Funny Stock Up on Beer for Camping

The Best Gifts for Beer Lovers, According to Brewers and Beer Lovers

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers

If you have someone in your life who really loves beer, you may want to aim higher than gifting them a six-pack or one of those "funny" beer accessories like a helmet with two straws — especially on a romantic holiday like Valentine's Day. To help find the stuff they'll truly appreciate and enjoy — we're talking special glasses, a beautiful bottle opener, coffee-table books they'll actually want to read, and more — we consulted a group of experts. These brewers and brewmasters, certified ciceroni, and beer writers had a lot of good suggestions that are sure to please.

Yeti coolers, which we've deemed the best coolers on the market, are beloved by pretty much anyone who uses them for their virtual indestructibility and the fact that they keep food and drinks (and ice!) cold for literal hours on end. Which is why we were not surprised when Jesse Ferguson, the founder and brewmaster at Interboro Spirits and Ales, told us this Yeti cooler would make an impressive gift for a beer lover who needs to keep their brews ice cold. "This is great for the traveling beer geek," he says. "Fill it with cans and bottles and check it on your way home from your trip visiting new breweries." The rugged soft-side cooler has a wide-mouth opening with ultrastrong magnets to keep it closed, as well as top handles, a shoulder strap, leak-proof liner, and a shell that's resistant to mildew, punctures, and UV rays. It can hold up to 20 cans of beer or 28 pounds of ice.

If the beer lover in your life is more of a stay-in-place kind of person (maybe their fridge is bursting at the seams with bottles and they need extra storage, or maybe they just like to have a lot of options when they host), consider a hard Yeti cooler. Again, Yeti is a no-fail; even James Murphy, the owner of the restaurant and wine bar Four Horsemen in Williamsburg (and LCD Soundsystem front man), stands by Yeti. "Nothing ever gets warm in there," he says. "It's bonkers."

For beer lovers who wait in line outside their favorite breweries on a weekly basis, Matt Monahan, co-founder of cult favorite Other Half Brewing Company, recommends a Dayventure beer cooler from Pelican. "This company makes amazing, high-quality coolers that match up every bit to the competitors and then some," he says. "This cooler in particular fits 4 packs of 16oz cans perfectly."

Strategist writer Dominique Pariso first turned us on to Brümate's stainless-steel coozies when she wrote that they kept her slender White Claw ice cold, even on a hot summer day. Luckily for the beer drinker in your life, BrüMate's Hopsulator coozie comes in a standard size that'll keep their favorite 12-ounce bottles of IPA ice cold, too.

Since glass isn't allowed on many beaches or in some state parks, your favorite beer lover is probably hauling cans all summer long. Mary Izett, co-owner of Fifth Hammer Brewing Company in Queens, New York, loves the Yeti Colster — a can insulator — for summertime imbibing. "They're lightweight, durable, and keep your beer at the appropriate temperature on the hottest of days," Izett says.

If you want to get even more specific about summer drinking, Tim Rozmus, the content-marketing manager at Brooklyn Brewery, has had his eye on these insulated life jackets — for your beer cans. "I'm a boat guy," he explains. "They're just a fun twist on a relatively normal thing."

"If you want to get some fancy glasses, Spiegelau has some really nice stuff specifically designed for specific styles," David Zuskov, the brewer and lab manager at Almanac Beer Co. in Alameda, California, explains. "The IPA glass really makes a difference. I drank the same beer out of their glass and a pint glass, and you can taste so much more flavor from theirs."

If you're not sure what style of beer they enjoy the most, but still want to upgrade their glassware from novelty pint glasses, give them a Spiegelau four-piece tasting set, which comes with the IPA glass, a glass for stouts, and one for American wheat beer.

Cory Bonfiglio, co-owner of Beer Street and Beer Street South in New York City, says one of the best gifts to give right now is a gift card to the recipient's favorite beer shop. "It's not remotely sexy, but gift cards from local beer shops and breweries would be incredibly helpful in this time," he says. To complete the gift, he also suggests throwing in a pair of "beautiful, classic, and inexpensive compared to quality wine stemware" Teku glasses.

