Similar to many other beer membership programs at breweries across America, Sierra Nevada Brewing has just invited people to join its 2016 Alpha Hop Society, which is a one-year membership that gets you 12 750-ml bottles of small-batch, barrel-aged beers, a t-shirt, a growler, access to vintage and other exclusive beers, and access to special events and tours. The annual membership costs $250 and it will be limited to just a few hundred people.

The 12 Alpha Hop Society beers will be hand selected among the most limited, experimental and small-batch beers that Sierra Nevada produces. Members will even get to pull nails from barrels in the cellar and get exclusive tastes of what’s next.

Why is Sierra Nevada doing this?

Craft beer super fans and Sierra Nevada loyalists are always on the hunt for what’s new and what’s next. Small-batch, limited-release and barrel-aged offerings are often the most coveted selections. Each year, we put a small selection of beer in barrels as flavor experiments or prototypes for beers yet to be made. Often, the resulting blends are intense, complex and wonderful beers, but with volumes too small for distribution. The Alpha Hop Society is a venue to offer these very special beers to the beer fans who will appreciate them most.

This program will be limited to 350 bottles or fewer. Memberships went on sale this morning (11/23/15), and they probably won’t last long. Sierra Nevada can’t ship the beer, but if you have a friend in Chico or Berkeley, CA, or Mills River, NC, you can have him/her pick up the bottles for you on a quarterly basis.

So far, we know about three beers that will be among the releases – an American wild red ale, a barrel-aged Scotch-style ale aged in brandy and absinthe barrels, and a barrel-aged pentuppel with chilies.

Here’s the link to join the Alpha Hop Society, or learn more about the program by clicking here.

About Sierra Nevada

Founded in 1980, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of America’s premier craft breweries, highly regarded for using only the finest quality ingredients. The pioneering spirit that launched Sierra Nevada now spans both coasts with breweries in Chico, California and Mills River, North Carolina. Sierra Nevada has set the standard for craft brewers worldwide with innovations in the brewhouse as well as advances in sustainability. Sierra Nevada has set the standard for artisan brewers worldwide as a winner of numerous awards for a wide variety of beers and ales, including the legendary Pale Ale.