Beer lovers are by far the easiest people to shop for. Trust me, the gift of good beer will always be received with exuberant and completely unfeigned delight. But this year, several newly-released books, special brewing kits, and other beer-nerd-tastic things make giving these folks something they'll love even easier.
TOP ROW
1 Give 'Em A 6-Pack, $8-16 from your local beer store: Seriously. A six-pack, thoughtfully chosen and lovingly given, will never fail to bring a smile to a beer buff's face. If you're not sure which beers to choose, take a peek in our Beer Sessions archives or ask the clerk.
2 Brooklyn BrewShop's 1-Gallon Beer Kit, $40 from Brooklyn BrewShop: If you know someone who has ever expressed an interest in learning how to homebrew, this is the kit for them. It's small, affordable, and makes brewing easy. (Read our full review.)
3 BeerAdvocate Magazine, $15 from BeerAdvocate: One of the best magazines out there that's fully-dedicated to craft beer.
4 Beer Craft: Six Packs from Scratch, $12 from Amazon: An excellent beginner's guide to the how's, why's, and what-for's of brewing beer. (Read our full review.)
5 Complete Homebrewing Kit, $150 from your local homebrew store: If you already know that one gallon batches isn't going to cut it for your beer buddy, give them the treat of a full-fledged 5-gallon brewing kit.
BOTTOM ROW
6 Brewed Awakening, $15 from Amazon: This book is so much more than a pub crawl of America's best breweries. It is a tell-all tale about every single hop and malt (not to mention blood, sweat, and tears) that goes into our favorite beers.
7 Brooklyn BrewShop's Beer Making Book, $14 from Amazon: The folks behind those one-gallon kits share some of their favorite recipes. (Read our full review.)
8 Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club, $23-$70 from Beer of the Month Club: The gift that keeps on giving! The
9 The Craft of Stone Brewing Co., $15 from Amazon: Part history lesson, part beer guide, and part cookbook, this gift would go well with a few bottles of Stone beer! (Read our full review.)
10 Brewing Up a Business, $11 from Amazon: The story of how Dogfish Head Craft Brewery came to be.
Related: Yummy Presents: 40 Homemade Gifts from The Kitchn
(Images: Emma Christensen, BeerAdvocate, Amazon, and Beer of the Month Club)
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I'll add my thoughts as someone with a beer crazed father and husband. This year I started seeing tons of great sets (high and low end) of beer tasting glasses. I got each of them one. Has things like a stout/porter glass, pilsner, wheat beer, etc. I got really into trying the varietal glasses for wine so I'm sure the same can be said for beer fans.
If you have a homebrewer in your life (or if you're getting them a kit like listed on here) the perfect gift for anything, not just Christmas, is a full round of ingredients and recipe for a next batch. I've ordered online or gone to local homebrew shops and got the grain, malt, yeast, etc. VERY welcome gift.
Great list! I would have also included the Oxford Companion to Beer, published this year:
http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Beer-Garrett-Oliver/dp/0195367138
This is a great list, thanks! I found another good list with creative gift ideas for the beer snob. http://frankenmuthbrewery.com/blog/brewery/creative-holiday-gifts-for-the-beer-snob/
As someone who has the full 5-gal Complete Homebrewing kit, I'd love the single gallon kit for experimenting. I'd feel a lot better about not liking a batch! Also, grolsch bottles, growlers, bottle caps, and carboys make excellent accessory gifts!
I love it when people gift me beer to try! I've been paid in beer for babysitting (partially, at least!) and my favorite engagement gift was a selection of beers with names that reminded the other couple of us.
The 1 gallon batch is great, but continuing with the Brooklyn Brew Shop kits is expensive and not nearly as fun as making your own. If they like the 1 gallon kit, get them the Beer Craft book listed next. It has simple recipes for the 10 main beer styles, with suggestions on how to start experimenting. I've done two of the Brooklyn kits, and 7 or 8 of the beer craft.
I'll also second jmorri26's suggestion. Getting a set of ingredients would be an awesome gift. Just check with them to see what they want to brew next, since each style (and brewer) uses different types of grain/hops/yeast.