Another classic glassware recommendation, courtesy of Rozmus, is the nonic pint glass. With a bulge that helps catch aromas and makes for a nice grip, especially if you like to put your glassware in the freezer before drinking, it's more refined than your standard straight-sided pint glass. "They're high-quality and really durable," Rozmus says. "I think they would make an especially nice gift for someone who just turned 21 or who just moved into their first apartment."

Rebecca Carey, the food-and-beverage director at the Viceroy Chicago hotel, is a fan of these pint glasses, which pay homage to a particular place; you can choose from several different ones. "They have a blown 'mountain' at the base, which I think make them fun and handsome," she says. At $50 a pop, they're definitely a splurge, but that makes them a great gift for someone looking to elevate their drinking experience (including yourself).

"One year for Christmas, my mom gave me one of those 'Save Water, Drink Beer' shadow boxes that you fill with your used bottle caps. She also gave me a wall-mounted bottle opener built from a melted Toasted Lager bottle. It was the perfect combo," says Dan Jansen, director of supply at Anheuser-Busch's Brewers Collective. "The challenge became filling the shadowbox by the next Christmas, and I definitely rose to it." While these aren't the same shadow box and bottle opener Jansen has, they're just as compelling to get your beer-loving buddy to get busy (responsibly) filling up that box.

Speaking of bottle openers, according to Julia Herz, the publisher of CraftBeer.com and craft-beer program director at the Brewers Association, you can't go wrong with giving a beer lover a solid bottle opener. "A kick-ass bottle opener needs to feel sturdy and work well. It's a catalyst for each glee-filled moment you open a beer. It needs to be special enough for it to gain more and more meaning and purpose with each use." We think this one from FS Objects, which is handmade from solid brass, definitely has that "special enough" quality she's talking about.

Don't let unfinished ones to go to waste; former Strategist editor Jason Chen tipped us off to this bottle resealer a few years ago. "It has fun diagrammatic instructions etched right on it," he says.

Or, for the beer drinker who prefers to wear his gear, this belt with a built-in bottle opener behind its buckle is sure to delight. It came recommended by our Resident Cool Guy Chris Black, who says the belt has that "I played a side stage at Lollapalooza in 1993" energy.

The lambic beer drinker in your life, though, will need a corkscrew to get to the good stuff. (Bottles of lambic are corked, not capped, and we talk more about this unique type of Belgian beer below.) For them, consider this cheerful one from iconic Italian design company Alessi that Black also recommends. Her name is Anna G. and she was designed by Alessandro Mendini in 1994.

We also love this vacuum-insulated growler from Hydro Flask. It would make a perfect companion to the Yeti cooler on your beer-loving friend's next camping trip.

If you really want to wow your cold-one swigging loved one, try this snazzy stainless-steel growler that doubles as a tap and also features a pressure gauge and a carbonation cap that "automatically regulates pressure to optimally carbonate beer," according to the product description.

This all-rattan lambic basket is also handsome, though slightly less expensive. It can also be used for wine, which is great for a split household.

Here's the thing: Popping a beer in the freezer to cool it down is cheap and effective. But if you forget about it, the clean up when the can explodes can be a real pain. That's why Andrew Burman of Other Half Brewing Co. recommends getting a rapid cooler like the Cooper. "Having a rapid cooler for beer, wine, or Champagne is key, especially for last-minute gatherings," Burman says. "This cooler is on my wish list (hint hint)."

"We've had these for a few years, and every time the weather starts to cool down, they pop out of the ground like mushrooms," says Rozmus. "I see people all over the neighborhood wearing them. I'm obviously a little bit biased, but it's cool to be able to wear merch from the places you support." Brooklyn Brewery also makes the same sweatshirts — "cozy and not too heavy," Rozmus notes — in more muted gray and olive shades.

Another merch idea from Rozmus: a tote bag, T-shirt, or beer cooler from the NYC Brewers Guild, which is basically a collective of almost every brewery in the city for sharing knowledge, resources, and support. This line in particular gives 100 percent of the proceeds to local anti-racist education and programming. "The beer industry can be a rather homogeneous space," Rozmus says, "so anything we can do to cut through that clutter is a positive thing."

