What should I buy for my husband?

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Hello, HomeBrewTalkers!

My husband has been home brewing for about a year now, and he loves it so much. I think he spends every waking moment either brewing, drinking, thinking about, or talking about (hence how I knew about this forum!) beer! His birthday falls shortly after Christmas, and this year I want to buy him one big gift that I know he will love. I can't give too many details, because he is a member on this site, but he has several big and small contraptions that I have no idea what they do....so I really can't tell you guys what he does have. I know he has a keg; college made me pretty familiar with those :D

Anyway, I was hoping you sweet men could give me some suggestions as to what to buy my loving husband for Christmas. He is wonderful, smart, kind, funny and handsome, so he deserves something very nice! Again, I have no idea what most of the stuff he has actually is, but I do know he bought a chest freezer for making Octoberfest (I think???), but it is completely unused, except for some lasagnas I've snuck in there :)

He loves Rogue and Stone beer, so maybe I could get him the ingredients for those beers?

Sorry if I sound like a total idiot; I seriously am 100% clueless on this subject matter, as some of your wives may be!

Perhaps I should also ask: What are you guys hoping to receive from your wives this holiday season?

Thank you all for your time in reading this, and a huge THANK YOU in advance for any answers you may give me! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad and Happy New Year!! (And may we all not die in twelve days....:)
 
Hmmm.....that is a tough one without knowing what he already has....an if he does EXTRACT brewing or ALL GRAIN...

Perhaps you can snoop around his brewing equipment and explain to us some of the things he has already....
 
Pictures work too, that way at least someone can identify what he has..
 
Does he have a temperature controller in teh freezer? In other words, does it just freeze or can he turn it down to refrigerator temps?
 
Maybe a temp controller for the freezer he wants to brew in? He'll need one if he doesn't have one already.
 
Thank you, mgortel!! I know we have to buy grain all the time, and he spends a lot of time and energy grinding said grain, but I've heard him use the word "extract" as well. "Malt Extract?" Does that mean anything? I can't tell if I'm remembering this term or making it up haha! I just did a small amount of snooping and found some small black packages that say "Hopunion" on them. I have no clue what they are, but he has a lot of them and they say "Nugget" and "Citra" on them. Sounds like cute names for bunnies. Are there any power tools I could look into buying perhaps? I might be getting a little in over my head :)
 
Well the freezer came with a temp control thingy on it, can that be used for brewing? Or do you guys have to buy a separate one?

Also, I'm afraid to post pictures...most of you would probably recognize your own set ups, and I want to surprise him as much as I can :)
 
I'm hoping I get a wort chiller for Christmas:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Wort_chiller

It will allow me to control my hops bitterness/flavoring/nose feel better.

Most brewers have them.

Measure how wide the pot is he uses for brewing to make sue it will fit down in there. Keep the reciept so he can do an exchange. You have made a nice effort and it is the thought that counts.

What flavor beer do you like?
 
Well the freezer came with a temp control thingy on it, can that be used for brewing? Or do you guys have to buy a separate one?

Also, I'm afraid to post pictures...most of you would probably recognize your own set ups, and I want to surprise him as much as I can :)

A seperate brew temp controller has to be rigged into the freezer to keep it at brew temps.
 
Oh jeez. I had a couple of suggestions but then I saw that your request was to sweet husbands. Well, I'm single and a tad dry yet full flavored with an underlying sweetness so should you have a single sister, friend or cousin...
 
Thanks, dynachrome! He brews his beer in a keg; would the wort thingies fit in one?


To answer your question, I like PBR. The beers he makes usually taste too bitter for me. Plus, the whole "don't pour all of the beer in the glass or you'll swallow live yeast" thing kinda weirdos me out...
 
LOL krackin, my request is to all sweet home brewers! Especially patient ones, because I have no idea what I am talking about. As for single friends, I am afraid I cannot be helpful there! Most of our friends are in their mid 30s, like us, so they're pretty much paired up. Sorry buddy!
 
Books maybe. here's a good discussion on which books people seem to find useful https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/best-brewing-science-books-107280/

And it's easy enough to snoop around and find what he already has.

Im hoping my wife buys me a stir plate for christmas. If your husband has ever talked about 'growing up yeast' to have enough for his beer then he's using liquid yeast and a 'stir plate' can be quite useful. Have you ever noticed a flask or jar laying around with tin foil over the top, filled up with cloudy yeast and beer? That flask sits on a stir plate which is something that spins a magnet around inside the flask creating a vortex in the beer. It's something he would use a few days before brewing.
 
