While the holidays are filled with wonder and merriment for many people (i.e. kids), for others it can be a stressful time of year trying to find the perfect gifts for the people that matter most in their lives. To make it a little easier this year, we thought we would give you some gift ideas for the craft beer lovers in your lives. Now, this isn’t some lame list poached from Buzzfeed. These are things that we actually own or have given to people as gifts and can vouch for their quality and/or usefulness. Some of these items are local to San Diego and all are from businesses that you can feel good about supporting. Here are our top picks for best gifts to give people who love craft beer.
Shirts on Tap
Shirts on Tap is a San Diego company that has since expanded their network to Portland and Denver. For $15 a month they send you a t-shirt from a local brewery or you can get a rotation of shirts from all three craft beer cities. The shirts come in an adorable box that is also stuffed with stickers, coupons, and brewery info. You can sign up for as many months as you would like and cancel at any time. I got this for my husband for Father’s day and he has been very pleased with the quality of shirts and the designs. The best part is that the subscription is easily transferable, so when the original gift receiver gets enough shirts, you can change the subscription to different sizes and/or genders.
Hydro Flask Pint Glass
I confess, I have a slight obsession with all things Hydro Flask. They make the colorful, double-walled water bottles that keep cold things cold for 24 hours and hot things hot for 12 hours. Then they created a pint glass and I found a new favorite beer cup! I love my IPAs ice cold and it seems crazy because the top of the cup remains open, but this cup keeps my beer noticeably colder down to the last drop. It’s also great for drinking in cold weather because the cold temperature of the beer isn’t transferred onto your hand and the cup also doesn’t sweat in the summer. Not only is this pint glass great for beer but it’s perfect for coffee in the morning too. It’s completely worth its $24.95 price tag and my advice is to get two, just so there’s no fighting over who gets the best beer glass ever.
Anything Craft Beerd
Craft Beerd is a company owned and run by local artist and hop-head, Rudy Pollorena Jr. Rudy is a familiar face around the San Diego craft beer community and an all around cool guy. His love of craft beer and his knowledge of the industry is reflected in all of the pieces he creates, from shirts to artwork to glassware. You’re sure to find something for any craft beer lover on his website and even better, they ships nationwide.
Growler Cage
While there are a lot of growler bike carriers on the market, lots of them are leather, hipster things that look neat but are either super expensive or not that functional on different styles of bikes. Most of the popular leather ones are designed to only fit a men’s bike, which is pretty lame since we all know, girls drink craft beer too! The Growler Cage is awesome because it can be attached to different areas of your bike, holding a 64oz growler (either glass or steel) snuggly and safely for your journey home from your local brewery.
The Gift of Beer
This is a no-brainer, but what do craft beer people love to do more than anything? Drink beer! So getting them a gift certificate to their favorite local brewery, along with a shirt if you are so inclined, is a sure-fire way into their beer-soaked hearts. GCs are especially good for teachers, bosses, and employees, which is how my daughter’s piano teacher has ended up with a gift certificate to Societe Brewing every year. The best part is that in order to get the gift certificate, you will have to go into the brewery, and who can go in an awesome brewery without sitting down for a quick pint? No one, that’s who.
We hope that this list is helpful to you when you are making up your holiday gift lists this year. Let us know what your favorite gifts are to give the craft beer drinkers in your life and happy holidays from all of us here at TSB!