A handful of breweries only sell their beers through membership. Other breweries sell their beer through conventional channels, but reserve their best beers for their members. These brewery memberships are often expensive and exclusive, so breweries put their best beer forward for their loyal members.
For those who want the best, membership has its privileges.
Here are eight brewery memberships worth buying.
Horus Aged Ales Sky God And Crowned Eagle
The beers of Horus Aged Ales are only available by membership, with no sales through conventional channels.
Courtesy of Horus Aged Ales
Despite—or perhaps because of—having one of the best reputations among those in the know, the only way to buy beer from Horus Aged Ales is to have one of their two memberships. The Horus Sky God membership provides members with the brewery’s legendary barrel-aged stouts and barleywines, while the Horus Crowned Eagle membership focuses on experimental beers. Membership in the clubs costs $600 and $400, respectively.
Membership in these exclusive clubs is limited to 600 people and is highly sought. For this reason, a random draw via Oznr—a craft beverage app—is made each May from a list of people who have expressed interest.
Membership in either club includes 12 bottles of beer and the opportunity to buy more, with the most limited releases being allocated to the more expensive Sky God membership first. All beers must be picked up from the brewery’s warehouse in Oceanside, California.
Firestone Walker Brewmaster’s Collective
Firestone Walker’s Brewmaster’s Collective offers the California brewery’s rarest beers.
Courtesy of Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Firestone Walker Brewing of Paso Robles, California has earned a reputation for category-defying beer for 30 years. But the most leading edge of their beers are reserved for the 1,250 members of their Brewmaster’s Collective.
For $399, members receive four seasonal collections, each of which contain a barrel-aged beer and a four-pack of an exclusive beer from the Firestone Walker Propagator. Membership also includes discounts on merchandise, VIP brewery tours and lottery access to the prestigious and always-sold-out Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest.
The Firestone Walker Brewmaster’s Collective is open to residents of California, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Members have the option for delivery or pickup at Firestone Walker’s locations in Paso Robles, Buellton or Venice, all in California
Sierra Nevada Friends of the Family
Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Friends of the Family membership is the only way to get the brewery’s most exclusive beers.
Courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Members of Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Friends of the Family club get 36 beers, three each of 12 unique brews. The beers come over the course of a year, in six drops available for pick up at either of the brewery’s locations in Chico, California or Mills River, North Carolina. Membership costs $499 with a $249 “Family Gatherings Upgrade” available.
Basic membership includes, in addition to the beers, discounts at the brewery’s pubs and restaurants, discounts at the gift shop, early access to event tickets as well as other perks. The Family Gatherings Upgrade includes invitations to intimate experiences and unique brewery experiences.
Fun Fact: Sierra Nevada’s rarest commercial release, Celly Drippins, started its life as a Friends of the Family release, when the membership was called the Alpha Hop Society.
The Bruery Societies
The only way to get The Bruery’s rarest beers is to join one of the Calinfornia brewery’s societies.
Courtesy of The Bruery
The Bruery is legendary. Since its founding in 2008, the Placentia, California brewery has always made imaginative beers and has always enjoyed a unique relationship with its fans. And for the most devout of those fans, the Bruery offers three memberships.
The Bruery’s Preservation Society is their entry-level membership. For only $80 every quarter, members get six beers valued at $110, a mix of new releases and beers from the brewery’s archives—many of the Bruery’s beers can be aged.
The Bruery’s Reserve Society Select delivers archival favorites. For $325, members get one shipment of beers valued at $500.
The Bruery’s most prestigious membership is their Reserve Society. Like the Reserve Society Select, members pay $325 for beers valued at $500. But while Reserve Society Select members get archival beers, Reserve Society members get 22 all-new barrel-aged and experimental beers. There are also special events for Reserve Society members. Membership in the Reserve Society is limited to 2,000 people.
Members of all three societies enjoy discounts on merchandise and in the Bruery taproom, and access to other rare, members-only beers. Members can pick up their beers at the Bruery’s tasting room, of have the beer shipped to any state other than Alaska, Hawaii, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah.
The Establishment Extended Play Beer Club
Beers from The Establishment Extended Play Beer Club celebrate the brewery’s founders’ homebrewing background.
Courtesy of The Establishment Brewing
One of Canada’s most award-winning breweries is The Establishment Brewing Company, based in Calgary, Alberta. But they save their best beers for members of their Extended Play Beer Club.
The founders of The Establishment have a homebrewing background and love to tinker and play with beer. The Extended Play Beer Club celebrates that homebrewing history with beers that cannot be produced on a commercial scale.
Membership costs CAD$245 and includes four boxes of beer, each containing two bottles of an exclusive brew. The boxes can be picked up from the brewery in Calgary, Alberta or can be shipped for an additional fee.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dontse/2025/11/08/8-brewery-memberships-with-the-most-exclusive-beers/
