Have Yourself a Very “Beer-ey” Christmas

December 27, 2007

One of the great things about being married to a homebrewer/beer lover is that it makes shopping for Christmas gifts easy and fun. Especially if you’re a beer-lover yourself.

Here are the beer-related gifts that I and others got Kevin for Christmas this year.

1. A 6 gallon glass carboy (from his Dad). This was a great gift considering he accidentally dropped his only 6 gallon glass carboy and broke it into a million pieces a few months ago.

2. Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles by Ray Daniels (from me). The book is very technical but is broken down by style which makes it ideal for both in-depth study and quick and easy reference.

3. Basic Brewing “2008 Brewers Log Book” (from me) A great tool to record the beers that he will brew during the next year with fields for noting all of the details: name, style, grain-bill, hop varieties, yeast strain, original gravity, fermentation length, final gravity, ABV, sensory perception notes, etc.

4. Basic Brewing “Stepping into All Grain” DVD (from me) . This DVD, designed for brewers already using the extract or partial mash brewing  methods (which we currently use),  will help Kevin venture into the all grain brewing world!

5. “Beer Smarts” (from my brother and his fiance). Entertaining yet educational flashcards about beer culture, history, styles and the brewing process. The cards were edited by Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmasters Table.  Hopefully Kevin will break these out for our New Years Eve party.

6. A 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle of great breweries of California (from me). I always get Kevin a puzzle for Christmas and wanted to get him a beer-themed puzzle this year. I was surprised at how rare brewery or beer puzzles are but was lucky to find this one. I think someone should design a Michigan Brewery logo puzzle. The MI Brewers’ Guild could sell it at the beer festivals. What do you think?

and, of course:

7. A Gift Certificate to Adventures in Homebrewing (my parents). Adventures is Kevin’s favorite home-brew supply shop. Enough said

What fun beer-related booty did you recieve for Christmas this year?   

Posted in Beer Gear