Stir plate is an awesome suggestion. If he had one, you definitely would have seen it.
 
I just bought two pounds of citra hops this morning online, they can be hard to get. It was 40 usd for the hops. If you want to get him one of the hard to get hops, shoot me an message and I will share the vendor with you, if have only 50 lbs left.
 
If you swallow live yeast you'll just fart. Don't worry.

When he finishes the beer, does he put it into bottles or into a 5gallon-ish keg w a Carbon Dioxide tank? If he doesn't have a kegging kit yet, that is a really great 'big' gift. If he does, you could get him a tank of 'beer-gas' to supplement it. (It's nitrogen based, not farts).
 
I agree to the stir plate or kegging setup ideas! Should be pretty easy to figure out whether he has them or not and either would be significant contributions to a growing home brewer. Cheers to you for being a super cool supportive wife!
 
Judging by the live yeast comments it sounds like he bottle conditions. I would also suggest a kegging setup but that could get spendy fast. No to mention he would need a fridge/freezer dedicated to it.

A stir plate and flask set is great for starters and he should be making them! It WILL improve his beers. I would recommend a 2L-3L Erlenmeyer Flask, a few stir bars and a stir plate. If you still have some cash to spend The book "Yeast".

There are DIY ways to make a stir plate but having a nice one is never a bad thing!

Rebel Brewer (A great vendor) has a complete kit here: (You can down grade to the 2000L kit but that may not be big enough were a 3L should work for everything.)
http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/Yeast-Hog-3000-Kit-%2d-Yeast-Starter-Lab.html

Book: http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shopping...The-Practical-Guide-to-Beer-Fermentation.html
 
How about a gift card to northern brewer, midwest or morebeer and he can get what he wants?
 
I second the gift card idea. Giving a sum of money that is 'already spent on brewing' is a great option. You could go with a certificate to your local homebrew shop, no doubt he has a favorite he frequents.
 
JonM said:
Stir plate is an awesome suggestion. If he had one, you definitely would have seen it.

That was my suggestion, I want a yeast starter kit with stir plate, beaker, and oxygen pump. I better go sit on Santa's lap! My GF hates that I brew. Stupid Btch!
 
Honestly in your case I'd do a gift card, and maybe a recommendation of what to get.

"I wanted to get you started on kegging but didn't know what to get you!"

"I heard that a stir plate and flask would be a nice gift but I don't know anything about them!"
 
X-mas morning log into HBT click on his account and buy him a year of premium membership. He will get a cool HBT sticker to! But that idea is more of a "stocking stuffer."
 
The other suggestion about an o2 pump is a good one! It's a kit I've seen at midwest & northern brewer thart injects oxygen into the wort in the fermenter instead of shaking etc. I know any home brewer would love that.
 
^^Reminds me of Robin Williams talkin about the guy that invented golf "& how could he weqr a skirt & not even care"? lolz
 
Hey MYHB, that's all cool. I think I remember my mid 30's. I've got a few on ya babe. I could almost be your big bro.
 
A temp controller for your large freezer would be great! I'm asking for one for christmas. He'll be able to make more types of beer (including lagers similar to pbr). It will bring his beer to the next level. Keeping the temp within a degree or two of the target is key to making an excellent beer that your friends and family can enjoy.

Here's a link to the one I'm getting http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/fermenting-equipment/johnson-controls-a419-digital-temp-controller.html
 
give him a jar labelled "Homebrew Account" and tell him that a dollar goes in the jar for homebrew supplies everytime you guys engage in sexy times.
 
BTW - is that guy wearing a kilt?

Yep. I'm 99% sure that's Nostalgia (Joe) from this forum. He brews in Utili-kilts. He brewcasts occasionally, so keep an eye out.

Regarding kilts, I have no comment.

Yep, that's nostalgia. He's a great guy. He also has great legs. :ban:

I'm hesitant to recommend anything, as we don't know what he has or what he wants. I know that I've been pretty specific dropping hints on what I need- a certain pH meter, a certain Blichmann beergun.

If you really have no idea what he wants, a gift card to a homebrew store probably is the best bet, as it's really hard to get gifts for some people. People like me, for one! I have a "vision" in mind for the future, so there are some gifts that would fit perfectly, but most would not. Aside from a sack of base grain, or a new fermenter, I probably need to pick out my own stuff.
 
put a thread out "If your SWMBO bought you something brew related, what would you want?"


see if your husband posts... if he doesn't know you are on here!
 
I'm going with a case of Coors, to remind him that even if he screws up a batch, it's still better than that crap. That or a sex swing...
 
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