Members-only beer clubs have long been a valuable tool for craft breweries, but perhaps never so much as during the pandemic. Clubs allow breweries to obtain money up front for the promise of future rewards. Having funds on-hand to weather the COVID-19 era was useful for some local breweries, but for the individuals managing these clubs, it’s about more than revenue-generation. In almost every case, they have run said clubs for a long time—sometimes since their inception—and share a connection with members in that they tend to be beer collectors, so their focus is on making their brewery’s club special. Typically that means the type of club they would want to be a member of. That spirit is embodied by Brandon James-Keeper, the Membership Coordinator for Mikkeller Brewing San Diego’s Viking Club.
In a tale as old as time in the beer industry, James-Keeper was a fan of the Miramar Brewery before he became an employee. A coworker of his first turned him on to Mikkeller’s offerings. Impressed by the “weird” and “elevated” nature of those beers, he started frequenting the company’s Miramar tasting room, where he got to know the bartenders and the coordinator of the Viking Club, which he joined as soon as he was able. Other opportunities he jumped on: a job opening at Mikkeller and a chance to manage his beloved Viking Club. The latter presented itself mid-pandemic, but challenging times didn’t diminish his excitement about his new role nor his ideas for adapting it to the state of the world.
“Given last year’s circumstances, I personally wanted to transition the club into an even more liquid- and merchandise-based program, and really hedge our bets in case the world comes to a stand-still again. After all, if that doesn’t happen, we can always add surprise events and gatherings,” says James-Keeper. “You can always add, but not take away.”
So, while special events will again be a large component of the club, for now, like most clubs of its type, the emphasis is on the beer. This is true at every level of the Viking Club, which has grown to include four tiers:
- Keeper’s Club: A base-level membership that includes shipments of three bottles of beer each quarter.
- Baldr: The same shipments as the Keeper’s Club and two crowlers of one-off beers, plus 15% off at Mikkeller tasting rooms, including pre-orders of new-release beers and tier-specific merchandise and beer from a member-exclusive tap at the company’s tasting rooms in Miramar and Little Italy, plus pre-sale tickets to Mikkeller events and access to club-exclusive events.
- Berserker: The Baldr benefits plus eight Mikkeller beers per-month selected by staffers, free shipping on all orders and the ability to order extra club beers.
- Odin: An invitation-only level including benefits from other tiers plus additional quarterly shipments amounting to a dozen beers, tier-specific merchandise, enrollment in Mikkeller’s mug club (20% off all beer at San Diego locations on Mondays) and first priority to purchase extra club beer.
It’s a lot to take in and even more to keep track of. “My role keeps expanding and it’s an absolute beast of an operation, especially now that I oversee the web shop portion of the brand, which has exploded in popularity over the pandemic…by 400%, actually,” says James-Keeper.
As with nearly every club, special beer—rare barrel-aged stouts and sour ales, for instance—are what primarily what makes membership worthwhile. Some of the “whales” en route this year include beers aged in 10-year-old Old Forester Birthday Bourbon and 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve Bourbon barrels. Another value-added is access to Mikkeller beers brewed around the world, all of which are offered at a discount to Vikings.
But aficionados say that, while every club offers beers, there are other aspects of being a Viking that keep them reupping their membership. Take, for instance, local beer enthusiast Sean Parks, who is currently a member of clubs at The Lost Abbey, Modern Times Beer, Stave and Nail Brewing, The Bruery, Firestone Walker Brewing, The Rare Barrel, Superstition Meadery and Mikkeller. (He was actually the first-ever member of the Viking Club when it launched in 2016.) Believe it or not, this is fewer clubs than he’s simultaneously been part of in the past.
“I signed up for the Viking Club before Mikkeller Brewing San Diego even opened because of the faith I had based on their beer club is in Europe. This club and its beers are among the best.,” says Parks.
The reason I keep renewing is family. This club treats me like I am in their family. It’s small so they can listen to what the members like or don’t like. This is huge nowadays because it’s hard to trust people. Companies will say one thing then do another. Mikkeller listens.”
Sean Parks, First-ever Viking Club Member
Company personnel have gone to lengths to foster that sense of two-way communication. James-Keeper says most club members have his personal phone number and email address. On top of that, they are able to communicate with Mikkeller Brewing San Diego’s COO, general manager and brewmaster.
“Throughout the pandemic, the monetary value of the club was good for the company, but the truly awesome part for me was the family aspect,” says James-Keeper. “Our members had virtual bottle-shares and tastings on a weekly basis, which had to be my favorite part since we couldn’t actually see each other in-person. Once you’re in the club, you’re family. Whether you’re the cool cousin or the really annoying weird uncle, we are all in it together.”
The Viking Club’s open-enrollment period will last until the end of April. Interested parties can find more information online.
Mikkeller Brewing San Diego’s brewery and tasting room is located at 9366 Cabot Drive in Miramar, and its downtown tasting room is located at 2201 India Street in Little Italy