2018 Beer Lover's Holiday Gift Guide

As the seasons change, so too does the craft beer world’s release calendar, which means a rush of seasonal favorites, spiced beers and holiday ales of all stripes.

While the idea of different beers to imbibe is, of course, the most important aspect of the change in weather and temperature, the shift from late summer to fall to early winter is one that also serves as a harbinger for the holidays as well as the difficult task of giving gifts to the craft beer fans in your life.

While obtaining hard-to-find limited-release beers is always a tried-and-true technique to win over any craft beer-obsessed friend or family member in your life, there are also a plethora of craft beer-adjacent and breweriana-themed gifts that would make any beer connoisseur blush with holiday cheer (although those red cheeks could also be due to a few tipples).

Read on and delve into our 2018 Beer Lover's Holiday Gift Guide for craft beer enthusiasts and see if there’s anything that would make the craft beer fanatic in your life thank his lucky stars that Santa stopped by with a beauteous beer bounty to enjoy.

Gose: Brewing a Classic German Beer for the Modern Era Book

No holiday gift guide would be complete without a book, as they make for terrific gifts year-round. This juicy tome from Brewers Publications, the publishing imprint of the Brewers Association, is by Anderson Valley Brewing Co. Brewmaster Fal Allen and covers the fascinating backstory and scintillating brewing techniques behind the Gose style.

Once a niche style only brewed in limited quantities in Germany, this Gose style has exploded in popularity in America and beyond as the world becomes more interested in sour beers.

Gose beers are noted for their mild tartness as well as the subtle tang of minor salinity throughout. Allen, an expert in the style after concocting multiple well-received Gose recipes, such as The Kimmie, The Yink and The Holy Gose and its variations such as Blood Orange Gose and Briney Melon Gose, capably narrates the history and future of this tart, sweet, low-ABV style that shows no signs of slowing down in its popularity.

Available here from Brewers Publications and also on Amazon.

BEERMKR

With craft beer reaching an all-time zenith in popularity, homebrewing is also an increasingly popular activity for the craft beer-obsessed person in your life.

While homebrewing has been a favorite of hands-on beer fans since its legalization in 1978, it has always been a rather labor-intensive process that involves many different tools, containers, carboys and a supreme focus on sanitization.

BEERMKR, which recently crushed its Kickstarter goals, aims to bypass all that work by creating an all-in-one homebrewing system that is housed in a sleek box that somehow manages to fit on your countertop. As the Kickstarter page entails: “BEERMKR handles both brewing AND fermentation and is 100% open, allowing you to customize recipes directly on the machine. BEERMKR is the world's only fully-contained beer brewery that sits on your counter, giving you all the tools of the best brewers and all the fun of making delicious beer—without the mess and complexity of traditional homebrewing.”

That sounds good to me.

BEERMKR is available for preorder here. 

The Beer Connoisseur Premium Subscription + Annual Print Edition

Of course, what good beer lover's holiday gift guide would be complete without a little self-promotion? Since you are reading this, you are likely already a subscriber to The Beer Connoisseur. However, why not help out your beer-loving friends and family members with a gift subscription to our fine publication?

Also, now is an excellent time to nab a subscription to The Beer Connoisseur magazine since we’ve launched a brand new Annual Print Edition, which serves as an omnibus, coffee table-worthy edition that wraps up The Beer in Review while also looking ahead to the year ahead when it comes to beer.

BC Premium Subscriptions, which also include access to the new annual print edition, can be purchased here.

Duffy’s Craft IPA Beer Shampoo

The test of a true beer fan is whether or not they’re willing to literally bathe in the liquid they hold so dear. Now, beer fans can truly get clean in the delectable brews they enjoy to drink so much.

Duffy’s Brew is the original craft beer shampoo, and is brewed…(ahem, sorry) made with an actual IPA from a “premium small-batch brewer on the East Coast,” according to the creators.

It turns out, the ingredients used to make beer are also pretty darn good for taking care of your hair. According to the brewery: “shampoo made from craft beer is naturally rich in amino acids, and the hops, roasted barley and malt provide a restorative coat of vitamin B, proteins and minerals that protect each strand of hair while adding incredible body and volume. The hops and yeast also contain antiseptic properties that help treat scalp irritations and dandruff, and the maltose and sucrose used in the brewing process tighten hair cuticles for enhanced shine.”

In conclusion: Beer; it’s good for your mouth and your scalp!

Available on Duffy's website here and also on Amazon.

