A couple of weeks ago I posted The Beer Drinker’s Holiday Gift Guide Part 1, breaking down the best books to buy the hop-head in your life. With Christmas fast approaching, I figured it best to post part two in order to avoid this becoming a Valentines Day gift guide. In this part, I break down a couple of big ticket items as well as a couple of cheaper, yet still well thought-out gifts.
Organization Membership: Often beer lovers wish to explore their passion, yet they lack a group of like minded-people to share experiences with. With that in mind, I feel one of the best gifts you can give to a beer lover is a membership to a local beer club, group, or organization. Locally, we have CAMRA Vancouver; abroad there are many other organizations such as the Craft Brewers Association, and CAMRA UK.
Beer Education: One of the greatest assets I’ve had in my exploration of beer was my Beer School education. It can not be understated how important knowing what you’re talking about is when in the company of beer geeks. Not only that, but it should help you find out what exactly you do and don’t like when it comes to beer. The ability to sample all kinds of beer is the true selling point of this education; otherwise, who is to say you aren’t a lager lover and have to immediately take a trip to Germany for Oktoberfest? Speaking of Oktoberfest, that would make a great gift, but probably out of most people’s price range.
Glassware: I’ve covered glassware before. That said, variety is the spice of life and there is no such thing as having too many beer glasses. If the person you’re buying for already has beer glasses, then I suggest finding out if their favorite brewer has a line of glasses and buying them some of those. Most brewers tend to have a line of beer glasses that suit their beer, so you’re more than likely going to come across them easily. If they lack beer glasses, then I suggest you refer to my A Note On Glassware post and see what I think is the best all around beer glass on the market.
Bottle Opener: Most people will scoff at this idea, as it is a little cliché. However, I have found a bottle-opener that is far from cliché; in fact, it is possibly one of the best bottle-openers I have ever seen. The Ring Thing is a stainless steel ring with a bottle opener on the bottom. Although rather simple, I know many people who wish they had a bottle opener on them at all times and now they have no excuse not to. Additionally, it is actually quite low-key and no one will know you’re packing a beer accessory at all times. Add in the party trick factor of being able to open a bottle with your hand and no visible tool and you’ve got a winner.
Next week I’ll get into those last minute gifts we all know you’ll need suggestions on!
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