Gifts for the Beer Geek: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
It’s hard to buy good gifts for people. I understand. I’ve been friends/dating/engaged/married to my wife Nicole since 1996. After fourteen years of birthdays, Christmases, and random occasions, I am pretty much out of creative gift ideas. When all else fails, the default reaction is to fall back on her favorite hobbies: music and gnomes.
I’m sure you have a similar story. You have a favorite thing that everyone knows about: a football team, knitting, wolves, beer. So on every gift-giving occasion you get inundated with those kind of gifts.
The first couple years are great. You get stocked up on a lot of your favorite things. But after so long, how many airbrushed t-shirts of howling wolves do you need?
For me, it’s obviously beer. Everyone knows me as a “beer guy.” All five birthday cards I received this year were beer-themed. I’ve been given beer, beer books, beer clothing, beer wall decor, beer glasses, beer brewing equipment, and on and on. A lot of it is great and I’ve enjoyed it immensely, others of it, not so much.
My advice for those of you who know someone passionate about something, tread carefully when buying them a gift for their passion. Consumables or raw materials are great. Avoid things that will add to clutter. Their closets, walls and end tables are probably cluttered enough as it is.
Most of all, take into account the recipient’s personality. For instance, I like things that are vintage or so tacky it wraps around to awesome. I don’t like cheesy or manufactured. If you don’t know them that well, get them a gift card. Play it safe.
Just for giggles, here’s a brief look at some beer gifts I was given for Christmas this year and occasions past. (If you are reading this and gave me some of these things, please don’t be offended. I really do appreciate the thought, but it is what it is.)
The Good
- Beer, as in the actual liquid – This year I got some Guinness for Christmas. In years past, friends have given me sampler packs, enrolled me in a Beer of the Month Club, brought beer from far away places, such as Surly and Bell’s.
- Beer books – I’ve received a lot of beer books as gifts, including a couple of my favorites: Travels with Barley and The Homebrewer’s Companion.
- Unique glassware – I love drinking beer from unique glasses. Last year Nicole gave me a very nice set of six taster glasses that have come in very handy. Be sure to check out Mario’s informative post on beer glassware from the HopPress last month.
- Homebrewing equipment – This year I got an aerator pump for my wort. It’s probably something I never would have bought myself since it’s sort of an “extra,” so I’m really glad it was given to me. Now my yeast can breathe easy!
- Tasteful, clever or vintage swag – I got a nice long sleeve t-shirt from Mick Duff’s in Sandpoint, Idaho for my birthday, shown below. Nicole also gave me a sweet vintage Miller High Life wall light a few years ago.
The Ugly
For all the cool, useful gifts I’ve been given, there are some that just don’t quite have it. I have summed up these gifts pictorially.
The Bad
And finally, this is the winner of them all, what I have dubbed the Suicide Mug. Can you imagine this in the hands of a drunk person? After about one minute, someone in the room would take it and bludgeon them to death with it. It is the most obnoxious gift of all-time.
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So what did you get for Christmas? Any awesome beer gifts? Horror gift stories?
One Comment to “Gifts for the Beer Geek: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”
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Sweet mother of St. Arnold that mug is terrible…
This year I got a stack of great beer books, a turkey fryer/burner setup (for homebrewing, obviously), a gift card to World of Beer (already spent), and several bottles of good craft beer…