The Pretentious Beer & Glass Co. Glassware

Discerning beer connoisseurs appreciate the fact that the right glassware collection can make or break your daily tastings of delectable brews.

While we all have our favorites that might be constantly in the rotation (or are always in the dishwasher), The Pretentious Beer & Glass Co. is looking to improve your night-to-night consumption of dank brews by providing some of the finest and most interesting-looking beer glasses around.

Handmade in Knoxville, Tennessee by Matthew Cummings, The Pretentious Beer & Glass Co. offers a wide array of different glass styles, such as its Subtle Glass (meant for lighter styles such as Gose, Pilsner and Kölsch) or its beautiful Sauvin Glass, which is an evolution of the popular Tulip glass. Speaking of Tulips, Pretentious offers an interesting take on the glassware style, with an elongated body that harkens back to the popular IPA glassware style.

Handcrafted and locally made, the glasses are of the finest quality and have a real heft to them that lends to extended – yet measured – craft brew consumption. Just in time for the holidays.

Available for purchase here.

The United States of Beer: Beer Tasting Map

While the entire world has started to embrace craft beer’s fascinating style and flavor experiments, the movement began in earnest in the United States. As such, every state in the country has brewed some interesting regional brews that might be impossible to have unless you’ve traveled to that state.

Now with the The United States of Beer: Beer Tasting Map from 33 Books Co., you can slowly work your way across the “amber waves of grain” as you imbibe beers made from high-quality grains. The map features a subtle brown, amber-gold color scheme and features plenty of room to write up exactly what beers have been drunk in each state after you enjoy them.

The map also gives imbibers a chance to outline the flavor wheel of the beers they tried from each state, giving owners of this map a snapshot of their time spent in each state as well as the various beers they had there.

Beautifully produced and over two feet long, this map is the perfect gift for intrepid travelers who enjoy a good pint now and then.

Available for purchase here or on Amazon.

Bevpod Slim Cooler

We all want to have excellent beer on hand at a moment’s notice, but keeping it at the right temperature can be a hassle. Bevpod aims to make those issues a thing of the past.

A slimline, mini-cooler that fits in your backpack, Bevpod is insulated flawlessly and is very lightweight, allowing craft beer drinkers to have some dope brews on hand at a moment’s notice – just in case.

The Bevpod comes equipped with a reusable ice sheet to help ensure your brews stay cool, and it can fit either five 12-ounce bottles or ten 12-ounce cans for easy access. A lightweight, hard shell case keeps your bottles or cans safe from pressure or drops – making this an excellent option for beach trips or outdoor excursions that make heavier cooler prohibitive.

Available for purchase on Amazon.

YETI Roadie 20 Cooler

While the Bevpod cooler might make more sense for day trips in a backpack, the YETI Roadie 20 Cooler is an excellent option for tailgating in the dog days of summer at baseball or football games.

A widely respected name in the world of reusable containers, YETI’s Roadie 20 Cooler is “virtually indestructible,” according to the company and can hold up to 14 cans with a recommended 2:1 ice-to-cans ratio, though more would fit with less ice used.

An extraordinarily hardy cooler, this YETI could seemingly be tossed from the side of a snow-capped mountain and survive the fall (please do not test out that hypothesis).

Available for purchase here or on Amazon.

Fermented Reality Outdoor Craft Beer IPA B Cups

Have you ever tried to tailgate high-quality suds at a sporting event? It’s not easy.

You arrive with your high-quality limited-release IPA, Double IPA or Session IPA (or any other IPA variant) and your bottle-opener, cooler and koozie in tow, but then it hits you: You will have to enjoy this beer straight out of the can/bottle or dump it unceremoniously into a Solo Cup – thus robbing it of that piquant aroma that makes the best pints pop.

Now, with Fermented Reality's Outdoor Craft Beer IPA B Cups, that problem is a thing of the past. B Cups provides plastic cups that feature an interesting knob-like profile that should be familiar to any beer glassware enthusiast, as the curves of the glass help to rejuvenate the aroma of hoppy brews as they turned towards a drinker’s mouth again and again – helping to retain that same resiny, dank, juicy, tropical aroma IPAs are know for throughout the entirety of the pour.

Since these are plastic and reusable, they can be taken anywhere (beaches, pools, bar mitzvahs) and should cure your anti-container drinking ills.

The cups, which are also available in Stout, Lager and Funk varieties, can be purchased here and on Amazon .