Category: Christmas Gift Ideas

Blog Post, Christmas Gift Ideas

Gifts for the beverage lover in your life

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on Gifts for the beverage lover in your life
Gifts for the beverage lover in your life

It’s a little bit late in the year for new years resolutions but i’ve got some great intentions to do some wonderful things with these pages here, and to kickstart this, i’m going to post a list of some suggestions for festive presents for people, but these don’t just have to be for Christmas, they could be a gift for any occasion.

2020 has been a strange year, due to Covid 19 our lives have changed, whether or not this is permanent will remain to be seen, but one green shoot of hope i’ve seen is there seems to be a very conscious effort to support local based businesses rather than large multinational conglomerates. There is no denying we will ultimately end up spending some money in these places, but if we choose to spend more locally it is simply money that stays in the local economy.

I’m a fan of twitter threads as being a good source of information, so people can reply with their suggestions, but the gifts below are some of the more stand out ideas i’ve seen.

Yellowbelly Beer Pack & Card Game

Ever the innovators, Wexford’s own Yellowbelly have designed a card game, in a gift pack with four of their beers, for the princely sum of €24.00. This would make a great stocking filler, and the game is a great way to kill the time. You can get them here, hurry though as this is a limited edition with only 100 packs available.

Beer Merch and Clothing

Many of the breweries have online stores now that sell their own merchandise, so start with seeking out your favourite brewery. However, there are a couple more bespoke and smaller folk like Irish Craft Tees and Craftgeek.co. On the brewery side, Kinnegar and Hope have some great merch available.

Trying something new

As a craft beer drinker, I’m always seeking out new things to try, so in the spirit of trying new things don’t limit yourself to Beer based presents this Christmas, there are some wonderful other great beverages being made here in Ireland. Here are just a few of the many on offer that I think would make a good gift.

I remember being at an event in the Irish Embassy in London a few years ago, and trying Kinsale Mead for the first time. They’ve got some lovely gift packs on their website plus vouchers for future guided online tastings. Check them out here

Fancy trying some ciders? Well you’d not go wrong with Legacy Cider’s gift packs, featuring a mulled Cider. Which is a treat and lovely alternative to mulled wine.

Gift packs, Beer Advent Calendars & Hampers

Nearly all the online stores now do a beer advent calendar, so you can choose from Craft Beers Delivered, The Beer Club, Martins Fairview and they’ll ship a box of beers to you to enjoy over December.

picture courtesy of Bru

Brewery wise, The White Hag and Rascals have both put together some great beer boxes for the festive gift. If you’re a hot sauce lover, make sure to check out Brennans beer and chilli sauce set. I couldn’t forget my local brewery, who have two great options available, Hoppy Christmas, and Jingle Bru – I can attest to the new pint glasses, they are brilliant! Speaking of glassware don’t forget Wicklow Legends O’Brother Brewing have a wonderful range of branded glasses on their webshop

Make no mistake there will be a lot of packs available too in your local independent off licence that sells good beer.

I know this isn’t an exhaustive list, but It should provide some inspiration for you, failing all of that, if you go into an off licence, the staff there will be more than happy to help you put together a bespoke personally selected gift.

Christmas Gift Ideas

Stocking Fillers

by mrsbeersnobLeave a Comment on Stocking Fillers
Stocking Fillers

Ever wonder what to get the craft beer lover in your life? Well here at IrishBeerSnob we’ve come up with a few nifty ideas for you. Here is a list they are bound to love.

Glassware is a great choice. From a specialized IPA glass to a glass especially for stout you can’t go wrong. The majority of independent off licences have Spiegelau glasses on sale. Prices start from €6.99 for a single glass up to €19.99 for a set of three as seen in Mc Hughs.

Can Koozies are fun. Ever heard of you beer lover talking about bus/train beer? Well these are a great way of keeping your beer cold and preventing your hand warming up your beer. Also works as a novel way of disguising the evidence in public. We’ve a few of these and they’re great. I particularly like this one from BrewDog for approx €5.

