Gift for a homebrewer

[asidrane]

Every year, my family does a secret santa. This year I drew my uncle who is also a homebrewer. He's been doing it for about 15 years and makes some really good brew. Currently, I know he does extract + steeping and has some cornies that he uses to keg. He also has an immersion chiller. The price of the gift isn't supposed to exceed $35, any ideas on a good gift? Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

 

[jiggs_casey]

it's a little impersonal but maybe a gift certificate at your lhbs?

 

[GodsStepBrother]

Buy him a Refractometer from Bobbym. He wont know you paid an extra 7 bucks or so to ship.
http://www.brewhardware.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=72

 

[Mongrel]

A stir plate, a few pounds of hops, an extra carboy, five different liquid yeasts, or even more dry yeast packs...the gift certificate works too.

 

[runningweird]

a perlick 525 tap.
two pounds of hops from hops direct
yeast, bulk extract

 

[jcdouglas]

How about a subscription to BYO or another homebrew magazine?

Gift certificates are always nice.

What kind of beer does he like? Maybe you can find him a kit for around $35.

Decorative growler

 

[kpr121]

6 cases of blonde ale?

 

[LandoLincoln]

Coupons for free equipment washes on brew days.

A Perlick 525SS faucet would be nice, if he doesn't have all Perlicks yet.

 

[tme001]

Find out if he does all-grain or extract, and then buy the ingredients for a delicious brew.

 

[bob1852]

HBT premium supporter for a year?

 

[H-ost]

Cleaning and sanitizing supplies like star-san, pbw, carboy cleaner...

 

[daksin]

I would go with a recipe kit. You can get a ton of different ones for under $35, and even more so if he's an all-grain brewer.

I also like the refractometer idea, if he doesn't have one already.

 

[FoundersBrew]

+1 on the magazine subscription!! Its the gift that keeps giving. I know that I am always excited to get my new copy of BYO in the mail.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Cleaning and sanitizing supplies like star-san, pbw, carboy cleaner...

+1 the worst stuff to buy but totally a must (obviously). I would be pumped to get some Star san and etc. for a gift!

 

[davefleck]

How about making him a mash tun

 

[flyfisherwes]

Recipee kit. Maybe a partial mash. Maybe he will share it with you.

 

[badmajon]

Gift certificate to Austin Home Brew or northern brewer, they have everything.

 

[MPOWELLJR]

I'd say a gift card to your local home brew store... it may not be as personal as anything else but unless you know exactly what he has already then it would be best for him to pick something out that he wants/needs.

 

[mjperry24]

How about a subscription to BYO or another homebrew magazine?

Gift certificates are always nice.

What kind of beer does he like? Maybe you can find him a kit for around $35.

Decorative growler

I was going to suggest the subscription to BYO. Great magazine.

 

[DJG42]

AHA membership is only $38. gets him a subscription to Zymurgy and pub discounts.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/membership/gift-membership

 

[McGarnigle]

It's always hard to buy for hobbyists. You tend not to realize how specialized their stuff is, and what they have and don't have. Are you sure he doesn't already have a refractometer or a subscription to BYO?

A gift certificate is nice but impersonal (not too far from giving them cash). The advantage of beer recipe kits is they are consumable. No one says "oh, I have one already."

If you must go gift card, I might say something more specialized, like Hops Direct. IMO, the more stuff they can buy with the certificate, the closer it is to cash (which is bad).

Or you could buy weird stuff there, like hop tea or hop soap. Stuff he might think is neat but probably wouldn't spend his own money on.

 

[hercher]

Build him a mash tun out of a cooler.

 

[Jaimez]

I would BUILD him something. Mash tun, Stir plate, Mash paddle, or a 38DD Mother of a Fermentation Chiller.

It would be a much more personal gift.

 

[bknifefight]

I'm not reading all the responses so far but here is what you should get him:

A custom, laser engraved wooden 6 pack holder!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/lasered-engraved-wooden-beer-case-holder-126430/

I bought a few for hombrewer friends last year and they were a huge hit. The guy who makes them is super great to deal with and his prices (last year) were great too.

