Hop Culture Magazine

What Hop Culture Magazine does

Hop Culture Magazine is a digital craft-beer publication and direct-to-consumer e-commerce operator founded in 2016 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and operated within the Next Glass holding structure alongside Untappd, BeerAdvocate, and Goekos. Its editorial core consists of beer reviews, brewery guides covering 40+ US cities, beer-style explainers, gear and homebrewing coverage, travel content, and People and Culture features, with an explicit recent expansion into THC and cannabis-infused beverages. The company monetizes this audience through a multi-pronged revenue model: a weekly Wednesday-morning subscription newsletter, a full B2B advertising product suite (custom editorial, custom social posts on @hopculturemag, newsletter campaigns, festival and event sponsorships, and B2B opportunities), and an Untappd-powered online shop selling 199 beer SKUs across over 50 breweries alongside 26 branded merchandise items including apparel, glassware, and accessories.

The underlying technology is the Untappd-powered Hop Culture Shop, which integrates Untappd's product catalog, age verification, ratings, check-ins, Community Awards badges, and payment processing. Order fulfillment is outsourced to Half Time Beverage, which handles picking, packing, UPS adult-signature shipping, returns, and customer support for US and Puerto Rico destinations only. Distribution is single-channel (the Hop Culture Shop) plus festival/event vendor opportunities, with no international shipping currently available. The company also maintains a North Carolina-based photography studio that produces all social content and branded merchandise.

Beyond commerce, Hop Culture positions itself as both a media property and a marketplace intermediary for craft breweries and beverage brands seeking targeted reach to an engaged, mostly millennial craft-beer enthusiast audience. Its claimed market positioning is the "fastest growing craft beverage publication in the country," supported by ~100k organically-grown Instagram followers, first-page Google rankings for many craft-beer queries, and a 2020 acquisition of The Hop Review to consolidate editorial footprint. Pricing is unit-based across beer (single cans to 24-unit cases), apparel, and accessories, with a $5 Small Order Fee below $35 and flat-rate shipping rules. Compliance posture covers CCPA/CPRA, GDPR, UK GDPR, and PIPEDA, inherited operationally from the Next Glass privacy regime.

Name

Hop Culture Magazine

Legal name

Hop Culture

Website

https://hopculture.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hop Culture Magazine is a digital craft-beer publication and Untappd-powered online shop selling curated craft beers and branded merchandise, while offering breweries a full suite of advertising and sponsorship products targeting engaged craft-beer enthusiasts in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Beer Media & E-commerce

NAICS

Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (4453)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Food, Wine & Beverage Festivals/Expos (MPAGAFAE)

Keywords

• Craft beer publishing
• Online beer retail
• Brewery travel guides
• Beer merchandise shop
• Craft beverage media

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. E-commerce Sales: Hop Culture operates an online shop selling craft beers and branded merchandise. Revenue comes from product sales with pricing ranging from $2.99 to $212.49 for beers and $0.99 to $59.99 for merchandise. The shop uses Untappd's e-commerce infrastructure.
2. Advertising & Sponsorships: Hop Culture offers custom editorial content, custom social posts, email newsletter campaigns, event partnerships, and B2B opportunities for brands looking to reach craft beer enthusiasts and industry professionals.
3. Subscription Newsletter: Hop Culture offers newsletter subscriptions to deliver content to subscribers, with newsletters going out on Wednesday mornings each week.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hop Culture Magazine is a craft beer publication and Untappd-powered e-commerce platform that sells craft beers, curated beer boxes, and branded merchandise (apparel, glassware, accessories) directly to beer enthusiasts across the United States and Puerto Rico. The company also monetizes its editorial audience through native advertising, sponsored social posts, newsletter campaigns, and festival partnerships sold to breweries and beverage brands.