Branded merchandise is always a favourite in our household. Why not look up their favourite brewery and buy a t-shirt? Personally for me I love beanie hats and have started collecting them. Whereas Wayne loves T-Shirts like this eight degrees one for €15.00.

Sick of seeing or picking up bottle caps? Or are you saving them in a pint glass not knowing what to do with them. Well why not get a bottle cap map? A great way of saving and displaying those caps. Just like this Ireland Map available for £18.00.

Personalised coasters are a great idea. Not only can they hold your beer glass but they can also decorate your coffee table. So why not design your own with hairyfish.ie starting at €2.95. Or check out this gorgeous handmade set made out of bamboo by man of beerd. We have a set and I love them.  While we’re talking about decorations, get their favourite beer bottle turned into a candle holder with Pauls Attic Crafts. I surprised Wayne with these last year.

Of course Christmas isn’t complete without a book. First up is Beer and Food by Mark Dredge priced at £14.38. A simple book guiding you on pairing food with beer. Beer School is an introduction into craft beer written by Jonny Garrett priced at £14.95. Brooklyn Breweries Head brewer Garret Oliver wrote Brewmasters Table :Discovering the pleasure of real beer with real food available for £9.99.

Not forgetting the actual beer, there are so many to choose from so why not pop into your local off license and ask for help in choosing a hamper? They’ll have something to recommend for every budget. Make sure to ask for Christmas specials that are being released. But be quick as some of these are popular and will sell out! Most off licenses have put hampers together such as Martins in Fairview, also the beer club and Bradleys in Cork. The guys in O’Briens also have some great gifts available. 

 

 

Belfast, Boundary Brewing, Brewery, Christmas Gift Ideas, Co Operative, Craft Beer, Investment, Norther Ireland

@BoundaryBrewing Co-Operative – Join the movement!

by irishbeersnobLeave a Comment on @BoundaryBrewing Co-Operative – Join the movement!

In just under 12 months of trading, the first Irish Brewery to establish themselves as a Co Op – where each shareholder gets 1 vote. Is getting ready to raise further capital to further enable them to continue their expansion.

Last years stats were mind boggling, they raised more than their target in 8 days, they were looking to raise £70,000, they raised £100,000. Upon reaching this landmark amount the fundraising stopped immediately, leaving many disappointed investors, myself included.

So the opportunity to join the already 447 member strong Co-Operative is going live on Monday 7th December @ 9am. Presales to members have been going really well, given that by 1730 on Sunday 6th they’d raised over £20,000.

Over £20,000 in 2 days.Open to the public from tomorrow.Join the waiting list and don’t miss out!www.boundarybrewing.coop
Posted by Boundary Brewing on Sunday, 6 December 2015


I spoke to Matthew Dick, Brewer & Board Member last week about what their goals are and what they hope to bring with this round of fund raising. It was a great old chat on Skype as he was tasting a sneaky sample of a new Boundary beer. Principally the funds will be used to purchase packaging equipment? So this means the brewery team will be able to package automatically in an efficient manner. Rather than the manual bottle filling that takes place courtesy of the army of volunteers the Brewery has. This will enable the guys to get more of the beers out quicker. There are a number of other things, but mainly, this investment series will enable Boundary to scale up their production, and commence exporting to ROI, and mainland UK very quickly.


So what are the financial details?

  • Minimum Investment £100
  • Max Investment £20,000
  • Open world wide to anyone (that can process Stripe payments)
  • Capital Investment will commence being repaid after a period of 3 Yrs, at a rate of up to 5% of your investment amount per annum + Dividend if the brewery is profitable
  • For your investment you get 1 vote at the AGM
So if you are looking for a locally based Beer related investment, then look no further. This would make a great Christmas present for the Beer lover in your life. Check out their website from 9am Monday 7th December, www.boundarybrewing.coop 

Get in Early to avoid disappointment.



