Yankee Brew News Archive

Freshness is Foremost for The Brewer's Gourmet

Originally Published: 07/95

By: Bob DiCesare

If quality over quantity matters most when considering a beer-of-the-month club, then local beer connoisseurs may want to consider trying The Brewer's Gourmet. This Holliston, Massachusetts company has a budding influence in New England with 1,200 members, and it promises to deliver with the freshest quality microbrew quickly to your door.

Since becoming fully licensed last September, The Brewer's Gourmet offers two different six-packs per month and its company newsletter entitled "The Midnight Ride," for $15.95 a month, plus $4 shipping and handling. Some of its most recent distributions have included: Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter of Middlebury, Vermont, Frederick (Maryland) Brewing Company's Golden Ale, New York Harbor Dark Ale, Shanghai Pale Ale, Red Feather Pale Ale and Katahdin (Maine) Red Ale. The only local beer that has been delivered was Mill City Oatmeal Stout from the Lowell Brewing Company, which The Brewer's Gourmet presented as an exclusive, first-batch-in-the-market offering.

"We're trying to do something different," said Glen Feldman, treasurer of The Brewer's Gourmet. "For the price, you get a fresh delivery and an informative newsletter about brewers' news, tastings, dinners and events. We're trying to get people to realize that freshness counts. We make it economical to buy from us because we buy direct from the brewery. We send out two different six-packs from two different breweries, and the beer is delivered no more than two weeks after it was made."

It's been a long road for Feldman and company president Matt Grande. After years of tangling with state and local government red tape to launch the business, Feldman and Grande finally received full licensing and set up shop last September. The majority of the company's 1,200 members are New Englanders, but The Brewer's Gourmet has a couple of members from as far away as Ohio and Illinois. Feldman is also expecting a list of new members as a result of Father's Day gift subscriptions.

"We can ship anywhere in the United States except Maryland and Texas," said Feldman. "Our membership is large enough to warrant shipping out West, but it's not really economically feasible. We're mostly concentrating on New England. People don't want to pay $27 for a 12-pack in California." It's illegal to ship alcohol by UPS in Massachusetts, so Feldman's temperature-controlled warehouse contains 13 vehicles ready to deliver its new beers to members. "The product stays fresh and it's delivered fresh," said Feldman. "It's not sitting in a truck in 80-degree weather for days on end."

The Brewer's Gourmet monitors other beer clubs and its products, but Feldman believes most competitors ship the cheapest product for the most amount of money. He is wary of nationally-known Beers Across America, but BAA is currently barred from Massachusetts for five months because of licensing problems. "Competitors are fighting price, but we're pushing quality," said Feldman. "We say it's not the same product if it's two months old rather than two weeks old. It's just that getting that word out is tough. We don't spend $11 million in advertising like Sam Adams."

For more information call The Brewer's Gourmet toll-free at 1-800-591-2739, or write to 42 Pope Road., P.O. Box 6611, Holliston, Massachusetts, 01746.

Bob DiCesare will wrestle you for Samuel Adams Double Bock.