Giving the gift of beer can be really cool. Or it can feel kind of lame. Wrapping up a random six-pack isn’t necessarily that thoughtful — unless it’s a beer from far away that you know the giftee has been looking for. Then, yes, do that. Still, you should always be looking to go a little deeper for a gift for the beer-lover in your life, and with the proliferation of all things beer, it’s never been easier to get a beer-related gift.
When we say “beer-related gift,” we’re talking about everything from beer books to growlers to swag to, yes, actual beer. To that end, we put together a list of ten beer-centric gifts we think make for great gifts as 2021 winds down. Mostly, these are pretty straightforward beer-related gifts with a random, throwback entry in there and a really crazy expensive one (at the end) that you might only buy for a parent or spouse or yourself.
It’s also important to note that a couple of these ideas are based on you looking into local breweries or even beer bars to find something that suits the giftee from your own town/region. For instance, I get a beer subscription service from a local beer bar that puts packs together of Franconian beers only. So when I call out a beer subscription service, think local first. Let’s dive in!
Beer and Veg: Combining Great Craft Beer with Vegetarian and Vegan Food by Mark Dredge
Price: $22
The Gift:
Mark Dredge is one of the most interesting voices working in beer today (he literally wrote the book on lager). His latest cookbook looks at the world of beer through the lens of pairing it with vegetarian and vegan meals. It’s a great follow-up to his previous cookbook, Cooking with Beer, which would also make a great gift.
Bottom Line:
Beer is often associated with big, hefty meat dishes, often with a Germanic or Slavic bent. This book doesn’t throw that away, it just looks beyond the sausage, ham hock, and fried chicken towards the veg, legumes, beans, and greens that also pair amazingly well with a cold glass of stout, pale ale, saison, or lager.
Spiegelau Deluxe Craft Beer Tasting Kit
Price: $37
The Gift:
Different styles of beer call for different glasses — sometimes vastly different. While we’re not going to get into the dozens of glasses you could have for beer tasting, we are going to call out this set of four glasses that’ll help someone get started. The German glass set includes one craft IPA glass, one craft stout glass, one craft American wheat beer glass, and one barrel-aged beer glass.
Bottom Line:
The glasses are crystal from RIEDEL, so they’re not dishwasher safe. That does mean, however, that they’re non-reactive and will not carry any old flavors in the glass over from previous pours (as long as they’re washed properly).
Guzzler Drinking Helmet
Price: $15
The Gift:
Let’s have a little fun. This is stupid, childish, and will probably break after one or two uses. But who cares? It’s fun and should bring a smile to your giftee’s face when they open it and especially when they use it. It’s the perfect gift exchange or white elephant gift — no one is ever gonna buy this, but they won’t protest if you buy it for them!
Bottom Line:
Admit it, you’ve always kind of wanted one of these, haven’t you? And look, a joke gift is fine in the right circumstance. At least with a joke gift like this, someone can actually use it to drink beer… albeit, in the most ridiculous way possible.
YETI Rambler 12-oz. Colster Can Insulator
Price: $25
The Gift:
YETI has the cooler, tumbler, and colster game on lock. Their beer colsters actually keep your can of beer cold for a seriously long time. You can leave a beer next to the campfire and come back to it an hour later and it’ll still be straight-out-of-the-cooler cold. If there’s a better way to keep beer cold (once it’s out of the fridge/cooler), we don’t know it.
Bottom Line:
YETI has the name recognition that’s known for keeping things seriously cold for a very long time. That makes this a no-brainer for anyone looking to keep their beer cold while they slowly sip.
uKeg 128 Pressurized Growler
Price: $195
The Gift:
Growlers are always a good idea, especially if you’re heading out to camp or even throwing a backyard party and want some serious local brew. The uKeg is the way to go, thanks to pressurization and little CO2 or nitro cartridges that take the beer from a regular pour from a big bottle to a legit pour that mimics a taproom tap.
Bottom Line:
This really delivers your beer pouring ability to the next level, especially if you want to be mobile. The insulated body keeps beer cold for hours while the pressurized seal means that the beer will stay fresh for up to 14 days. Those are wins all around.
Brewery Swag
Price: Varies
The Gift:
This is one of the “look local” entries that we mentioned above. Here’s the play, figure out which brewery your giftee really digs, and get them some swag from there. A shirt of their favorite beer is always a good and inexpensive place to start. Beyond that, most brewery merch sections will have special releases of beers, hoodies, beanies, socks, tap handles, glasses, and so much more. You might even find vinyl, neon signs, or barstools.
Bottom Line:
While this is a little more work than just clicking on a “buy here” link, it’s worth it. It shows you’ve paid attention and taken the time to do a little research. Again, think local and go from there.
Beer Drop Membership
Price: $40/month
The Gift:
A Beer Drop membership is a monthly service that’ll send the giftee ten beers from five craft breweries. Each month, Beer Drop receives about 400 beers from 50 microbreweries around the country and put packs together, meaning that there’s always pretty solid variation month by month. While $40 a month might seem steep, that only comes to $4 per beer. Not too bad, all things considered.
Bottom Line:
This is another recommendation that we’d urge you to go local with. Call up some really good beer bars and shops and see if they’re doing this already. If you don’t have time for that level of research, that “buy here” link is right below this sentence.
Wine Bottle Basket & Decanter in Rattan-Nito
Price: $42
The Gift:
A bottle basket is a gift for a beer drinker in the know. These baskets are essential for decanting and pouring large-format Belgian beer bottles — think 3 Fonteinen Gueuze or Choufee. When you’re in Belgium this is how these bottles are served, usually tableside. That makes this gift something truly unique, especially if your giftee has a penchant for all things Belgian beer.
Bottom Line:
This is authentic and very specific for Belgian brews but very much a next-level gift. If you know someone who’s into Belgian beer, they’ll be hyped.
Reef Leather Fanning Sandals (with Bottle Opener)
Price: $65
The Gift:
Yes, these are flip-flops with a beer opener in the sole. Hear me out, I bought a pair of these without realizing there was a beer opener in the sole. But it ended up being extremely useful since I lived near a beach at the time and was there all the time and needed a bottle opener.
It just … works.
Bottom Line:
It’s always nice being reminded of the beach and summer in the middle of winter. That aside, these are super useful (and decently made) flip-flops that will come in handy far more often than you can anticipate. Great for camping at a surf break.
24″ Wide Triple Tap Stainless Steel Kegerator
Price: $1,050
The Gift:
This is the “go big or go home” gift. A full-on kegerator is a big swing and really meant to be part of a bigger home bar or maybe just something that sits next to a Traeger in a backyard. This kegerator comes with three taps, can hold three small kegs or up to one full-size keg, and has an easily detachable CO2 tank built-in. Plus, it’s already a fridge so it can be used as that when it’s doesn’t have a keg in there.
Bottom Line:
Tapped beer at home is a great gift for any beer lover. This is the real deal and does not come cheap. We also can’t imagine getting someone this gift and not getting them a dope keg of something to get that party started. But if you make that investment, you have a friend for life.