by John Mizer
December 16, 2005

Are there any last minute shoppers out there who have someone to shop for that has everything and you just can't pull the trigger on that fruitcake or naming a star after them? If your hard-to-buy- for person is a beer drinker, perhaps you could consider the multitude of gift ideas the beer world has to offer.

Beer Baskets
Yes there is such a thing as a beer basket. They keep longer than a fruit basket, are available online, and are relatively easy to make yourself. Many of your finer liquor stores will sell beer by the bottle, making your basket easy to theme or mix and match. There are dozens of holiday brews out this time of year if you don't feel very adventurous during the selection process.

Home Brewing Kits
This option can be as expensive as you want to make it. I'd recommend staying away from the beer in a bag kits. I've yet to meet anyone who enjoyed their final beer in a bag product enough to ever purchase another one. To start your own home brewing kit from scratch, a stock pot and a couple of 5 gallon glass jugs are always a good start. When purchasing ingredients, pay close attention to their age if possible, especially the yeast, which usually will come in a powder form with starter kits. It can be very deflating to spend six weeks waiting for your home brew to age and have it taste funky due to the use of inferior ingredients.

If you're lucky enough to have a brew-on-site store in your area and have a little extra coin to spare, a gift certificate for a brewing session is probably the best option for the beginning brewer. The process is fun without being time consuming and the odds are you'll wind up with a fine beer that you can be proud to call your own. Most of these establishments also offer you the ability to create your own label as well.

Beer of the month clubs are another option as well and are a great way to introduce someone to different styles. One caveat to this gift idea is that you rarely have any control as to what you'll be sending or receiving not to mention the freshness of the product. In this case, perhaps a fruitcake is a safer bet than an oxidized beer.

Happy shopping!