Beer Drop review for anyone who’s curious:
My first shipment just got delivered. UPS won't deliver without a 21+ adult to accept it, and even though I'm working from home, I missed the first attempt yesterday. Trying not to think of how many extra hours it spent in a hot truck.
Packaging: the beers are stacked vertically, with cardboard dividers between them. No other cushioning. I presume that means this service would never ship bottles, but I don't know for sure.
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Beer selection: The beers all seem to be from legit breweries (all CO-based in this case -- the shipment came with a flyer that says Beer Drop is on board with 80 breweries currently, with more to come). You can choose which styles you want to receive in your shipment when you first sign up (and you can change your preferences each month). This is what I got, along with a handy summary page that gives you styles, and some tasting notes (note that the comments are inconsistently detailed, and that none of them provide any info about the breweries themselves, which makes me think these may be write-ups that the breweries actually provided):
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Quantity: 5 beers, 2 cans of each (only one can of each pictured above). I received 4 x 12oz cans and 6 x 16oz pints.
Price: This may be the killer. Beer Drop offers 3 membership tiers. I opted for the recommended "Beer Drop Plus" plan for $49.99, which came out to about $60 shipped when all was said and done. This tier gives you the option to "upgrade 2 of 5 to special release or taproom only offerings." So this is where you get the option to pick up some things you wouldn't find on your liquor store's shelves (although that's a fringe benefit for me already, since I wouldn't find any of these distributed in Indiana anyway). I didn't upgrade anything, but I did see one offer to add on a crowler (32oz) of a special release IPA for the low, low price of just $18. I'm not sure if that offer was to upgrade one of my 5 releases, or to add it on. Neither is a great deal, but the former would have been highway robbery. Either way, I passed on it. The lowest tier of membership ($39.99) a month doesn't allow you to upgrade any of your 5 choices, and the highest tier ($64.99) allows you to upgrade all 5.
As it is, where the net cost comes out to about 6 bucks a can, it's a bit steep, but you're obviously paying the premium for home delivery and for beers you normally wouldn't have access to. If they were sending you things that are available where you live, this service clearly wouldn't be worth it. If the "upgrade" prices are in line with the $18 for 32oz cost that I saw, I don't see myself ever taking advantage of that option unless something truly spectacular comes along. More likely that I'll downgrade to the lowest tier for another month or two. $50 shipped for 10 beers isn't a huge price difference, but feels a bit more palatable to me at $5 per can than $6. They're both a little bit expensive for cans, but I can always pour it into a glass and imagine I'm posted up at the bar in a good brewpub. For as long as COVID has life turned upside down, it's a not-too-extravagant substitute for that experience.
Ultimately, needing to be sure that I'm available to accept the shipment may be the thing that kills my interest fastest. I'm working from home for the foreseeable future, but it's just another thing to keep track of and make sure I don't miss. It's fun to get some beers I wouldn't come across in the midwest, but none of these are exactly buried treasures, either. If I were to get a few months of this as a gift, I wouldn't complain, but I don't see myself keeping up with it long term.