Mug clubs are programs at many beer bars and restaurants in which participants are challenged to try (over a year or so) every beer on the menu in exchange for their own custom mug and/or discounts on beer. As the craft beer movement gains momentum in America mug clubs are becoming increasingly popular. There’s lots of great reasons to join a mug club, the least of which is the cool custom mug you usually get when you finish. Here’s three reasons why you should join your local mug club.

1. It’s a great way to expand your beer palette.

If you’re like me, you love trying new beers and new styles, but you frequently fall back on old favorites and regulars. Mug clubs force you out of your beer comfort zone and make you try new and different styles you might have never considered before. You may end up discovering a new favorite beer or style because of the open mind mug clubs require you to have.

2. It’s a great way to support your local beer bar.

In order to complete a mug club you frequently need to become a regular at the establishment. Doing so will help ensure there’s a place in your area for quality beer for years to come. Trying all of the beer a place has to offer lets them know that they have a captive audience that’s willing to take risks and try new and unusual beers. Hopefully it will encourage them to be adventuresome in what they put on tab and always have the latest offerings.

3. It’s a great way to save money.

While the cost of buying every beer on a menu may seem expensive, if you spread it out over the time frame you’re given it can be fairly reasonable. Also, if the bar is some place you plan on frequenting for many years to come the discounts you get on drinks can really add up. Two of the bars here in Boston with mug club programs, Bukowski’s Tavern and Penguin Pizza both offer half-price on draft beer for mug club graduates.

Next time you’re at your favorite beer bar ask if they have a mug club or something similar (it may be known by another name.) If they don’t have one, tell them they should start one. As we’ve outlined above it’s a great idea for the beer maker, beer seller and beer drinker alike. Even if you can’t find a water hole with such a program, there’s no reason why you can’t have your own private mug clubs, especially if you do it with friends.

Besides the above mentioned Boston bars we’ve also heard that Pony Bar in New York City and Taco Mac in Atlanta have great mug club programs. What bars have mug clubs in your area? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.

Trading beer through the mail can be a great way to try brews from far away that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to experience. There is a robust online community of beer traders that make it easy to try beers from all over the world. Here’s what you need to know to start trading beer.

1. Most shipping is done through private companies such as UPS and FedEx.

Shipping through the United States Postal service is generally discouraged due to certain restrictions when it comes to shipping alcohol. If you stick to private companies you shouldn’t have too many problems. UPS even offers custom boxes and Styrofoam molds for shipping wine bottles, which fit larger beer bottles nicely too. Because your dealing with contents under pressure, packing your goods up tight and secure is extremely important.

2. No money can change hand

Beer trading is just that- trading. Although sometimes you can find someone interested in trading beer for other goods, it’s usually a  bottle of beer for a bottle of beer- no reselling. As we’ve mentioned before there is a separate black market for selling bottles of beer on sites like eBay, but that is illegal in most places and kept apart from beer trading. Most beer sold on eBay is marked as “collectible bottles” not alcohol, a loophole that’s dubious at best.

3. Include something extra

Frequently when trading with someone it’s customary to include an extra goodie, like a bumper sticker, extra bottle of beer or something similar. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a great way to make a good impression on your trading partner.

4. Limited releases and exotic ingredients are hot items

While beers with limited distributions, such as local microbrews, do reasonable well on the trading circuit, the items which are in the highest demand are ones with limited releases and exotic ingredients. Take for example Kate The Great from Portsmouth Brewery in New Hampshire, which sold out at 5:25am the day it was released. You might have to make a few trades before you work your way up to the type of beers you’re really after.

5.  Find a trustworthy community for beer trade

There are numerous online forums for discussing and trading beer. Our favorites for friendly, helpful advice and honest trades include the forums of BeerAdvocate and RateBeer as well as the beer trading group on Reddit.

The beer belly has long been associated with those who frequently enjoy beer. Some extra pounds around the waist have always been considered an inevitable consequence of drinking beer on a regular bias. Despite the persistence of this myth, there’s no scientific evidence to support it. Here’s a look at the myth and three reasons why it just won’t go away.

Consuming enough of anything with calories can lead to weight gain. Beer is certainly no exception to this rule, but the beer belly myth has always suggested that beer can especially lead to weight gain. The fact of the matter is there is very little evidence to suggest there’s anything in beer that would make this so. Several recent scientific studies have shown that regular beer drinkers are no more likely to be overweight than folks who regularly consume any other type of alcohol.

