Best beer subscription boxes for craft beer lovers

Our drinks expert Brendan Hodrien is a lifestyle writer who specialises in drinks reviews and has tested the best beer subscriptions and deliveries to buy. He has previously written about the best drinks for The Independent, The i and Evening Standard, more often than not waxing lyrical about Islay whiskies.

So whether you're a fan British ales or new world craft beers, we’ve found a service that works for you. From big boxes of Belgian beer to small deliveries of the weird and wonderful, there’s a whole world of beer subscriptions out there – what are you having?

Read on to discover our pick of the best beer subscriptions and deliveries. For more, visit our reviews section and find reviews of beer dispensers, beer making kits, vodka, rum and more..

Best beer subscription boxes at a glance

• Best overall beer subscription: Beer52, from £27 a month
• Best for small batch beers: Brew Republic, from £35 a month
• Best exclusive craft beer subscription: Hop Burns & Black All Killer No Filler, from £49.95 a month
• Best beer subscription for homegrown brews: Best of British Beer – Beer for a Year, £157.50 for a year
• Best for craft beer purists: Brewser, from £29 a month
• Best cider subscription: Crafty Nectar, from £25 a month

Best beer subscription boxes to buy 2023

Beer52

Best overall beer subscription

• Available from Beer52, from £27 a month

Beer52 is one of the biggest names in the beer delivery game at the moment and deservedly so. It does absolutely everything right. Month to month the theme changes, taking subscribers on journeys to Korea and Estonia, California and Ireland.

Beer52 send experts around the world to discover the best beers each country has to offer. You can choose whether to receive 8 or 10 beers a month and can decide whether you want a mixed box (light and dark beers) or just light. Along with your beers you will also receive a magazine and a quirky snack. Delivery options are easy to personalise and adjust as well. We can't fault it.

What to expect in a Beer52 box:

Ireland dominated our trial box: there was the Salted Caramel Pastry Stout from White Hag Brewery in Sligo, a bottle of Irish Stout by Heaney and the award winning Knockmealdown Stout by Eight Degrees. Aside from the dark stuff there was O’Hara’s White Haze IPA and Eight Degrees’ Bohemian Pilsner.

Sign up to Beer52 (from £27 a month)

Brew Republic

Best for small batch beers

• Available from Brew Republic (from £35 a month)

Brew Republic (operated through drinks experts Laithwaites) pride themselves on having their eyes, ears and tongues everywhere in the craft beer world.

They’ve got contacts at the best independent craft breweries in the land and as such their boxes are always full of the highest quality small batch beers you can find.

Subscribers have three cases to choose from, each made up of 12 craft beers. The classics case focuses on traditional styles, the discovery option throws up some more adventurous offerings - tangy sours and the like, whilst the premium box is the cream of the crop, featuring the craftiest of craft breweries at the top of their game.

Your first case comes with a free glass, all the packaging is recyclable and each box features helpful tasting notes. It’s also super-easy to amend your order should you want to skip a month or try something new.

It’s a big thumbs up from us for this flexible, straightforward and tasty subscription.

Sign up to Brew Republic (from £35 a month)

Hop Burns & Black All Killer No Filler

Best exclusive craft beer subscription

• Available from Hop Burns & Black (£49.95)

Hop Burns & Black’s All Killer No Filler box really puts its money where its mouth is. The premise of the subscription service is that the boxes will never be padded out with anything drab or ubiquitous – its all killer, no filler.

Each month you receive 12 beers, the box filled with small batch collaborations, international rarities and beers exclusive to Hop Burns & Black. You are also furnished with reviews, tasting notes and suggested pairings written by expert beer and food writers. Get in there fast, membership is capped in order to ensure they can fulfil their ‘all killer’ promise.

What to expect in the Hop Burns & Black box:

Hop Burns & Black followed through on the no filler promise. There was an elaborate can by Tottenham based Pressure Drop and a Brown Ale by Kernel (suppliers to Yotam Ottolenghi). There was also room given to Polly’s Brew Co from Mold with its well balanced Pines IPA in the box. We were bowled over by the South Coast’s Burning Sky Brewery – its Out of Vogue West Coast Pale is incredibly moreish.

Sign up to Hop Burns & Black subs club (£49.95)

Best of British Beer – Beer for a Year

Best beer subscription for homegrown brews

• Available from Best of British Beer (£157.50)

There’s no prizes for guessing what Best of British Beer is all about. However, it does deserve a prize for its variety, as the company offers an array of different subscriptions – but our choice has to be the Beer for a Year edition.

Over the course of 12 months, subscribers are sent four boxes filled with 12 different 500ml bottles, with the odd 330ml can or bottle in there if it’s something extra special. One of the most inviting aspects of this proposition is that subscribers can pick which dates throughout the year they want their deliveries – want some for an anniversary? Pencil it in. A birthday? Sorted.

What to expect in a Best of British beer box:

This offering does what it says on the side of the box. There were treats from Manchester’s Wildside Beers, a full bodied stout by Shrewbury’s Monty Brewery, a pilsner from Westerham, and a fruity pale from Cornwall based Firebrand Brewing Co.

Sign up to Best of British Beer – Beer for a Year (£157.50)

Brewser

Best for craft beer purists

• Available from Brewser, from £38 a month

One of the nation’s fastest growing beer subscription services, Brewser is making a name for itself fast. The focus here is on deep dives into the very best independent breweries these British Isles have to offer.

Brewser supports more than 120 independent breweries. You simply give your beer preferences (mixed, light or a combination) and a box will be suggested to you. Craft beer enthusiasts will be impressed to know breweries have included celebrated Mancunian brewery Cloudwater and producers of the much beloved Steady Rolling Man, Cheltenham-based DEYA, among other stalwarts and rising stars.

Sure, we’re all here for the beer but there’s a sustainability point to be made for Brewser as well. Beers are sent to subscribers direct from the brewery, meaning there are fewer travel miles involved and no repackaging; something of a unique feature for beer subscription services, so you can feel smug as you sip.

What to expect in a Brewser box

The highest quality independent craft beers in the country. The amount of beers may vary month to month but the value for money does not. This is a no-nonsense subscription for the craft beer purist who doesn’t need snacks, bells, whistles and reading along with their beer. It’s all about trying the very best beers from the nation’s very best breweries – if that’s what you’re after then Brewser is second to none.

Sign up to Brewser, from £29 a month

Crafty Nectar

Best cider subscription

• Available from Crafty Nectar (from £25.99 a box)

Life would be boring if we were all the same. If you are one of those people who would rather kick back and relax with a cider rather than an IPA then there’s no better place than Crafty Nectar to get your fix.

Crafty Nectar have a team of experts who curate their craft cider selections, putting together boxes full of different styles and flavours. Subscribers can choose from a Mini Taster Box of three bottles or a Craft Cider Discovery Box of six bottles.

Forget that nasty experience you had with White Lightning when you were a teenager and enjoy the world of craft cider.

What to expect in a Crafty Nectar box:

Crafty Nectar introduced us to a world of cider we never knew existed, from the delectable SASSY Rosé Cider to their very own rhubarb cider. We also couldn’t get enough of the Laidback Lumberjack Cider by Against the Grain.

Sign up to Crafty Nectar (from £25.99 a box)

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This review was last updated in December 2023. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

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