Probably the best gift you could give someone who loves beer is, well, beer. To that end, Nikki McCutcheon, the beverage director at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge at the Moxy Times Square hotel, recommends gifting a subscription to a "beer of the month" club from Beer Across America, which, according to her, "offers a customizable monthly subscription of beer samples from all over the country your beer lover is sure to enjoy." Each month, for however long you choose, Beer Across America delivers four varieties of award-winning beer from two independent craft breweries that have been curated by a panel of experts. If your beer enthusiast can't hit the road discovering new brews on their own, this subscription is their best bet.

"If the person is a novice home brewer, you can get them a basic setup kit," says Zuskov, the brewer and lab manager at Almanac. He likes the home-brew starter kit from MoreBeer, an East Bay-based company.

"If the person is more advanced, maybe upgrade one of their pieces of equipment," advises Zuskov. "If they're using a plastic bucket to ferment, maybe buy them a glass carboy." And whether you're buying home-brew equipment for a new or experienced brewer, consider also getting them grain, malt, and hops.

For the serious beer lover or home brewer, Mulligan recommends a Kegerator — that is, a fridge for a keg. While definitely pricey, "a Kegerator is a great way to spruce up a home-bar setup for your beer collector," she says. She likes this 24-inch model from Kegco that can accommodate a full-size keg (even commercial ones from the likes of Coors and Miller); a half or quarter-size barrel; or three narrower home-brew kegs. It also comes with three taps and caster wheels for easy mobility, and can be converted into a regular refrigerator by adding the two included shelves. "If your beer lover is also a home-brewing geek, choose hookups for a Corny (Cornelius) keg," adds Mulligan. Andrew McNally, the founder and brewmaster at Common Bond Brewers — Montgomery, Alabama's only production brewery — agrees that "a kegerator makes a great gift," adding, "You get to serve draft like the pros in the comfort of your very own (wo)man cave."

"In terms of giving a beer-related gift, I would have to say that the Oxford Companion to Beer is a great option," says Zach Mack, beer writer and owner of Alphabet City Beer Co. and Governors Island Beer Co. "It's perfect for someone who already knows a little bit about beer and wants to learn more, but doesn't want to dive into the insanely overcrowded realm of beer books. It's a very concise and tightly written encyclopedic record for beer that's remarkably approachable given its depth. And even if they don't end up using it every time they crack a beer, it looks nice on a bookshelf or coffee table." Rozmus echos this sentiment. "It incorporates so many topics and features a ton of voices," he says. "It covers everything from technical knowledge to cultural impacts of the beer industry."

The author of the Oxford Companion, Garrett Oliver, is the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and the 2014 winner of the James Beard Award for Excellent Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional. His first book, The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer With Real Food, is also a good read for someone who knows they like drinking beer, but doesn't know much about the history or even different styles of brewing.

If your favorite beer drinker is also a goal setter, Monahan recommends gifting them Pop Chart's eye-catching Breweries of the United States poster, featuring nearly 6,000 beer producers. It even features regional color-coding to indicate areas with the most breweries per capita (see: Pittsburgh, Albuquerque, and the entire state of Vermont). Just be sure to also gift them map pins so they can get started marking the ones they've tried.

Photo: Beer

"I can't recommend Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer enough for anyone who wants to develop and refine their palate and develop a better understanding of the sensory components of the beer they're drinking," says Izett. "Honestly, if you drink beer, you need this book."

"It's impossible for me to overlook how instrumental Josh Bernstein's The Complete Beer Course was in motivating me to dig deeper into the infinite world of beer," says Blake Tomnitz, co-founder and CEO of Five Boroughs Brewing Co. "Not to mention, it helped solidify my desire to work in the beer industry. For someone who loves beer, it hits all the right notes."

These books by the late English beer critic and author Michael Jackson (a.k.a. the Beer Hunter) — who is credited for kickstarting the North American microbrewery movement in the 1970s — are deep cuts for those who know. Mulligan told us they are some of her favorite beer gifts to give. "Both books are approachable for first-timers and don't talk down to the amateur consumer," she says. If your recipient prefers to crack open a beer instead of a book, Mulligan adds that these are just as good for displaying on a coffee table as they are for reading. While they're out of print, you can still buy used copies on Amazon.

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The Best Gifts for Beer Lovers, According to Brewers

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