We’re over halfway through the year and people are already asking what the best beer gifts of 2018 are. Throughout the year there are a lot of times when you might need to buy gifts for the beer lovers in your life, it doesn’t matter if it’s a birthday, work celebration, Christmas or Hannukah there will be something on this list for everyone. I’ve consulted with a group of local beer experts and picked out the best of the best beer gifts. While you can always grab a few beers for your craft beer lovers or get a beer gift basket, we’ve decided to focus on the most interesting and personal beer gift ideas.
Read through the whole 2018 beer gift guide or use the links below to jump to a section.
Beer Events
Merch from the Breweries
Beer Making Gifts
Beer Related Gifts
Beer Gifts to Skip
Beer Events
As beer lovers, we take any chance to get up close and personal with the beers and breweries that we love. Beer events are great gifts for beer fans and brewers alike. While we’ve highlighted mostly local events you can always find a similar event near you or up your beer gifting game by planning a trip around the event!
City brew tour
Brewery tours are always a favorite when giving a beer gift. Because breweries are always changing their lineup of beers just waiting a month can make the tour seem entirely new. Most major beer cities will have at least one beer tour operator and a few have multiple.
- City Brew Tours
https://www.citybrewtours.com/
One of the larger brewery tour operators, City Brew Tours runs brewery tours in Boston, NYC, DC, Baltimore, Burlington, Pittsburgh, and Philly.
Beer festival tickets
If you want the breweries to come to you a beer festival makes an excellent gift. While we’ve highlighted some of the broader beer festivals you can also find beer festivals that are perfect for people that love IPAs, sours, Belgian beers, or many other styles. Make sure you plan ahead if you’re buying tickets to a beer festival as a gift, some festivals can sell out months in advance.
- Extreme Beer Fest 2019
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/extreme-beer-fest-boston-2019-tickets-46904319081#tickets
One of the larger beer festivals, Extreme Beer Fest draws breweries from all over the US. It’s the perfect chance to check out larger breweries that you love and smaller breweries that are just hitting the scene. - Great American Beer Festival 2018
https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/
Perfect as a destination beer gift the Great American Beer Festival is run by the Brewers Association and has everything from beer tastings, to competitions and possibly even guys in Griz Coats.
Brewery events and classes
There are more events you can go to than just beer festivals. A great twist on a beer event gift is to get tickets to a class or a beer pairing event. We’ve picked a couple of cool ones and you can always check the calendar at your favorite brewery to see what events they’re running.
- Slumbrew spent grain bread making class
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spent-grain-bread-making-class-tickets-30864189622
Want to get baked at a brewery? Or better yet just bake at the brewery with spent grain! This is a popular one and you’ll even get some tasty treats. - Taza Chocolate and Guinness Pairing Event – If you can’t find one, do a chocolate making class then head to your closest brewery that makes porters
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TazaChocolate/events/
Double up on the things you love. In this case, if you want to get a beer gift for someone that loves Guinness and chocolate it’s a double win!
Merch from the Breweries
Proper glassware
- Trillium Taster Glass
https://squareup.com/market/trillium-brewing-company-2/flower-logo-taster?square_lead=item_embed
Gift card to the brewery store
- Narragansett Brewery Store Gift Card
https://shop.narragansettbeer.com/products/gift-card
Beer Making Gifts
Session at a guided brewing location
- Hopsters brewing session
http://hopstersbrew.com/index.php/reservations/
Beer making kit
- Northern Brewer Home Brew Starter Kit
https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/brew-share-enjoy-homebrew-starter-kit
Beer making supplies
- Northern Brewer Recipe Kits
https://www.northernbrewer.com/collections/beer-recipe-kits
Beer making gift card
- Northern Brewer Gift Card
https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/northern-brewer-gift-card
Beer Related Gifts
Personalised Beer Growler
- My Beer Growler Custom Engraved Beer Growler
https://www.etsy.com/listing/214131603/custom-engraved-beer-growler-with
Pro tip, not all states allow breweries to fill growlers that aren’t from their brewery and some will require the growler to have a federal alcohol warning label, you can get one herehttps://www.amazon.com/Alcohol-Beer-Wine-Government-Growlers/dp/B01FUWI2OS
Beer Cooler
- Retro Coleman Beer Cooler
https://www.crateandbarrel.com/coleman-54-qt.-steel-cooler/s613262
Cooking with beer books
City/state beer coasters
- Neighbor wood maps
https://www.etsy.com/listing/128219696/boston-map-coaster-set
Wooden beer koozies
Beer tap umbrella
- RainTaps www.raintaps.com
Wooden state-shaped wall hangings with cap-shaped holes
- Little Fox Engraving Bottle Cap Maps
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleFoxEngraving?ref=l2-shopheader-name§ion_id=17906905
Beer Cheese
- Vermont Farmstead Alehouse Cheddar Cheese
https://vermontfarmstead.com/products/alehouse-cheddar - Vermont Farmstead Cheddy Topper
https://vermontfarmstead.com/products/cheddy-topper
Beer Jams and Jellies
- Pot Licker Kitchen Beer Jelly
http://potlickerkitchen.com/beer-jelly/
Beer Chocolates
- Flanders Beer Chocolates
http://www.visitflanders.com/en/themes/belgian-chocolate/chocolate-experience/chocolate-and-beer/beer-chocolates/
Hops flavored lip balm
- Sierra Nevada Natural Lip Balm
https://www.sierranevadagiftshop.com/sierra-nevada-natural-lip-balm.html
Craft beer board game
- Red Dragon Inn Board Game
https://www.miniaturemarket.com/sfg004.html
Craft beer beach towel
- Craft Beer Beach Towel
https://www.currentcatalog.com/buy/craft-beer-beach-towel.html
Beer Gifts to Skip
Beer notebooks
- Craft Beer Tasting Logbook
https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Logbook-Notebook-Pairings-Ordering/dp/B01N8OPVOB
Contributors
Jennifer Dunn is an avid beer fest goer, with 1800+ untappd check-ins, and has worked for Slumbrew: Somerville Brewing Company.
Juliana Casale is a digital marketer, former craft beer journalist, and current flavored seltzer enthusiast. You can follow her adventures in Boston via Twitter @attackofthetext
Jason Ng is a Boston beer drinker and co-host of the podcast Somervillain Brewcast; highlighting local breweries around Somerville, MA, and the Northeast region. You can check out his writing and listen to the podcast at www.somervillainbrewcast.com
Ben Lewis a beer enthusiast, beer blogger, and creator of RainTaps custom beer tap umbrellas. You can find more of his writing and products on this site.