Beer, Christmas Gift Ideas, Craft Beer Hamper, Glasses, Spiegelau

Christmas Ideas – Gifts for the Craft Beer Lover in your life.

by irishbeersnob2 Comments on Christmas Ideas – Gifts for the Craft Beer Lover in your life.

So, now we’re past Halloween, and at the end of November we can start talking about Christmas. A time of beer and cheer. When families and friends make up any excuse to go out for a few sneaky pints. We in Irishbeersnob.com love this time of year.

With that in mind i’ve put together a list of presents you can get the beer lover in your life. Varying budgets of course, but there are so many you can choose from these days.

1: Craft Beer Hampers (varying prices to suit your budget)

picture courtesy of martinsofflicence.ie 


Ok, this seems like a simple one, but it’s one thats often overlooked. Who doesn’t love getting a box of beers, whether they’ve had them before or there are some new beers to discover. Now, i’m not gonna tell you what to put in your box, i’m going to defer to the wide range of speciality independent off licences i’ve purchased from before to lend you the benefit of their expertise.
If you’re not near one of the ones listed, most of them offer nationwide delivery for a reasonable fee.

Fear not if you don’t want to order online your local independent off licence will be more than happy to help you.

For those of you who want a Craft Beer Advent Calendar – you’re in luck, Martin’s of Fairview have one for sale, the details are here – you can also secure for a limited time you can get a Mikkeller one which isn’t quite the full 24 days, infact it only covers the four sundays, but it’s a bit of fun after all mikkeller box


2: Beer Glassware (€19.99 plus delivery if applicable)

picture courtesy of Spiegelau

Anyone who has been to Belgium for a weekend will have marvelled at the fact that the beers are served in the right glass, even the branding. No Delerium Tremens in a Chimay glass for example. An amazing feat in itself. However, a lot of people don’t realise the difference the right glass makes to different styles of beer. Think the difference between a white wine and red wine glass and you get the idea. Spiegelau have been pioneers in the wine world for many years, and now after lots of R&D have brought to us a range of beer glasses that are of exquisite quality, and help accentuate the flavours of your favourite beers.
You can order your set right here

3: Jameson Caskmates (€38 appx)

http://www.gastronomista.com/2015/08/jameson-caskmates.html#.VlGrrt_hDHc
Courtesy of Gastonomista.com – click to visit their page

Jameson Whiskey – a global whiskey Icon, a truly Irish beverage, distilled in Midleton Cork. Teaming up with Franciscan Well of Cork to produce a unique whiskey. After maturing the whiskey the casks were delivered to Franciscan Well to age their full bodied stout. Once the stout had been matured the casks were sent back to the distillery for the matured whiskey to be finished. From there this was bottled and unleashed on the world. The best of both worlds, a premium spirit with hints of stout to add complexity to an already great spirit. While you’re at it, why not pair with the Franciscan Well Whiskey Aged stout. 
Available at all good off licences. 

4: Craft Beer Tasting Day (€49)



Based in Dublin’s North King Street, the Dublin Bar Academy run a fun and educational Craft Beer Session which is led by our good friend James Winans of Vanguard Beer Collective. During the course you can expect to learn more about the history of brewing but most importantly of all you’ll get to sample the various styles now available and produced on this great Island. It’s a great afternoon and bit of fun. Click the link above to be brought to the information page.

5: Buy them shares in Brewdog (From £95)

Ok, so who wouldn’t want to own a piece of a brewery. Now, let’s be honest I don’t view my shares in Brewdog as an investment, more so membership of a club of like minded people. People who love great beer. What’s in it for me? Well you get depending on your level of investment varying levels of discounts both in bar, and their online store. You also get invited to exclusive equity for punks events. But the cherry on top for me is the chance to visit Aberdeen for AGM each year where you get to hear the vital statistics of how Brewdog is doing, but also get to party with thousands of like minded people while drinking great beers. And yes you get to bring a guest! So if you’re thinking of buying this as a gift for someone, the link is Brewdog.com/Equityforpunks 

I know if I was to receive any of these presents, i’d be absolutely delighted! Have a great Christmas one and all.