From flickr user Bart Feilds

The Washington Times’ Bryan Kolesar put together what I consider to be one of the more well-rounded and practical beer gift lists I’ve seen over the past few weeks.  If you’re still looking for a gift for a beer lover in your life, you can find it right here.

He’s broken it down into a few categories…

• Homebrewing
• Books
• Special Events
• Mug Club Memberships
• Fresh Beer/Special Releases
• Tools and Clothing
• Beer Trips

A last-minute Mr. Beer kit from a RiteAid helped me out last year (they have a ton of specials this year, including a homebrew-of-the-month kit you can buy and give as a gift certificate — great for a non-brewer who may have an interest.)

And on that note, Lautering is going taking a holiday until after Christmas. Enjoy all the beer you can over the next few days, but please don’t drive after you do.

From flickr user Schlusselbein2007

As we head into the last week before Christmas, Sam Calagione from Dogfish wrote up a guide to help beer lovers merge the holiday menu and beer list in the best possible way.

To his credit, it’s not an artcile about how to best pair Dogfish beers with food — he mentions the ever-popular Troegs’ Troegenator, Avery’s White Rascal, Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, and New Belgium’s Fat Tire, along with others.

Broken down into cheeses, meats, shellfish, seafood, and chocolate, it’s a nice list, which should help you make the next week even better.

From flickr user there's no way home

We’re in the middle of the holiday season, and as you get closer to Christmas, you may be wondering which beers to take with you to your various events.  The Washington Post has assembled a guide for nine beers that will get you through the next few weeks.

Up first, a beer we’re written about before, Boston Beer’s Infinium.  

To make a long story short: Koch and team devised a unique mashing regimen that takes place at unusually low temperatures and lasts over a week (normally, mashing — mixing the grain with hot water and heating — takes an hour or two). This allows the barley to generate plenty of its own natural enzymes, which break down complex carbohydrates into simpler molecules that the yeast can digest. Infinium also undergoes the methode champenoise, which involves provoking a secondary fermentation in the bottle, tilting the bottle to allow the yeast to settle in the neck, then removing the plug of yeast sediment.

The result is indeed spritzy and light on the palate for a 10 percent alcohol-by-volume beer. It’s got a subtle, sherbety fruitiness and a hint of spicy hop. “Imagine a space between a champagne and a good dessert wine crossed with a Samuel Adams Noble Pils,” is how Koch describes it. It’s not nearly as radical a departure from existing beers as Koch’s Utopias was, but it should make an interesting substitute for Champagne this New Year’s Eve. Suggested retail price is $20 for a 25-ounce corked bottle.

From flickr user Chris_J

The Boston Globe is up with an article about what to get the beer lover in your life — and most of us would appreciate any of this stuff.

One big tip: steer clear of the beer-of-the-month club.  They’re expensive and rarely that unique. The rest of the list seems smart.

• Beer
• Beer literature
• A mystery
• Glassware
• Mix Packs
• Gift Sets

We would also add Lautering gear to that list.  Either an I [hop] Craft Beer or I [hop] Home Brew shirt would make any beer lover happy (and us).

From flickr user allerleiau

With the Christmas season officially started, Peter Genovese at the New Jersey Star Ledger decided to tackle the 30 beer days until Christmas.  Basically, it’s a 30-beer countdown — because the holidays could always use more beer.

In the continuing countdown in our 30 Beers until Christmas series, we’re going to go all patriotic this time, in the form of Samuel Adams Revolutionary Rye and Yards Brewing Co.’s Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale.

I had my first taste of the latter, appropriately enough, in Philadelphia, home to the Liberty Bell and Yards, long one of my favorite brewers. Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale is a strong ale based on Jefferson’s original recipe. Seems like twice a year his wife, Martha, would brew a batch of beer at Monticello.

Check it out and follow along as he tries and reviews 30 beers on the way to Christmas.

From flickr user frankgumola

How popular is Great Lakes Brewery’s Christmas Ale?  So popular that Cleveland’s NBC affiliate did a whole story on it’s upcoming November 1 release date.

You might not know how many days are left until Christmas, but fans of the Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Christmas Ale know there is less than a week until the freshest batch in the region makes its way into the hands of adoring customers.

On Tuesday, bottling was in full swing at the Ohio City location. Fresh bottles of the Ale were stickered and boxed to be ready for shelves on Nov. 1.

In all, 20,250 barrels will be produced this year. That’s about 40,000 kegs.

Though many people associated the honey, ginger cinnamon taste with the Christmas season, folks at the Brewery say people crave it all year long, even people who don’t like beer.

Don’t miss the video on the page, where one brewer tells the story of a man who charged thousands of dollars so he could take home a whole pallet full of the beer.