If you’re looking for the best gifts for beer lovers, have no fear—I’ve got ideas. Every friend group has that one person who is waaay into beer. In my friend group, that person is me. As a professional brewer, I spend a lot of my time thinking about, making, packaging, and yes, drinking that most worldly of beverages, beer.
For the past four years, I’ve worked at Grimm Artisanal Ales in NYC, mostly in the cellar. This means ensuring the “wort” (unfermented malt derived sugar water) turns into the finished product we cherish. That requires a lot of sampling and tasting not only of what I make, but staying knowledgeable about the general landscape of the industry. In short, I try a lot of beers—and beer accoutrements.
Below, you’ll find a list of my own favorite gadgets and tools that I use at work and at home. They’re sure to impress even the snobbiest beer snob on your list.
A bierstachel, or beer spike, is a great way to bring out some new flavors in your favorite malty brews, especially during the colder months. This is a popular tool in Germany, and only a few breweries in the US have picked up on it, so it’s great for your one friend who likes to be the first to hop on a new trend. To use a beer spike, heat the cast iron spike to “red hot” using either campfire coals or a propane torch, then plunge it into a glass of beer. The heated spike caramelizes the residual sugars in the beer, creating a fine layer of dense, marshmallow-y foam. This method is best used for high gravity beers like pastry stouts, doppelbocks, and winter ales.
Oyster is a Norwegian brand that’s disrupting the high-end cooler space, so get this one for your beer-snob friend who doesn’t want the same Yeti everyone else already has. This model can fit a whopping 36 cans of beer, comes with two ice packs, and is made from fully-recycled aluminum—so it gets bonus points for being both sustainable and stylish. Its lightweight body allows for easy carrying with either an included shoulder strap or the built-in aluminum handle. Since it uses ice packs instead of ice, this cooler is that much easier to bring to tailgates, the great outdoors, or a cabin in the woods.
A koozie is one of the most obvious gifts for beer lovers, but the Fishpond River Rat has been over-engineered in all the best ways. Made from 1680D coated nylon fabric, it’s ultra durable and water-resistant, with foam insulated side walls that keep your beverage of choice colder, for longer. Stretch fabric makes it easy to slip onto standard 12-ounce cans or glass bottles, but the removable and adjustable neck strap is the real gem of this koozie. It allows for hands-free carrying, and makes wondering where you put your drink a thing of the past. It also comes in a variety of colors.
While there is true “no one-size-fits-all” glass when it comes to serving beer, the Teku glass comes quite close. It’s great for a wide range of beer styles, bringing out the maximum aroma through small laser etched marks on the bottom of the glass that create a longer lasting head. The etching creates intentional nucleation points that force the trapped CO2 in the solution up to the surface of the liquid, which in turn creates foam. The foamy head is one of the most important aspects of any well made beer—this is what keeps your beer aromatic with every sip, so the longer it lasts the more enjoyment you get. You’ve probably been served beer from a glass like this at your favorite craft brewery.
If you know someone whose beer hobby has become a full-blown obsession, then their everyday fridge can no longer contain the multitude of beer they now possess. That’s why a designated beer fridge is in order to keep bottles and cans at their proper “cellar temperature.” With a fully adjustable temperature output, this fridge can keep your larger format bottles at the ideal temp of 55-58 degrees Fahrenheit, or your cans at the appropriate 38 degrees Fahrenheit. If your giftee is also into wine, this is great for building out a personal beverage center.
If you get your hands on rare large-format bottles from a place like cult-favorite Belgian brewery Cantillon, you’ll typically see both a cork and a cap on the bottle, which means you’ll need a wine key. If you’re already splurging on the beer, you might as well open it with something equally nice, like this beauty from Laguiole. Is it expensive? Yes, is it over the top? Also yes, but it’s gorgeous.
A few good books to add to their library
As with any hobby, the more knowledge you acquire, the more you can enjoy it. The world of beer has been written about for literal centuries, so there’s no shortage of things to read about. There are many books written by professional brewers about understanding the science behind this delightful beverage. You can learn about the full life cycle of yeast, extended cellar aging and the effects it has on these beers, what different flavors hops and botanicals can have on your beer. Books written for the home brewer and the different ingredients you can use to make your own unique beer. This book by Randy Mosher is a fantastic crash course to understanding beer and how to consume it, and it’s a must-read for anyone who wants to take their Cicerone (beer sommelier) certification course.
Is your local beer connoisseur looking to take a crack at home brewing? Get them one of these great home-brewing starter kits. It’s worth noting that while it may seem like a better bang for your buck to brew your own beer, the initial start-up cost is pretty steep. But at the end of the day, there is something immensely satisfying about making something completely your own from raw ingredients.
Anyone who likes, let alone loves, beer will undoubtedly be excited by the prospect of receiving new brews to try on a monthly basis, so a beer subscription is a reliable gift option. Craft Beer Club’s Beer of the Month lets you choose the amount of beer—ether 12 or 24 bottles/cans—and their expert curators do the rest. Each month, your giftee will receive a variety of beer styles from two different craft breweries across the US.
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