If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I have been slow to post this month.  I mentioned in a previous post that I am insanely busy during the month of December.  Yes, yes, I know most people are busy this month but I assure you, it’s worse for me than it is for most.  I am one of the owners of an Ecommerce business and am in charge of the daily operations.  December is INSANE!

But, enough belly-aching, I actually really love this month and love Christmas and my wife made sure it was a Christmas packed full of Beer!  It was a nice reward for a month of hard work.  I got a lot of non-beer related items for Christmas as well but let’s skip all that and talk about the important stuff (oh, and if you are reading this and are one of the people that got me a non-beer item, disregard that last sentence, your gift was my favorite).

Homebrew Beer Kits

• Brewers Best Scotch Ale
• Brewers Best Irish Stout

Beer Books

• Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher
• Guinness: An Official Celebration of 250 Remarkable Years
• The Home Brewer’s Answer Book by Ashton Lewis
• The Homebrewer’s Recipe Guide by Patrick Higgins, Maura Kate Kilgore and Paul Herlein

Beer

• Ommegang Witte – 1 Pint 9.4 oz Bottle
• Ommegang Rare VOS – 1 Pint 9.4 oz Bottle
• Ommegang Hennepin – 1 Pint 9.4 oz Bottle
• Rouge Yellow Snow IPA – 1 Pint 6 oz Bottle
• Southern Tier Imperial Mokah – 1 Pint 6 oz Bottle
• 6 Pack of Troegs Mad Elf – 12 oz Bottles
• Konig Ludwig Weissbier – 12 oz Bottle

It was a great Christmas and a really nice and relaxing 4 day weekend with the family.  I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow but I have no complaints.  It was a great time.

Please take note that I did not include the Complete Joy of Homebrewing in this list but that is only because I singled that book out as an earlier gift idea.  It’s the classic “starter” book for any home brewer and I felt it deserved special attention.

Tasting Beer	Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher This is the book I am reading right now and it’s really great.  I don’t think you can be a great home brewer without having an educated palette and a good understanding of what it is you are tasting when you try a beer.  Randy Mosher is a legend in the home brew community and very active in the Home Brewers Association.  This book goes into detail on the history of beer, what goes into beer, different styles of beer, different flavors, how to detect those flavors and what those flavors mean.  This book is available at Amazon.
Brewing Classic Styles	Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer I have been listening to the Brewing Network quite a bit lately, they have some great podcasts and some really impressive people involved with their network. Jamil and John are two of the people involved in the Brewing Network and their knowledge is overwhelming. Jamil is in a few of the shows and has one of his own about brewing clone beers. Brewing Classic Styles is described as a recipe book but it’s more that that, it includes tips and info on each style that the recipe is associated with. It’s a great resource and is available at a discounted price on Amazon.
Brew Like a Monk	Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymus Belgian beers, particularly Trappist style beer, is one of the most popular styles of beer among craft beer enthusiasts. This book goes into great detail on the history and style of Belgian beers. I haven’t purchased this book for myself yet so i can’t give you a detailed overview of it but it’s been recommended to me by a bunch of different people in the hobby. You can check it out at Amazon
Brewing up a Business	Brewing up a Business by Sam Calagione Sam Calagione is the man behind Dogfish Head Brewery, one of the largest craft brewers in the country. He started out as a home brewer and created a growing and successful micro brewery that puts out a consistently great product. This book is the story of how he did it and what he went through. Check it out on Amazon

Please Note: This article is part of our Holiday series highlighting the top 12 gift ideas for beer enthusiasts and homebrewers. Read the original post to get the full list of beer gift ideas.

If the person you are buying the gift certificate for has a favorite local home brew store, than I would suggest going there first to see if they offer gift certificates.  If they are like me and don’t have a store that is local to them, there are a lot of great online alternatives.  Here are a few popular online stores that are well-stocked and offer gift certificates:

• Northern Brewer Gift Certificates
• Rebel Brewer Gift Certificates
• More Beer Gift Certificates

Please Note: This article is part of our Holiday series highlighting the top 12 gift ideas for beer enthusiasts and homebrewers. Read the original post to get the full list of beer gift ideas.

Basic Brewing DVD

I have been listening and watching a lot of beer podcasts since I started my Year of Beer.  One of the shows that I really like is Basic Brewing Radio and Basic Brewing Video (both done by the same guy).  He puts out a really great show and both his audio and video have been very helpful to me.

In addition to his free podcasts, he also puts out a series of DVD’s that shows you step by step how to brew.  Everyone learns differently, some people can pick up a book and get everything they need to get started in this hobby, other people benefit from watching someone do it step by step.  I wish I would have known about his DVD series before I got started.  I am someone that can learn by reading but I really benefit from seeing someone actually do it.  Before this year of beer is up, I want to move to all-grain brewing and fully intend to buy the Stepping into All Grain DVD if I don’t get it for Christmas.

You can check out all of the products that he offers at the Basic Brewing Shop.

Please Note: This article is part of our Holiday series highlighting the top 12 gift ideas for beer enthusiasts and homebrewers. Read the original post to get the full list of beer gift ideas.

