combination. With Half Time’s IPA of the Month Club, you can look forward to a monthly delivery of 12, 12-ounce cans of craft ales from six different breweries at roughly $80 per box, shipping included. This club makes its way around the map with selections from England, Asia, Belgium, and the United States. As far as the beer selections go, Half Time does its best to strike a balance between rare beers, unique styles, new releases, as well as breweries big and small.
Choose from a three-, six-, or 12-month IPA club plan; or, if you don’t want to commit right away, you can always shop Half Time’s IPA or general selection on your own via the website’s Domestic or Imported craft beer tabs. Gluten-free options are also available.
Best for Customization : The Hop-Heads Beer Club
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The Hop-Heads Beer Club
Use promo code LIQUOR10 to receive $10 off any order of 4 shipments or more.
- Starting Price: $32.95 per month
- Free Shipping: No
- Products per Delivery: 2, 4, 6, or 12
With five different subscriptions for the craft beer-obsessed, The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club offers something for just about everyone, including IPA die-hards.
Five different craft beer clubs
Can choose when you pay and receive your beer
All subscriptions are giftable
Shipping costs an extra $15
The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club's top-rated Hop-Heads Club focuses on the breadth of the IPA category and the hoppy beer landscape as a whole. In addition to IPAs, subscribers will receive double and session IPAs along with IPLs (and imperial and session IPLs), hoppy red and pale ales, and more.
What sets this club apart is how it chooses its selection. The company’s beer tasting panel has over a century of experience in the industry (collectively) and they taste everything themselves, rating over 500 different brews annually, only 20% of which end up in club members’ deliveries. These guys also have the added benefit of strong brewer and importer relationships, and through that, they’re able to offer an abundance of exclusive club beers that nonmembers won’t be able to access.
Seasonality is a big factor in club selections. When it comes to tailoring the logistics of your club experience, Beer of the Month Club’s various themed subscriptions each offer plenty of shipment flexibility, which is something you won’t see with a lot of other beer clubs. Choose the number of boxes you or the recipient will be receiving (the options range from two to 12 bundles, or you can select an ongoing membership). Then, select when you would like the membership to begin. From there, you can decide how often you’d like the shipments to be sent out (monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly) and whether you’d prefer to be billed upfront or by shipment. Bonus: Order three shipments or more, and you’ll receive a pro bottle opener at no cost.
Best for Variety : The Original Craft Beer Club
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The Original Craft Beer Club
- Starting Price: $47.95 per month
- Free Shipping: Yes
- Products per Delivery: 12 or 24
Each of the Original Craft Beer Club’s shipments highlights four different styles of beer, guaranteeing a great variety in every order.
Delivers up to 24 bottles per month
Free shipping
Gifting options available
Cannot customize shipments
Beers not available à la carte
By highlighting four different beer styles from two different breweries from separate parts of the United States each month, The Original Craft Beer Club does a stellar job of incorporating a perfect variety in every shipment. There are different styles and substyles (like West Coast vs. New England IPAs, for example) emerging across the country all the time, so with this beer of the month club, you can stay ahead of the curve in terms of the leading tastemaker craft breweries.
While The Original Craft Beer Club does a terrific job of sourcing the best variety of products from across the country, you do not have the option to customize your orders. Beers are also not available à la carte, so if you find a beer you particularly like in your shipment, you may have to find somewhere else to buy it.
Best for Local IPAs : Tavour
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Tavour
- Starting Price: $44 per month
- Free Shipping: Yes
- Products per Delivery: 6 or 12
Tavour sources some of the best local craft breweries and IPAs that you won’t find anywhere else.
Over 650 breweries featured
Shipping included
Delivers to almost every state
Limit on the amount of beer you can buy
Cannot order on Tavour’s website—you must download the app
The selection at your local liquor store can get a bit boring with the same mix of massive brands and a couple of local finds. Luckily, Tavour is here to mitigate that issue. This app-based beer subscription service specializes in snuffing out and sourcing the best local finds from all over the U.S., delivering them right to your door with no shipping fees attached.
Currently, Tavour features over 650 breweries, and its selection continues to evolve. Visit the Tavour website to download the company’s convenient app, which is available for both iPhone and Android.
Best for Rare IPAs : Beer Drop
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Beer Drop
- Starting Price: $33 per month
- Free Shipping: No
- Products per Delivery: 6, 8 or 10
Beer Drop sources rare and sought-after IPAs and other craft beers, shipping them to your door at accessible price points.
Plans start at just $4.50 per beer
You choose the styles of beer you want
Beers are available à la carte on Beer Drop’s online store
Shipping not included
Site does not disclose delivery area
One of the most intriguing things about Beer Drop is its element of surprise. With each shipment, the company’s team of beer buffs will select an assortment of either six, eight or 10 beers based on the preferences you select at signup. While Beer Drop doesn’t have a subscription specifically for IPAs, you can select “Hoppy Beers” as one of your preferences, which will let Beer Drop know to include things like IPAs, hazy IPAs and pale ales in your monthly shipments. You can also add dark beers, sours, light beers, Belgian beers and more to your list of preferences.
Looking to buy for a friend or family member? Beer Drop allows you to gift up to 12 months of craft beer, all of which are customized to the recipient's preferences.
Best for Hazy IPAs : Craft Shack
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Craftshack
- Starting Price: $137.99 per month
- Free Shipping? No
- Products per Delivery: 10–12
Hazy IPAs are beloved for their fruity flavors and soft texture. If that’s what you’re after, check out Craft Shack’s top-notch hazy IPA selection.
