Being a beer lover can be a blessing and a curse. When the purchasing decisions are within our own control, all is well. When it comes to gift-giving occasions, loved ones can find themselves treading through a minefield of beery choices which often end in something like; “The guy in the bottle shop said Corona was their bestselling special beer so I got you this slab.”

To assist your nearest and dearest to select thoughtfully, simply print out this page and leave it strategically placed near the Big W and Super Cheap Auto flyers. Who knows what might fall out of Santa’s sack with your name on it?

Beer Glasses.

It’s no use getting any beer for Christmas if you don’t have nice glasses from which to drink them and show off your beery credentials. A twin pack of Speiglau Stemmed Tulip Glasses makes a great value all-purpose glass gift for the discerning sipper.

Speigelau Beer Glass set

Beer Gift Packs from Brewers

Advent calendars are all the rage again. As a young boy in agood Christian familyI looked forward to openingmy allotted days of the calendar to reveal a tiny Nativity-related picture. When more secular editions came around containing small chocolates I couldn’t help but feel the world had changed for the worse somehow. As a beer writer, I can again embrace the concept in a mature and adult way. Bridge Road Brewers have (HAD) a terrific beer Advent calendar but they are all gone.

Here are some BRB gift ideas for those who missed out.

http://bridgeroadbrewers.com.au/beers

Another great regional brewery has a veritable Santa’s sack of brewery merch to stash beneath the tree. Check out the sparkly trinkets from Bright Brewery here.

http://www.brightbrewery.com.au/shop/

There’s plenty in the way of online beer gifts for those who might need to send a gift interstate. Beer Bud Beer Boutique is a great supporter of craft beer and has a few pressies beneath their virtual Christmas tree for you to choose from.

https://www.beerbud.com.au/gifts/Christmas

Beer Festival Tickets

Summer is the perfect time to get away and perhaps squeeze a Beer Festival into the holiday program. Ballarat’s fourth annual celebration of beer includes a visit from three NSW based breweries in an expanded program featuring music, education and more beer offerings than ever with a brewed-on-the-day home brewing demonstration as well.

http://www.ballaratbeerfestival.com.au/

Geelong fires up its third incarnation of the GABF with even more focus on beer as a part of our cultural fabric and incorporates art and photography as well as local music, roving cabaret acts and a Brewers Keg Rolling Cup along the main straight of the racecourse.

http://www.gabfgeelong.com.au/

Books

Holiday time gives us room for a little light reading and there is no better printed & bound gift (with the possible exception of The Critics’ Choice – Australia’s Best Beers) than our good friend, James Smith information-packed tome, 150 Great Australian Beers.

http://craftypint.com/news/810/150_Great_Australian_Beers_Your_Guide_to_Craft_Beer_and_Beyond

Beery Gifts

If it’s something a little fancier you seek for yourself or a loved one, check out the range of gift ideas including glassware, board game and the world’s largest domestic kegerator over at the James Squire site.

http://www.jamessquire.com.au/life/passions/craft-beer-christmas-presents

Free stuff

Now, if you’re too tight to buy someone special a nice beery Christmas gift, why not try to win something? And who better to offer the opportunity than the brewery that is not just the world’s oldest but also most closely linked to Christmas?! The first commercial brewing licence was granted to Weihenstephan by none other than Good King Wenceslas.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weihenstephan-Australia/176124755131?sk=app_79458893817

Christmas Reading

More important than gifts and giving and celebrating with friends is remembering the true spirit of Christmas. But once you’re naff of all that, take a trip down Memory Lane (formerly known as Dead Horse Flog Lane) and enjoy Matt Kirkegaard’s look at beer and Christmas marketing.

http://www.brewsnews.com.au/2012/10/stella-artois-crafted-for-christmas/

More than more importantly, enjoy the Christmas season, take the time to share a good beer with good friends. If you find yourself in the company of work or family members who have perhaps not yet discovered the joys of good fresh local craft beer, enjoy whatever’s on offer and think to yourself; “The best beer is the one in your hand.”