My suggestion, if you are looking to get someone a gift who is interested in home brewing, start them out like everyone else starts out, with enough gear to brew beer with malt extracts.   That is what I will focus on in this article.

Not to confuse you, but, within the umbrella of extract home brewing, there are two basic choices.  There are the basic, self-contained extract kits that have the hops and the malt combined into one extract and there are the ones where only the malt is in the extract and the hops are separate.   The first type of kit is the easiest to do and will produce a decent beer.  The second type of kit is a little more work but offers you a lot more flexibility and is easier to grow with than the simpler kits.

I prefer the second type of kit but that’s for the individual to decide.  I am going to give you a few different options that will cover both methods.  They are the best options that I know of for getting someone started.

:: 3 Home Brew Starter Kit Options ::

Mr Beer Homebrew Gift

Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit

Mr. Beer is probably the most well known all-inclusive home brew starter kit.  It’s one of the kits that I mentioned above that have the hops infused in the extract.  Few home brewers that start with Mr. Beer and continue with the hobby will continue to use the Mr. Beer kit but it is a great way to introduce people to the hobby.  You will hear serious hobbyists talk badly about it since you don’t have the flexibility and control that more advanced home brewing gives you.  However, as a new evangelist of this wonderful hobby, I think the Mr. Beer kit is a great introduction to the basics of the hobby, makes a decent beer and is inexpensive.  It’s not a big investment to see if it’s something the gift recipient would want to continue with.

From now thru Christmas, Mr. Beer is offering free shipping on all Pro and Ultimate Kits.  Go to Mr. Beer for more info.

Coopers Home Brew Kit

Coopers Micro Brew Kit

Coopers is another company that puts out a good home brew starter kit.  Their kits come with the malt extract with the hops already added just like Mr. Beer does however, I think the Coopers kit is more flexible than Mr. Beer.  It’s more expensive but I think the added flexibility to grow with the hobby makes it a better buy.  Coopers also sells malt extract without the hops and you can use the gear to make other types of home brew.  You can even get extract kits from other companies and use your Coopers gear to brew it.

Another good selling point is that Coopers is an actual brewery, they make their own beer.  Their home brew kits are a side venture of their own brewery so they certainly know what they are doing.

To check out all of the different home brew kit options that Coopers offers, go to Coopers Home Brew Beer.

Home Brew Starter Kits

Northern Brewer Starter Kits

Northern Brewer is one of many online home brew stores that sell starter kits.  I am using their kit as an example because they are one of my favorite online home brew stores. These kits are equipment only, they usually don’t include the ingredients to make your first batch of beer but you can buy that separately from the same store and include it with your gift.  When I was getting into the hobby, I reviewed all of the options and this is the kit that I went with.  It gave me the most flexibility and will make it much easier for me to grow as a hobbyist.   This equipment allows you to brew 5 gallon batches over and over again.

To read more about what is included in these kits, go to Northern Brewer’s web site.

Please Note: This article is part of our Holiday series highlighting the top 12 gift ideas for beer enthusiasts and homebrewers. Read the original post to get the full list of beer gift ideas.

With the Beer of the Month club, you get 12 beers each month, it’s 4 different beers from 2 different breweries so you get 3 of each beer.    They have several different clubs, the one I am a member of currently is the domestic microbrew beer of the month club.  As the name suggests, all of the beer is from the USA.  They have one that is half  USA and half International, one that is all International and a rare beer of the month club that features very rare and hard to find beer.

The reason I joined the club was because I wanted to try as many styles as I could from as many good breweries as I could.  Microbrews are great but they are microbrews for a reason, they are small and often have very limited distribution.  This club allows me to try a wide selection of beer that I didn’t have access to and I have discovered and tried some really great beers.  What’s really  nice is if you try a beer that you like, you can buy more from them.

The beer club I joined has excellent customer service, I wasn’t thinking when I placed my order and used my home address.  Since they are shipping alcohol, a signature is often required so I called and had it shipped to my work.  I called and had it switched within 5 minutes of placing my order and they were very nice.

The club memberships are very flexible, you can sign someone up for 2 – 12 months and if they like it they can re-subscribe.  I want to try all the different beer of the month clubs that they offer so I signed up for 3 months.  When my 3rd shipment arrives I plan on joining their domestic + international club for 3 months.

If you read this early enough in the shopping season, keep in mind that it’s very easy to call and change the delivery address.  If you want the gift recipient to have something to open for Christmas, have the first shipment shipped to your house and wrap it up.  After you receive your first shipment, give them a call and switch it to the gift recipients address.  That way, they have a case of beer to open at Christmas and they know they have more on the way.  A very cool gift for anyone that loves beer.

To join or order this as a gift for someone, go to Gourmet Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club.

Update:  We were sent some coupons that you may find useful if you decide to get this as a gift for someone.  Check them out at Beer of the Month Coupons.

Please Note: This article is part of our Holiday series highlighting the top 12 gift ideas for beer enthusiasts and homebrewers. Read the original post to get the full list of beer gift ideas.