There are several reasons why this myth has stuck around. For one, many people are under the false assumption that beer is much higher in calories than it really is. As we’ve discussed several times, even so called “heavier” beers like Guinness aren’t significantly higher in calories than other beverages. As long as you enjoy beer responsibly and in moderation there’s no reason why beer would lead to belly fat any more than anything else.

Another factor contributing to this myth is the fact that beer has historically been mostly enjoyed by men. Although in recent years woman beer drinkers are finally demanding to be heard, for long time beer was generally just a man’s drink. Scientific studies suggest that men tend to store excess weight around the belly, while woman tend to keep it on the hips and butt. This fact has probably led many to believe it was beer giving a man a spare tire, when really it was nature.

Finally, let’s not forget that after a heavy night of drinking many of us tend to seek out greasy, fatty food before we hit the hay. These late night meals may be delicious, but they’re terrible for your body. Laying down for 8 hours or more doesn’t really burn any of those tasty calories you just consumed, so your body converts them to fat for long term energy storage. Of course, when you order that peporoni pizza at 3:00 am the last thing you’re probably thinking about is your waist size.

Rice has been used to make alcohol for many, many years. Sake, the Japanese rice wine, is the type of alcohol usually associated with the grain, but rice can also be used in beer. In the West beer made with rice is generally looked down upon as it’s mainly used in cheap lagers like Budweiser as an inexpensive way of increasing alcohol without adding flavor. Despite this reputation, there are some interesting beers with rice out there.

The most well known type of beer that uses rice as a main ingredient, the rice lager, also comes from Japan. The rice lagers produced by Kirin, Sapporo and Asahi are extremely popular throughout Japan, and at sushi restaurants here in the USA. Because rice lacks certain enzymes that traditional beer grains like barley have, most rice lagers contain a certain amount of barley as well, but it’s the rice that define this style’s flavor and alcohol. As I mentioned before, rice is not a very flavorful grain when used in beer so rice lagers tend to be very light, clean and dry, similar to American lagers like Budweiser and Coors. Hop flavor is also light, with soft, round notes to it.

For many years, there were no craft brewers in Japan at all. A law, which was overturned in 1994, required all breweries to produce at least 2 million liters of beer a year, making it all but impossible for smaller brewers to produce craft beer. Since 1994 there have been a number of Japanese brewers to emerge, many of whom have experimented with the basic rice lager formula to produce some delicious and flavorful beers that are miles away from typical rice lagers.

The beers in the Hitachino Nest series from the Kiuchi Brewery have become well known as some of the best beer produced in Japan. They brew a full line of wonderful western-style beers from their excellent white ale to their spicy Classic Ale IPA. Additionally they also brew some experimental styles that matches western beers with traditional Japanese ingredients. Take for example their Red Rice ale, which combines traditional red rice used to produce premium sake with barley that is fermented with both ale and sake yeast. The end result is a unique fusion of East and West flavors. The beer is light but strong with spicy and tart flavors unlike any other beer I’ve ever had. This ruby red brew is a wonderfully crisp drink for springtime, so be sure to check it out if you can.

Growlers are a great way to bring the taste of fresh draft beer home with you. These half-gallon glass containers which are filled at a bar or brewpub have surged in popularity among craft drinkers in recent years.

Growlers first emerged in the late 19^th century. They were an easy way of transporting the day’s ration of beer back home from the local pub for use by the whole family. Back before modern sanitation practices beer, not water, was what the average person drank for refreshment and hydration. Water, especially in urban areas, was far too dirty and contaminated for healthy consumption, so beer was what the common folk drank. Since the six pack was still many decades away and most local breweries didn’t have the facilities to bottle beer, a large, reusable container was the way to go.

It was usually children who would fetch the family’s daily supply of beer, Referred to as “rushing the growler”. The idea of having children making daily visits to seedy barrooms was a source of much concern for those in the prohibition movement and was a key factor in the eventual passing of the 18^th amendment banning alcohol in the US. The sloshing and gargling the beer would make as it was carried haphazardly by the little ones is what gave the growler its name.

Today growlers serve a very different purpose. Rather than being the daily source of hydration for families, they are more commonly used by savvy beer lovers who are looking for a way to take their favorite draft-only brew home. It can also be a convenient way of taking beer on the go. Thanks to the resealable caps almost all growlers come with, you can have some now, and then save it for later. Once opened it should probably be consumed in two or three days, otherwise you run the risk of the beer going flat. Because growlers are reusable- they can be refilled time and time again – they are also one of the most environmentally beer containers around.

There are a lot of reasons to give growlers a try. What do you think of these handy containers? Are they available in your area? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter.