12 holiday gifts for Bay Area beer lovers

From seasonal releases at top breweries to books about beer, here are a dozen gift ideas for the beer lovers in your life.

CryptoFortress

Dec 10, 2024 - 17:11

12 holiday gifts for Bay Area beer lovers

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With the holidays fast approaching, it’s time to focus on finding that perfect gift for your favorite beer lover. Whether you’re looking for a present for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus, here are some great gift ideas to make your friends or family members jump for joy.

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The gift of beer

If your loved ones love beer, beer is an obvious gift choice. Sure, you could simply pick up a six-pack of their favorite beer (or a 12-pack if they’ve been very good). But it’s a special time of year, and they deserve a special beer. That’s part of the logic behind a centuries-old tradition in which brewers make a special release for the holidays, often with added seasonal ingredients like fruit and spices.

The tradition of special holiday releases began in Europe, and many breweries still brew one each year, yielding some very tasty beers. Take, for example, Delirium Noël from the Belgian brewery Brouwerij Huyghe. It’s a stronger version of their Delirium Tremens, famous for its pink elephant on the label. The Noël version’s pink elephant wears a Santa hat and the beer boasts a complex mix of fruit, spices, caramel and sweetness. It’s a true sipping beer. Other Belgian breweries with nice gift packs include Westmalle, Lindemans, Chimay and Duvel.

Tadcaster Brewery taps into England's Wassail tradition with its Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome beer, which features a new commemorative label each year. (Courtesy Tadcaster Brewery) — Tadcaster Brewery taps into England’s Wassail tradition with its Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome beer, which features a new commemorative label each year. (Courtesy Tadcaster Brewery)

To tap into an old English tradition, there’s Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome, Tadcaster Brewery’s version of a Wassail. The Wassail is an ancient Yuletide drink of ale and spices, sipped while going door-to-door for charity.

Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon, commissions a new label each year for its Jubelale from a local artist. The beer has notes of toffee, dusted cocoa and spices. (Courtesy Deschutes Brewery)

A few others include St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, a Belgian dark strong ale; N’ice Chouffe, another strong dark Belgian that’s spiced with thyme and cacao; and any of the British brewery Ridgeway’s colorfully named Christmas beers, such as Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout, Bad Elf’s Winter Ale or Santa’s Butt Winter Porter.

Many American breweries have also taken up this seasonal tradition. One of the most enduring is Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA, first brewed in 1981. Another one to sip by the fireplace is 21st Amendment Fireside Chat, a Winter spiced ale brewed with cacao nibs and other spices and described as being like a hug and a kick in the rear at the same time.

Also popular: Anderson Valley’s Winter Solstice, a winter warmer with hints of toffee, caramel and other spices, and Deschutes’ Jubelale, which commissions a new label each year by an artist from Bend, Oregon. The beer has notes of toffee, dusted cocoa and spices.

Beer books

It may be because I’m a beer writer, but I love sitting with a good book and a brew — and if it’s a book about beer, that’s even better. Here are a few of my favorite new volumes.

Among this year's gift recommendations for beer lovers is the book — Among this year’s gift recommendations for beer lovers is the book “Around the World in 80 Beers” (Pen & Sword History, $40) by beer historian Martyn Cornell, in which he tells the concise history of eighty beers from forty different countries. (Courtesy Pen & Sword History)

“Around the World in 80 Beers” (Pen & Sword History, $40) is by one of my favorite beer historians, Martyn Cornell. It tells the story of brewing through a concise history of 80 beers from 40 different countries.

"The Meaning of Beer: How Our Pursuit of the Perfect Pint Built the World" by Jonny Garrett (Hanover Square Press, $33) offers a fascinating look at the cultural importance and historical significance of beer. (Courtesy Hanover Square Press) — “The Meaning of Beer: How Our Pursuit of the Perfect Pint Built the World” by Jonny Garrett (Hanover Square Press, $33) offers a fascinating look at the cultural importance and historical significance of beer. (Courtesy Hanover Square Press)

British author Jonny Garrett, whose previous book I recommended a few years back (“A Year in Beer, The Beer Lover’s Guide to the Season),” has a new book out: “The Meaning of Beer: How Our Pursuit of the Perfect Pint Built the World” (Hanover Square Press, $33). It’s a fascinating look at the cultural importance and historical significance of beer, the world’s oldest and most consumed alcoholic beverage. It examines how beer was involved in many of our most important inventions, and ultimately makes the case that we didn’t necessarily make beer, “beer made us.”

Beer cartoonist Emily Sauter has self-published "Pairing Beer with Everything" ($20), a fun book containing cartoon infographics about beer, plus pairing suggestions on a wide range of topics, from the serious to the hilarious. Find it at pintsandpanels.com/store. (Courtesy Emily Sauter) — Beer cartoonist Emily Sauter has self-published “Pairing Beer with Everything” ($20), a fun book containing cartoon infographics about beer, plus pairing suggestions on a wide range of topics, from the serious to the hilarious. Find it at pintsandpanels.com/store. (Courtesy Emily Sauter)

Another fun book released this year is from beer cartoonist Emily Sauter, who self-published “Pairing Beer with Everything” ($20). It’s a collection of cartoon infographics with beer and pairing suggestions on a wide range of topics, from the serious to the hilarious. You can find it and many more of her works (including prints, glassware, stickers, etc.) at her pintsandpanels.com/store. Also self-published and available from Amazon is David Nilsen’s “Pairing Beer & Chocolate” ($22) which details strategies to deliciously pair two of your favorite things: chocolate and beer.

Contact Jay R. Brooks at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com.