Lazy Dog Beer Club Elevates the Beer Marketing Game 

By Stephanie Thara Metzinger

Over the years, I’ve joined quite a few beer clubs – and the uniquely themed beer kits and flavorful small-batch releases of the Lazy Dog Beer Club places this one among the top. Last week, I was immediately transported into a dark fairy tale when I started to taste the newest Lazy Dog Beer Club kit: The Brewers Grimm. The Brothers Grimm-inspired kit included: 

• Eight beers from craft breweries across the nation (two cans of four beer varieties);
• A Brewers Grimm-branded glass to enjoy your fairy tale brews in; and 
• A beautifully designed booklet that profiles each beer while masterfully telling the story of how each enchanted brew was inspired by a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

My favorite aspect about the beer club is that the beers featured in the kit are brewed exclusively for the club by local breweries across the country. Lazy Dog, a national brand, is elevating and putting a spotlight on smaller operations – and when massive businesses elevate and uplift small businesses, a huge round of applause is needed.   

Here are my thoughts on the four imaginative brews that brought classic fairy tales to life through hops and barley:

• Rumpleweizen – Dunkelweizen Ale (Lyons, IL): I love a good Dunkelweizen, and this Rumpelstiltskin-inspired one delivers. New flavors and notes came out with each sip, and the complexity was incredible. It’s the perfect beer to ring in fall, as it has the banana and clove spice of a Hef but with a more malty feel. 
• Liquid Breadcrumbs – West Coast Pilsner (Brewery X in Anaheim, CA): A lightly hopped lager that would be delicate enough for the tastebuds of Hansel and Gretel (if they were of drinking age, of course!). It was crisp, clean and dry – and a sessionable beer that I could drink all day. Flavorful yet simple!
• O’ Brother Stag – Tangerine Kolsh-Style Ale (21^st Amendment Brewery, CA): A singular note beer that’s light and refreshing, which is fitting for the Glass Coffin’s shiny ending.
• Deep Dark Woods – Spruce IPA (New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, CO): When drinking this very piney IPA, you truly feel like you are deep in the woods of Little Red Riding Hood. 

Lazy Dog Beer Club comes out with a new kit each quarter and makes sure to select creative themes that match the season. This quarter’s theme was to play off Halloween. Last quarter was “Camp Wanna-Beer-A” to cleverly ring in summertime fun. Through this beer club, Lazy Dog has elevated the beer marketing game by seamlessly combining beer, art and creativity. 

In addition to the kit itself, Lazy Dog offers beer club members a whole host of discounts and offers throughout the year. This includes free draft upgrades, priority seating, 10% off takeout, a monthly draft beer sampler, discounts on to-go cans and a $39 dine-in credit. 

I would be remiss if I don’t speak about Lazy Dog’s house beers though. In addition to collaborating with different breweries for the beer kits, Lazy Dog has a suite of house beers available on tap at each location. The house beers, which are brewed by Melvin Brewing in Alpine, WY, range from a Huckleberry Haze IPA all the way to a Mexican-Style Lager.

And if you haven’t had the Huckleberry Haze IPA, run—don’t walk—to your nearest Lazy Dog to grab one. The Huckleberry Haze defies all logic as it tastes like a light lager but in fact, packs a heavy 6.7% ABV.

Dangerous, yet soooo tasty!

The eight house beers on tap are on top of the 10 additional rotating beers Lazy Dog also has on draft, making a total of nearly 20 beers on draft available at all times. 

“We aren’t like normal restaurants that just serve Bud Light,” said Mike Montes, assistant general manager at Lazy Dog Restaurant in Cerritos, CA. “We listen to customers, refine our offerings and expand the varieties of beers we offer to meet our customers’ needs.” 

For more information about Lazy Dog and its imaginative beer club, visit: https://ldbeerclub.com/