Mike Loves Beer

If you aren’t like me you are probably well into your Christmas shopping by this point.  Call me a slacker but I really need time to muster up the strength to go deal with these large crowds of typically unfestive and straight up asshole like people.  And as much as I work online I’ve still never become a full blown online shopper.  I’ll pick up things here and there but typically it’s things that are free shipping or get digitally delivered to me.  But enough about me and on to choosing some gifts for the special beer geek in your life.

Craft beer is growing everyday.  More and more breweries and brewpubs keep popping up all over the country as well.  And if you aspire to do the same you better get started with brewing.  If you are in the South Florida locale like me I would recommend that you head to your local home brew shop and pick up a starter kit.  Or maybe a gift certificate if they are already brewing and just might need some things.  South Florida has AJ’s Beer City in Jupiter, BX Beer Depot in Lake Worth, Funky Buddha Home Brew in Boca Raton and BrewBox in Miami.  You can go in and support a local business to support your brewer.  If you aren’t in South Florida Northern Brewer and Midwest Supplies both have deals going on.

Okay so let’s say your special beer geek is already a home brewer.  But are they are a part of the largest home brew organization in the country?  They aren’t?  Well they can be.  The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) offers 1 year memberships that you can give as a gift.  As a member you will receive a card that gives you the right to discounts at over 500 different breweries, brewpubs and bars all over the United States.  You get a one year subscription to Zymurgy magazine.  And finally you get early access to purchase tickets to the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado and can purchase tickets for the AHA Members Only Session. Head over to their site and you can buy one today.

Okay so your beer geek doesn’t brew and doesn’t want to brew, they just want to drink good beer.  Gotcha.  Well the holidays offers a ton of great items to choose from in great specialty packs.  St. Bernardus, Ommegang and Innis & Gunn each have specialty packs out that include numerous beers and glass.  As a former recipient and owner of the St. Bernardus and and Innis & Gunn packs I can say that they are both awesome and the glasses are really cool.  The Ommegang pack out there has three big 750 ml bottles and a glass.  Great deal in my opinion.  Just check where you like to shop for beer and ask what types of gift boxes they have.

And lastly don’t forget that most breweries have online stores as well.  So if your beer geek just loves a particular brewery be sure to check out their online store and maybe you can find a shirt, hat, tacker or glass that will be perfect for under the tree, in a stocking, next to a Menorah or besides a pole.

Just have fun with it and I can assure you that your beer geek will be happy with your choice.

It’s that time of year again.  The cold weather is really rolling in (even here in South Florida where it’s 49 degrees at I write this).  The days are feeling shorter.  The shopping malls and plaza are packed with loony tunes trying to get the best deals possible on gizmos and gadgets.  And probably the biggest result of the season, people are drinking.

Whether they are doing it to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones or they are doing it to deal with loved ones we all are pretty much filling up glasses with adult beverages a little more in December.  And if you are a beer geek like me then there is plenty of great craft beer stocked up.

But tis the season to give right?  And what do you get for that special beer geek in your life.  Well considering everyone is different and some might have weird taste in certain things I could not even begin to hit down gift ideas for everyone.  But I can give you some starting pointers of some great presents to put under the tree this year.

Probably the single most important thing you need to enjoy great craft beer (after the beer itself of course) is glassware.  And not just any glassware but the right glassware.  And if you have a Total Wine and More near you they have started bringing in some nice glassware including glasses from Stone, Dogfish Head, Samuel Adams and Hofbrau.  But if you don’t have one of these super stores near by then I have found something just right.

Kegworks is offering the Classic Beer Glass Connoisseur Collection.  It is set of four different glasses including an imperial nonic pint glass, a Belgian style tulip, a tall wheat glass and pilsner glass.  The set also comes with a little journal to where they can record their thoughts about 33 different beers.  Theses are really the main glassware types that you need for being a beer geek.  Sure you can break down and get a bunch of other snifters and goblets but the tulip serves that purpose just fine.  With this set your friend can enjoy any number of fine brews in their proper glassware accompaniment.  For more details and to order check out the product on Kegwork’s website.

So you go some glasses but now you have to fill those up with some good suds for your beer geek.  What do you get them?  Well lucky for you Samuel Adams released something just in time for the holidays that every beer nerd will want.

Infinium is a collaboration brew that Boston Beer did with Weihenstephan out of Germany.  The idea was to create a brand new beer style but only use the four base ingredients for making beer; water, malted barley, hops, yeast.  And with the use of a champagne style of yeast Infinium was created.  This is a great once in a life time type of beer that your beer geek will love.  It should also be fairly easy to find at any local beer store that has good craft beer.  And at a retail price of between $18-$20 it won’t break your bank like Utopias.

Well maybe your beer geek in your life is a little more advanced in their love of great beer.  Maybe they even want to start brewing their own beer.  Well it’s pretty easy and cheap to get all the equipment you will need to start home brewing.

