I was talking to my friend Steve a while back about Beer Cartel. Steve had recently moved to Sydney having grown up in the great New Zealand wine growing region Marlborough. Steve was unaware I had started a business based on craft beer, so I begun telling him about the business and the Beer Cartel beer club.

Steve had heard about wine clubs before but never a beer club, “why would someone join that? he asked, “isn’t a beer a beer?”… I love to get these moments, the chance to explain to someone entrenched in wine about the magic of beer – but where do I begin? Do I start telling Steve about the beauty of ales and taste of different lagers? Do I mention that the correct beer actually pairs with food better than wine? Do I talk to him about the vast range of flavours or the nuances of brewing that makes one beer so different  from another?

While I could do all of the above, I went for the never fail option and pulled from the fridge three very different but extraordinarily good boutique beers – a hefeweizen, an amber ale and a porter. Sharing the three beers between the two of us I let him take in the aromas, notice the difference in body and taste the amazing flavours. Steve is always very open to new things and as he tried these beers I could see the cogs turning in his head – these weren’t the same old beers he had experienced all his life at all.

While Steve did still need some more convincing I did manage to get him to sign up for a one month subscription to the Beer Cartel Beer Club. Not long after he received his first months supply and gave me a call “beer got delivered the other day” he said, “they were great, trouble is I liked them so much, I have already gone through them!”. And there it was, the moment I like best – when I have managed to convince another person of the joys of craft beer!”.

Click here for more information on the Beer Cartel Beer Club.