How to Start Your Own Beer Group
Think about your experience with gym memberships. I’m sure all of us have been members of a gym that we go to by ourselves, but we always seem a little more motivated when we have a gym partner that we go with. This is because we have someone who can hold us accountable and someone who we can enjoy the experience with together. After all, no one likes going to the gym and working out alone. A beer of the month club is no different.
A great way to get the most out of any beer of the month club is to get a group of your friends, family, or coworkers together who enjoy trying new beers to join the same group. After all, drinking really is a social activity, so joining beer clubs are the most fun and most educational when you are with your friends.
What you will need to do is find some friends, anywhere between 4 and 7 friends (you can do more, but then it starts to get too big to have over at people’s houses), and approach them about joining a beer club. Obviously they would have to enjoy beer to want to join the club. Once you have your group all picked out and they have all signed up for the club, the fun really starts to begin.
Each month when you get your new shipment of beer, schedule a dinner night at one of the member’s houses. It can be fancy or it can be an informal cookout, either way, each person brings over their selection of beer for the month and eats, drinks, and fellowships with the other members in the group. This is a great way to hang out with your friends while testing out new beers and learning about them. Another neat thing you can do is have half of the group select one beer club and the other half select a different club. This then doubles your monthly beer selection and gives you an even wider range of beers to try with your friends. You can try their selection, they can try your selection, and you both are still only paying the price for one membership. I have formed some lifelong friendships from the different beer groups that I have started in the past and I’m sure the same will happen to you once you start your own.
Something else to keep in mind when selecting your group of friends for a beer group, it’s important to make sure everyone in the club is on the same level when it comes to their knowledge or beers. While it can be good to have one or maybe two people more knowledgeable than you in your crew who can educate you and show you new things, you don’t want a bunch of know-it-alls in your group, so usually you want to find people who know just about the same as you do about different beer types.
Hopefully you give this a try and it works out well for you. I can tell you from all of the time that I formed a beer group with my friends, it was always a great time and everyone loved it. I hope to get another one set up soon.