Product overview

Hop Culture Magazine operates as a craft beer publication and e-commerce platform. The core offerings include the Hop Culture Magazine digital publication covering brewery reviews, beer recommendations, travel guides, and industry insights, alongside the Hop Culture Shop—a beer e-commerce platform powered by Untappd. The shop sells individual craft beers, curated beer boxes (mystery multi-packs in styles like Hazy IPAs and Lagers), and branded merchandise including apparel, glassware, and accessories. The company also offers advertising services to brands including Custom Editorial (native articles), Custom Social (Instagram posts), Email Newsletter campaigns, Event Partnerships at festivals, and B2B Opportunities. The portfolio is unified by its focus on the craft beer enthusiast community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Whale Glass: A glassware collection featuring a whale design, tribute to exceptional beers

Products and services

• Hop Culture Magazine
• Hop Culture Shop
• Beer Boxes
• Hop Culture Branded Merchandise
• Newsletter Subscription
• Advertising Services for Beer Brands

Quantifiable outcome

• Custom editorial content frequently ranks on first page of Google search results
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• UntappdcoreTechnology or IntegrationUntappd powers the Hop Culture Shop with its e-commerce infrastructure, providing product catalog integration, age verification, user ratings and reviews, and payment processing. The shop displays Untappd ratings and Community Awards badges.
• Half Time BeveragecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHalf Time Beverage handles all order fulfillment for the Hop Culture Shop including picking, packing, and shipping products. They provide customer support for orders and handle returns/exchanges. Located in the US with operations Monday-Friday 9am-5pm Eastern.
• Next GlasscoreOthersNext Glass is the parent company of Hop Culture along with Untappd, BeerAdvocate, and other craft beverage properties. Next Glass operates the unified platform and privacy policy covering all affiliated services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Beer52: UK-based craft beer subscription and online magazine platform pairing editorial content with curated beer boxes. Closest international analog combining craft beer publication with subscription commerce.
• All About Beer: Long-running print and digital craft beer magazine covering brewing, beer culture, and tastings. Comparable as a craft beer publication with editorial depth, though older in format and more industry-focused than Hop Culture's digital commerce-led approach.
• Paste Magazine: Lifestyle and culture digital magazine with a dedicated beer section covering craft breweries, reviews, and bar guides. Comparable in format (digital-first lifestyle publication with commerce and ads), though broader in subject matter.
• BeerAdvocate: Sibling publication under Next Glass covering craft beer reviews, ratings, and community. Operates the BeerAdvocate shop carried through Hop Culture, and is the most direct comparable given shared parent, overlap in audience, and overlapping editorial coverage.
• Tavour: Craft beer discovery and delivery platform selling curated multi-packs and rare beer boxes DTC. Directly comparable on the Hop Culture Shop's beer box and merchandise commerce side, with shared audience of enthusiast beer drinkers.
• VinePair: Leading US beer, wine, and spirits digital media brand covering breweries, bars, and drinking culture. Closest independent comparable in audience (industry professionals and enthusiasts) and ad-supported editorial commerce model.
• CraftBeer.com: Brewers Association's consumer-facing craft beer publication with editorial, brewery directory, and event coverage. Directly comparable as a beer-focused media outlet, though operated by an industry trade body rather than a commercial holding company.

Broad incumbents

• Drizly: Large alcohol e-commerce marketplace now owned by Uber, offering beer, wine, and spirits delivery across US markets. Comparable as an alcohol DTC platform competing for the same craft beer purchaser, though broader in assortment and reach.
• Thrillist: Larger general-interest lifestyle publisher owned by Group Nine/Warner Bros Discovery with beer, travel, food, and gear coverage. Comparable in covering craft beer as part of broader lifestyle content but operates at significantly larger scale across many verticals.

Others

• Untappd: The beer check-in and rating app that powers Hop Culture's shop infrastructure under common Next Glass ownership. Most directly adjacent technology provider; is the data backbone for Hop Culture's commerce, ratings, and discovery flow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/hopculturemag
• Xx.com/hopculturemag
• Facebookfacebook.com/hopculturemag

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hop Culture Magazine