Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Chow has shared a pretty easy method for getting the perfect pour of Guinness.

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 Schmaltz Brewing

We’re unfortunately a little late to this (as Hanukkah is almost over), but Shmaltz brewing’s genius sampler pack, Vertical Jewbelation, is pretty brilliant.  The Jewish brewery set out to use their beers as a way to celebrate the festival of lights — one beer at a time.

The He’Brew Jewbelation series, brewed in New York for San Francisco’s Shmaltz Brewing Co., began with Jewbelation 8, which contained eight malts, eight hops and 8 percent alcohol by volume. Each year’s new release ups the malts, hops and alcohol by one, meaning this year’s Jewbelation 14 (also sold separately from the gift set in 22-ounce bottles) has 14 malts — including flaked quinoa — 14 hops and 14 percent ABV.

It’s a limited release, but I’m sure you could still find it if you looked hard enough.  And if you’re celebrating Hanukkah, you can drink as many as you need to catch up — it’s for your religion, so nobody will judge you.

From flickr user riptheskull

We started to write a post about beer pairings for Thanksgiving, but everyone on the Internet seems to have attempted some form of that already.  So, below are a few links to a few of the better articles out there.

From the San Jose Mercury News…

Of course, part of the reason I love turkey so much is because it pairs so well with beer. Beer really brings out the flavors of that main course, but it also complements the many side dishes that make up the Thanksgiving feast.

Most Thanksgiving turkeys are roasted, which brings out caramel and even smoky flavors. If you glaze or brine the bird, that adds additional flavor components, and stuffing brings herbal and spicy notes to mix. That’s a tough melange of tastes to pair with just one quaff. Happily, many beers are up to the task.

From the Miami Herald…

Some historians say the Pilgrims drank beer on that first Thanksgiving, just as they did every day, because the water available to them was polluted. Others say this is poppycock.

And from the Huffington Post…

Beer for Thanksgiving? Don’t reject it out of hand. One can make a very persuasive case for holiday brews.

We’re taking the rest of the week off for the holiday, but don’t forget about the Lautering store on Black Friday for all of your the best beer gifts money can buy.  The proceeds directly benefit Lautering, helping us pay for servers and the infrastructure that keeps things up and running.