The company ships a collection of local craft beers from a different country in Europe once a month (Estonia this time around) to its paying subscribers throughout the UK.
Co-founder Fraser Doherty spoke to DI about the history of the company and the successes and issues facing Beer52.
“My business partner James Brown came up with the idea when he was driving his motorcycle through Europe visiting different breweries,” said Doherty.
“When James went to Belgium he was amazed by the amount of independent breweries there were which aren’t known in the UK.”
Doherty continued to say that the main aim of the company is to educate people on craft beers and make the lesser-known brands more accessible.
Doherty added: “I think the biggest challenge we face is the logistics of sending a variety of foreign beers in a single package to a vast array of customers around the UK on time.
“We see ourselves as a monthly beer festival.”
Doherty made the point that no single beer will ever be used twice and that along with the package of different products, each subscriber receives a copy of Ferment magazine – which is produced in-house.
Beer52 claims to be the word’s largest craft beer club and Doherty believes there is room for the UK craft beer hype to continue for at least another decade, in line with the US.
