Gifting craft beer: what to buy a beer lover
Buying for someone who loves craft beer is easier than it looks. We cover the gifts that land well, how to keep a beer gift fresh in Indian heat and what to give the beer lover who has stopped drinking.
Check before you buy
A quick check first. Make sure the person drinks, is of legal drinking age where they live and is not cutting back. Someone who has stopped drinking for health, faith or family reasons will not thank you for a crate of imperial stout. For them, see the alcohol-free ideas at the end.
Then think about what kind of beer lover they are. Some like trying new beers. Some want to understand them. A few want to brew their own. Each calls for a different gift.
Fresh local beer, bought well
A mixed pack of local craft beer is the obvious gift and a good one, provided it is fresh. Most craft beer is unpasteurised. Hoppy styles fade fast. A hazy IPA that sat warm in a car boot through an afternoon will lose much of its aroma within days. Look for a canning or best-before date and buy from a shop or taproom that keeps beer refrigerated.
Buy close to where the recipient lives. Rules on carrying and transporting alcohol vary by state, along with limits on quantity and which brands are sold where. Many craft beers are only available in the state where they are brewed. Check the local rules before travelling with bottles. Do not post alcohol.
A thoughtful mix beats six of one beer. Pick a pilsner, a wheat beer, an IPA and a stout, or follow the season with the strong, dark styles in our winter beers guide.
Glassware that changes the beer
Good glasses make beer taste better, because the shape holds and directs the aroma. A pair of tulip glasses suits IPAs and Belgian ales. A tall weizen glass suits wheat beer. A stemmed snifter is right for strong winter beers. Our beer glassware guide explains what each shape does. Glasses are also a gift that lasts long after the beer is gone.
Books and brewing kit
For the curious drinker, a good book is hard to beat. Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher is a readable introduction to styles and sensory skills. The Oxford Companion to Beer, edited by Garrett Oliver, is a large reference for someone who already knows a fair amount. For a would-be brewer, John Palmer's How to Brew is a standard starting point.
A homebrew starter kit, with a fermenter, airlock, hydrometer, sanitiser and an ingredient pack, suits someone who has talked about brewing for a year without starting. Pair it with a guide or a class, since most people stall on their first batch without help.
Experiences over things
Many beer lovers have enough glasses. An experience is often the better gift. A brewery tour, booked through a brewpub that offers them, shows how beer is made. A guided tasting teaches more in two hours than a year of casual drinking.
We run two that work as gifts. The Professional Beer Tasting Day in Bengaluru is a one-day, in-person session at ₹4,999 with the beers included. Our live online Sensory Evaluation course runs over two weekends for ₹5,999 and teaches the recipient to recognise aromas, flavours and faults the way brewers and judges do. It suits anyone who reads tasting notes and wonders how people come up with them.
Small things that get used
Some smaller gifts get used every week: a good bottle opener, an insulated cooler bag for carrying beer home from a taproom, a pocket tasting journal or a bottle of fresh hop pellets for a homebrewer. None are expensive. All show you listened.
If you are giving beer and a glass together, match them. A weizen glass with a couple of fresh wheat beers, or a snifter with one bottle of barleywine to share, feels chosen rather than grabbed on the way over.
For the beer lover who does not drink
Alcohol-free craft beer has improved a great deal and is getting easier to find. Hop water, sparkling water flavoured with hops and no alcohol at all, is another option for someone who misses the aroma. A book or a tasting journal works whether or not they drink. Whatever you give, keep it cold until it is handed over and tell them to store it in the fridge. Our guide to storing beer at home has the rest.
Common questions
What is a good gift for a craft beer lover?
A fresh mixed pack of local beer, a pair of good glasses, a beer book or a tasting experience. Experiences often go down best with someone who already owns the kit.
Can I carry craft beer to another state as a gift?
Rules on transporting alcohol vary by state and change, including quantity limits. Check the current rules for both states, or buy the gift where the recipient lives.
How do I keep a beer gift fresh?
Buy it cold from a shop that refrigerates beer, keep it cool on the way and give it soon. Hoppy beers fade fastest in heat.