 

[McGarnigle]

I'm not reading all the responses so far but here is what you should get him:

A custom, laser engraved wooden 6 pack holder!
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/lasered-engraved-wooden-beer-case-holder-126430/

I bought a few for hombrewer friends last year and they were a huge hit. The guy who makes them is super great to deal with and his prices (last year) were great too.

I like this idea. Get him a luxury, not a necessity. Something he'll think is cool but probably wouldn't buy for himself.

 

[slipperypick]

Carboy slings: Canvas webbing to wrap around a carboy for easy lifting.

 

[PortlandPatrick]

If he bottles, how about $35 worth of nice new fliptops?

 

[bknifefight]

Also, if you are doing the wooden 6 pack holders, get your order in ASAP.

 

[Homercidal]

Several good ideas, here already, but I want to point out that unless he's an actual All Grain brewer, he might not get good use from a refractometer. The main use is in checking your gravity during the mash and boil, which is not really a big concern for extract brewers, since they pretty much KNOW what their gravity will be based on the ingredients.

AG brewers will get more from a refractometer since there can be variations in efficiency during the mashing stage.

It's a useful tool, but I just want to prevent you from getting him a nice gift that he won't have a need for.

 

[asidrane]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, there is some great stuff in here.

Just to clarify, he only kegs now because bottling was a PITA he said. Also, he only does extract + steeping on the stove. I think this is mostly because he isn't interested in moving to all grain, but perhaps a mash tun would be the motivation he needs.

I like the refractometer idea, but I'm not sure he will use it. Perhaps I'll pick one up for myself

I also like the wooden six pack, but since he only kegs, I'm not sure he would really use it.

The Perlick tap idea is interesting, but he would need to mount it on his fridge, right? Currently he just opens the door and uses a picnic tap. Again, the gift could be the motivation he needs.

Keep the ideas coming, I'm loving the creativity.

 

[Homercidal]

Wow, sounds like he's stuck in a rut!

IMO there is nothing like walking up to the fridge and pulling the handle to get a beer. I can't see how it would hurt his fridge to install a faucet on the outside... he's got everything else.

Seriously, there is nothing wrong with brewing PM especially if you don't want to spend the extra effort to AG. But it does make it harder to pick gifts.

I'm surprised I haven't seen any suggestions for personalized beer glasses. Find which style he prefers and maybe have some engraving done with his name or something.

 

[asidrane]

I guess I could always get him the perlick, I'm sure he would love it. And he's really handy, so installing it wouldn't be a problem at all and he would probably really enjoy it. I also like the idea of a PM kit. From what I can tell from talking with him about brewing, he uses extract and specialty grains, so introducing partial mash could be cool too. Thanks.

 

[hercher]

The personalized beer glasses is a cool idea.

So is the Perlick faucet. And even better than just buying the set, offer to bring over a six pack of homebrew, and install it for him. 2 guys drinking and talking about homebrew while installing a beer dispensing system... name something better that doesn't involve SWMBO.

 

[Homercidal]

The personalized beer glasses is a cool idea.

So is the Perlick faucet. And even better than just buying the set, offer to bring over a six pack of homebrew, and install it for him. 2 guys drinking and talking about homebrew while installing a beer dispensing system... name something better that doesn't involve SWMBO.

Ok, is this a trick question?? :cross:

 

[asidrane]

Ok, is this a trick question?? :cross:

Must be.

 

[hercher]

Ok, is this a trick question?? :cross:

Yup, it is. There isn't anything better.

 

[asidrane]

So my family wasn't able to get their act together and the event hasn't happened yet; the date is now March 18. I still haven't figured out the gift idea, but I'm just leaning towards getting a few pounds of hops online.

 

[bkorver]

I would go with something a little less perishable, like a custom beer mug or even a bottle of star san. You can never have too much of that laying around...

 

[Lunchtime]

Ya, I would put together a recipe for him and buy the ingredients. It has the charm of a personal gift with thought put into it and monetary value so you don't come off as a cheap-skate.

 

[KevinW]

If he is a reader you may want to get him a good book?

Yeast a Practical Guide to Fermentation or Designing Great Beers, something like that!

(not to imply that he does not know how to read