Every year people around the world struggle to find gifts for friends and family come the holiday season. In the past, my trick was to figure out their hobby and then research useful items that pertain to that passion. However, this is a dangerous way to go as you could end up buying them something completely useless despite its relation to their hobby. I know I have my share of gifts I grinned and thanked someone for, then thought to myself ‘what the heck am I going to do with this?’  With that in mind, I have set out to provide the loved ones of us craft beer fans a holiday gift guide. Each item was researched with care, taking the input of many craft beer fans to help make this as universal as possible. Without any further delay, the beer drinker’s holiday gift guide 2009 part 1:

Books:

It’s simple to suggest books and leave it at that. It’s more difficult to suggest a short list of books with the sheer mountain of literature written on the topic of beer. Because of this, I have chosen to divide the books into four topics and pick my favorite in each:

Tasting & Styles: Tasting Beer – If you were to buy one book on beer, this would be it. No book out there covers every aspect of beer in such detail. Including history, brewing process, instructional details on how to taste, and breaking down every major common style, this book has it all. Clearly there is a reason it’s the Beer School text book.

Pairing: The Brewmasters Table – Now that you’ve filled your brain with beer knowledge, it’s time to expand your understanding of pairing beer with food. The ultimate guide for this is Garrett Oliver’s The Brewmasters Table.  At 400 pages it’s anything but vague, yet offers only enough detail to get you started pairing and doesn’t hold the reader into thinking only certain foods pair with certain beers.

Brewing: Radical Brewing – Admittedly, the art of brewing is something I am just starting to get into, thus I could not offer personal experiences with this book. That said, Radical Brewing came highly recommended among my peer group. The general consensus is that it is the most readable and expansive, containing the most interesting aspects of brewing. Although not a beginner’s book, it’s probably the most used in a home brewer’s arsenal. Once you’ve learned to taste and pair beer, this is the logical next step.

Business: Brewing Up a Business – Every home brewer has thought about turning their hobby into a business at some point. This inevitable step is best accompanied by literature that describes the process of starting one’s own brewery from start to finish. Of all the books out there on the subject, and there are a lot, I found Sam Calagione’s Brewing Up a Business to be the best introduction to the subject. Though many will argue that The Brewers Association’s Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery is a more comprehensive tomb, I feel that  the story of Dogfish Head’s founder is a much more interesting read, thus it is my number one pick for beer business books.

Based on the titling of this post, you’ve probably assumed this will be a multi-part series leading up to the holidays. Initially I wanted to get this covered in one shot on December 1st but the amount of detail I wanted to include explaining each choice would have made the post a daunting read. With that in mind, I have chosen to break it down in order to give you the best experience possible. Check back regularly for updates in the coming weeks as I hope to have this gift guide wrapped up before the 15th, giving everyone enough time to purchase their favorite recommendations for the hop head in their life.

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