A very beery Christmas

[DrinkNoH2O]

Anyone else get inundated with beer related gifts this Christmas?

I've been homebrewing for about a year and a half now and in my circle of friends and my family I'm definitely now known as the "beer guy" or "brewmaster" (far from it I'm sure) so of course this year at Christmas well over 75% of the gifts I received were beer related.

Sounds great, and I definitely appreciated the thought, but it gets kinda annoying receiving 5 or 6 different homebrew recipe books I know I'll never use, or even more sets of beer mugs to fill up the cabinets.

Not being ungrateful - but I think if someone has a hobby they're probably particular enough about their gear where they prefer to buy it on their own.

On the flip side though my wife bought me a refractometer which I've been wanting for quite some time!

Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[edecambra]

Yeah, similar here. My mom bought me the "beer machine" which is a Mr. beer/ TAD hybrid system. Not something I can make use of at all!! The thought it there though

 

[Dogphish]

one of my friends gave me a $40 online gift card so i could order Simcoe leaf hops and some misc stuff, and his kid gave me a digital thermometer. how cool is that?

my sister got me a bottle rinser for the top of my bottle tree.

i just bought myself a 6.5 gallon glass carboy with handle and hood, and installed weldless ball valves on my two pots. picked up a copy of Dogfish Head Extreme Brewing for the recipes. I can't wait to make Ginger Saison, Big Mama's Barley Wine, and Kiwit.

 

[MeatyPortion]

My brother in-law gave me a six pack of beer for Xmas.

 

[Six_O_Turbo]

I was working on a deal for my brother in law to build me a brew stand (good welder/fabricator) frame and my wife had him upgrade it with electronic ignition, banjo burners (coming soon, backordered), wheels, etc. Like this...

We already brewed 30 gallons on it last weekend.

And my parents got me a morebeer gift cert that I will be using to help convert my fridge to a kegerator. It was all very merry.

 

[gannawdm]

This year I got a refractometer, a thermapen (fantastically awesome), and "Brewing Classic Styles". Very happy with everything. And my lady had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas, so I was able to take care of some brew chores (bottled 10 gallons) and brewed another batch. Very productive Christmas.

 

[HerotBrewer]

My family is supportive and wise enough to ask what i want so I set up a wishlist.

My brothers gave me 2nd Edition Clone Beers.
My parents gave me a case of beer mugs and pilsner glasses, two glass styles i didn't have. Just what swmbo wanted to see, more beer glasses. Now to find space for them. This one was a surprise.
Swmbo gave me a bottle tree and vinator, both of which came in very handy on bottling day.
The kids gave me some more siphoning tubing and some spare airlocks (which they bought themselves with their chore money)

All in all a great beery christmas.

 

[Tdawg]

I got another keg, 3 now, a metal spoon, a 3 way gas splitter with shut off valves, a couple of Rebel Brewer 5oz sample glasses and a Blonde Ale extract!

 

[IrregularPulse]

My family too is conscious enough of my hobbies to know that I know what I want/need and they don't know how to make beer I am also very lucky in the fact that despite 2 grand kids and 2 daughter in laws, they still feel the need/desire to spend just as much on me and my brother (and now my wife and his wife) as they did when were kids. So this year I sent my mom the link for the Barley crusher I wanted. Last year they ordered the specific part numbers from Auberins that were on my list, but 2 years ago they did take it upon themselves...and I ended up with 4 custom pint glasses, a heavy glass pitcher and a very nice tap handle for my then new keezer, all with my Brewery Name engraved on them in a generic grain stalk logo. Very cool for sure

 

[Token]

I think this year the only brew-related thing I got was a gift certificate to Northern Brewer. I DID buy the grain mill a little before Christmas from Austin Homebrew.

Last year I got a case of bottles, an 8 gallon kettle, and a bottle tree (see pic in my gallery).

All of my beer-related gifts have been from my husband. Ya, he loves me.

 

[mobly99]

i got this 4 quart aluminum pitcher for measuring strike water, this stainless mug and a couple of these jumbo herb infusers for dry hopping.

 

[Homercidal]

I got a 2L flask for building up yeast starters, bottle caps, and a case of empties. I'm thinking my BIL wants me to bottle up some Lager for him!!

At a certain point you have collected everything that the average person is going to buy for you. Then you've moved on to custom stuff of project builds.

I'm lucky this year, all of my gifts I can use. But I wouldn't be put out if someone wanted to buy me a random ingredient kit. "But Honey, TOM got me this beer kit, so I have to brew it or he'll think I didn't like it!"