Over at Northern Brewer they have a number of different starter kits but I recommend the Better Basic Starter Kit as it gives you everything you need with an actual carboy as opposed to just 2 buckets from the base kit.  The only other things you will need is kettle, burner and the ingredients.  A stove top and kettle work just fine and NB has a number of recipe kits available on the site as well.  Just pick what you want to make and they will box together all the ingredients and mail them your way.

Speaking of mailing I bet you are thinking that’s a lot of equipment to send and it’s going to cost an arm and a leg to ship.  Well with Northern Brewer they have  a flat $7.99 shipping cost.  Yup you can get nearly anything from them (minus giant metal fermenters and such) shipped to your doorstep for just $7.99.

So there you have it.  Some great ideas for some gifts to get your loved one if they love themselves some good craft beers.  Happy holidays!

In case you don’t have a calendar or don’t travel outside near any places of business it is the holiday season.  And in the holiday season we seem to always seek out the best possible gifts and deals for our loved ones to see their faces just light up in joy when they receive it.  Well I’m going to help you out with picking out something for that special beer lover in your life this holiday season.

A lot of people think of Santa and his elves when you mention Christmas and so does Ridgeway Brewing in England.  And why shouldn’t they?  They are in jolly ol’ England and Santa is a jolly ol’ soul.  Well the folks over at Ridgeway have a full line of winter brews that celebrate the big guy and his little pals with some nice tongue in cheek humor.  With names like Santa’s Butt, Reindeer’s Revolt and many grades of Bad Elf they are sure to make you smile with the name and the good brew you are drinking.  Ridgeway isn’t doing anything ground breaking here but much like most British breweries they stick to the basics with good solid examples of the individual styles.  I’ve been able to sample both Santa’s Butt, a nicely spiced porter, and Bad Elf, a spiced up IPA, and really enjoyed each.  Nice sized bottles make the Ridgeway Christmas brews a great stocking stuffer.  Don’t forget the ELF WARNING: Consumption of too much Winter’s Ale may be bad for your elf and may impair your ability to drive a sleigh or operate toy-making machinery.

Next up on the list of great things for the great beer lover is something that is not only good but an absolute steal in my opinion price wise.  Flying Dog recently won the Best Mid Sized Brewery in America at the last GABF in September and they offer a wide assortment of brew styles including making variety packs for those that want to sample a little bit of each.  Well one of such variety packs is their Canis Major pack.  The 8 pack includes two of each of their big beer including Gonzo Imperial Porter, Horn Dog Barley Wine, Double Dog DIPA and Kerberos Tripel.  I’ll admit that I originally tried Flying Dog for three reasons; the awesome names of the brews, Ralph Stedman artwork and a quote from Hunter S. Thompson.  Now I know those may not appeal to everyone so I offer you this reason to give them a try, the pack is only $9.99.  Yes around $10 for eight big beers by a highly regarded American craft brewery.  Now I have had the great pleasure of trying Gonzo Imperial Porter before and I must say that if you haven’t had it this pack alone should be a treat.  Now I know the price might be a little different from place to place, also depending on if you get Flying Dog, but I can assure you in South Florida that Total Wine has this pack for exactly that price.  Can you find anywhere else 8 big beers for that price?  Go on I’ll wait for you.  But until you do why don’t you place this under the tree, or next to the minora, for a loved one this season.

Next I offer something that is a little pricey but hey it’s the holidays, indulge!  Typically when people celebrate they like to break out pretty much the same thing, Champagne.  Or as Christopher Walken says, ChampaGNA.  Yes this bottle of bubbly is the stereotypical drink of congratulations and sports teams winning big games all over the place but for you beer lovers there is a way to stay the same but be quite different.  DeuS out of Belguim is a Biere de Champagne, a sort of hybrid between beer and Champagne, and it is consistantly rated the highest of all others in this style.  While it is a little bit high in the price range, around $22, it is much cheaper in comparision to a top level actual Champagne.  Or you could even pick one up and save it for a more special occassion, way to make your loved ones feel special during the holidays!  I kid.  But this just reminds me of some Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head mentioned before, “Beer is an affordable luxery.”  So very true.  People that like to live luxerious with wine, Champagne, watches, cars, etc pay large amounts of money for the top of the line in those respective categories.  But with beer you can get a great beer that is considered one of the best in the world for it’s style for lump sums less.  Enjoying something good while saving money, who doesn’t love that?

I mean these are only a few ideas to get the suds fan you love these holidays.  Remember a lot of breweries make great winter beers to try here are just a few I recommend.

St. Bernardus Christmas
Delirium Noel
Anchor’s Our Special Ale
Sierra Nevada’s Celebration
Lost Coast’s Winterbraun
Rogue’s Santa’s Private Reserve

Or you can always go get them something they always enjoy and love.  Nothing makes the day like having one of your favorite brews with someone.  But go out there and be creative and I’m sure you will get your loved one something they will enjoy!