What’s on your holiday shopping list?
OK, truth be told, the Real Beer crew won’t be hitching up the sleigh and delivering beer, brewing equipment, beer-flavored toothpaste or whatever else you might be wishing for.
But we are always on the lookout for gadgets, goodies and often fermentables that we might add to our own list.
Care to help?
We have just recently opened our Wearables section which includes tons of cool designs for beer fans. No beer bong humor. You can also see it at TasteYourBeer.com/buywear.html
For those who are just jonesing for an opportunity to try brewing their own beer.
Most homebrew shops have Beer Starter Kits – Basic beer brewing starter kit for new brewers have pretty much everything needed to brew up that first batch.
Nobody likes scrubbing bottles with a brush – A Jet Bottle Washer is a fast easy way to clean bottles and a great gift.
A Gift Certificate from his or her favorite Homebrewing Supply shop makes a great present!
You get to choose the amount you want on the gift certificate. They can choose what they really need and want. You can even have the Gift Certificate sent directly to the person via email! Also, online homebrew shops like those that sponsor these pages allow Gift Certificates to be redeemed online at the checkout.
A gift bag with an assortment of hops is nice, or an assortment of dry yeasts. My kids have given me sacks of malt, a refractometer, thermometers, hydrometers. My wife thinks bigger-she’s given me 200K BTU burners and a conical fermenter.
A mash paddle would be a great gift also.
If a guys already got a kegerator, some 5 gallon kegs are nice…if he doesn’t, a kegerator or kegerator conversion kit.
Buy him a Beer Kegging System
You can purchase one online or from your local homebrew store. A kegging system consists of a keg, a CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas tank, a pressure regulator and two hoses. One for CO2 gas into the keg inlet, the other hose brings the beer to your tap. Keg sizes vary, but the most popular size is the 5 gallon Cornelius or “Corney” keg.
If you are just starting out with kegging your own beer, it is best to purchase a complete starter system from a single store. Complete systems typically run less than $200 for an initial setup including all of the supplies mentioned above. Several popular brewing supply stores that sell kegging equipment can be found on our links page. Once you have your kegging system you will need to fill the CO2 tank with CO2 from a local beverage supply or gas supply store.
Books! As homebrewers, we tend to be interested in both the art and the science. There are a plethora of great books about brewing out there, and I’m sure that every homebrewer, no matter how big their library, can always use more books.
From general books like Palmer’s How To Brew or Mosher’s Radical Brewing, to style-specific books like Sparrow’s Wild Brews and Markowski’s Farmhouse Ales, and even books about food pairing (Oliver’s The Brewmaster’s Table) or the trials and tribulations of starting a brewery (Calagione’s Brewing Up a Business).
There is so much literature out there about beer, you can’t go wrong.
I’m asking for a gift certificate to Midwest Supplies, since that’s where I usually get my winemaking equipment & supplies. Or you can get them a gift certificate to any wine or beer making supply house.
an electronic kitchen scale is a good gift. a digital thermometer. build your own 6 pack to check the competition.
My Christmas list this year has glass carboys to ferment beer in. 22oz. bottles are also great gifts. Last year my wife bought me a subscription to the American Homebrewers Association, that included a Zymurgy Magazine Subscription.
Just for fun check this out…the ultimate beer geek gift… http://www.newc.no/index.pl?artID=cansleep-videos&front=1 the cansleep beer can shaped event quarters. I saw this in Boston and they are pretty cool.
Essential Glassware – there are specific glasses made for the different beer styles. Not everything tastes best from a pintglass. Beerheads has a nice set of glasses covering all the styles. http://www.beerheads.com