Hop Burns & Black beer subscription review

It’s easy to order, with options for a rolling monthly (£49.95 plus shipping) or three- (£141), six- (£276) or 12-month (£540) subscriptions, and you can skip or cancel at any time. There’s just one thing to keep in mind: the number of boxes available is capped to ensure a steady supply of beers for subscribers. If it's capped, you’ll go on a waiting list and be notified when a box is available.

Each box comes with in-depth tasting notes, food pairings, recipes from food writer Claire Bullen (our box includes a chana masala to pair with a double IPA) and beer reviews. We particularly enjoy the latter, with some evocative prose from writer Matthew Curtis. Each selection is a surprise and you can’t customise your box – HB&B aims to expand your beer-drinking horizons.

Our box contains a seriously varied array of brews, from Belgian Trappist blonde beers, to citrus sours, punchy DIPAs, damson stouts and low-ABV numbers. We enjoy the tangy, fruity, summery Gipsy Hill squashed lychee, gooseberry & elderflower sour ale; Neptune x Lost & Grounded’s vibrantly citrussy and piney Lost At Sea west coast IPA; and the deliciously malty, complex German Humbser lager Naturtrub.

With the variety on offer, quality of beers and in-depth tasting notes and guides, this is a great choice for craft beer nerds who are keen to ferret out unusual and hard-to-find brews. The rolling monthly subscription is £49.95 (plus shipping), making this perhaps a little higher on the price spectrum than other beer subscriptions. But, you’ll still save up to 20 per cent on what you’d pay for these beers individually and this is a great opportunity to support an independent business that’s clearly passionate about beer.

• Available from Hop Burns & Black, from £49.95