Nearly 1,000 different products in the online store
Gifting options available
Plenty of liquors and other beverages for sale too
A bit pricier than other subscriptions
Shipping not included
Hazy IPAs are termed “hazy” because they are unfiltered and include remnants of the hops, fruits and other ingredients in the brewing process that most other beers filter out. The result is a flavorful and fruity beer with a distinctive “haze,” so to speak, and if you’ve been paying attention to beer lists for the past 10 years, you might have noticed how popular they’ve become.
If you’re one of the many converts to this fruity and refreshing beer, Craft Shack has an excellent subscription box filled with nothing but hazy IPAs. Additionally, the company’s website holds an extensive collection of beers, including over 140 hazy IPAs, along with seltzers, liquors and more that you can purchase à la carte.
Best for New England IPAs : Beer Gift Gods
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Beer Gift Gods
- Starting Price: $40 per shipment
- Free Shipping: No
- Products Per Delivery: 4, 8 or 12
Curious to see what the hype over New England IPAs is about? Pay Beer Gift Gods a visit and find out.
All subscriptions focus specifically on IPAs
Multiple gifting options available for special occasions
Shipping not included
Fans of New England IPAs swear by their balanced taste, especially compared to West Coast IPAs, which tend to go for over-the-top flavor profiles with tons of hops and fruits. If a more subdued IPA flavor is more your speed, check out Beer Gifts Gods’ New England’s Best IPA Beer Subscription. Each delivery comes with either four, eight or 12 cans of beer, with previous selections including fan favorites such as Tree House, Trillium, and Bissell Brothers.
Got an IPA fan in your life with a special occasion coming up? Check out the “everyday beer gifts” section of the Beer Gift Gods website, which boasts over a dozen gift boxes dedicated to IPAs. Each one contains two beers, a pint glass and “lots of cool BGG swag,” including stickers and coasters.
Compare the Best IPA Beer Clubs
Company | Starting Price | Free Shipping? | Products per Delivery | Delivery Area | Gift Options? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Craft Beer Kings
Best All-Around |
$50 per month | Yes | 6 or 12 | 48 states | Yes |
Half Time Beverage
Best Value |
$80 per month | Yes | 12 | 36 states (including Puerto Rico) | Yes |
The Hop-Heads Beer Club
Best for Customization |
$35.95 per month | No | 2, 4, 6 or 12 | 43 states | Yes |
The Original Craft Beer Club
Best for Variety |
$47.95 per month | Yes | 12 or 24 | 44 states | Yes |
Tavour
Best for Local IPAs |
$44 per month | Yes | 6 or 12 | 47 states | Yes |
Beer Drop
Best for Rare IPAs |
$33 per month | No | 6, 8 or 10 | Not specified | Yes |
Craft Shack
Best for Hazy IPAs |
$137.99 per month | No | 10–12 | 48 states | Yes |
Beer Gift Gods
Best for New England IPAs |
$40 per month | No | 4, 8 or 12 | Not specified | Yes |
Frequently Asked Questions
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What Is IPA Beer?
IPA stands for India Pale Ale—but contrary to the name, IPAs do not come from India. Rather, this style of beer was actually invented in Great Britain. IPAs can trace their origins back to the era of British colonial rule in India in the early 1800s. Since India’s hot and humid climate is not suitable for brewing, British sailors demanded a beer that could be preserved long enough to survive the lengthy trip from Great Britain to India. The solution was adding more hops to typical pale ale recipes, which acted as a preservative for the beer. Hence, the India Pale Ale was born.
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What Is an IPA Beer Club?
An IPA beer club is like any other beer subscription, just focused on IPAs, either exclusively or as a prominent component of a mixed selection. Some of these clubs charge upfront, and some bill monthly, or they might offer a choice between the two. There are beer subscriptions that include shipping in their pricing and some that charge for shipping separately, so that’s something to keep in mind. If you’ve never tried an IPA (short for India Pale Ale), here are a few things you should know:
- IPAs are a subcategory of the pale ale category and are hoppy by definition.
- There are several different styles of IPAs: New England IPAs (also known as Hazy IPAs), Session IPAs, Belgian IPAs, English-Style IPAs, and Imperial (or Double) IPAs, to name a few. To determine which style you prefer, consider opting for an IPA monthly beer club with a good variety of IPAs and narrowing it down as you go.
- More often than not, you can send this kind of club as a gift, which is great to keep in mind for holidays, birthdays, and the like.
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What Is Included in an IPA Beer Club?
The specifics of what is included in your box depends entirely on which club you’ve joined, but you can generally expect anywhere from three to 12 cans or bottles of expertly selected beer, usually a mix (unless you’re subscribing to one specific beer). Often, the beers will be accompanied by detailed information about the beer and the stories behind them, and some also include additional items here and there.
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How Much Does an IPA Beer Club Cost?
The IPA beer clubs we’ve featured vary in cost based on subscription but start around $60 per box and go up from there. Pricing is influenced by frequency, the number of cans or bottles in your shipment(s), and whether or not shipping is included. Many of these clubs offer a discount for longer subscriptions.
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What Is IBU in Beer?
IBU can stand for either “International Bitterness Unit” or “International Bittering Unit.” As the name suggests, it is a unit of measurement used to gauge the bitterness of beer, which is usually determined by the acidic byproducts from the hops used in brewing. In technical terms, IBU measures the parts per million of isohumulone from hops.
Methodology
We consider it perpetually important to make sure there’s something for everyone—in this case, that translated to ensuring style variety, international and domestic options, and a healthy price range, to name a few.
The IPA category isn’t as limited as some might think—there’s bitter and then there’s not-so-bitter; high alcohol and less alcohol; and hoppy, and the hop-and-malt combo that is a double or imperial IPA. And, of course, the beer type can take us all over the flavor and mouthfeel spectrums from bitter-forward to fruit-laden and from creamy to sharp and zingy.
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