We publish a gift guide twice a year – once for the Holiday Season and once for Father’s Day. Curating the gift guides provides us with a chance to do a whole bunch of imaginary shopping and provide you with some of the best things that we find on the internet or in real life.
All of these gifts below would be terrific addition to any beer-drinkers life.
For the Cocktail-ier
Oak Whiskey Glasses
What’s a better way for detecting the nuanced character of oak in your whiskey than in handmade oak glasses? (Do we still call them glasses if they’re made of oak? Do we call them oakses?).
Smoke Whiskey Glasses
I’m not usually one for color tinted glasses (I like to see the unadulterated color of the beverage I’m consuming), but these hand-blown whiskey glasses are too handsome to pass up.
Bartender’s Knife
Choose for yourself between these two bar knives. This one offers a pointy tip, which is good for picking things up like olives, citrus wedges or Luxardo Cherries (inarguably the world’s best cocktail garnish).
Bar Knife
This bar knife looks a little more intimidating, which may be a good thing, I don’t know what kind of bartender you are.
Non-Alcoholic Spirits (waaaat?)
For those adventurous enough to travel outside the world of booze, this spirit is 0% ABV – that means no alcohol. It’s a terrific accompaniment to any party or to have around the house for those nights where you really need a drink, but maybe shouldn’t have one.
Amaro Angeleno
An incredibly versatile and somewhat locally made spirit. It’s an Amaro, but the bitterness is restrained, letting the glorious citrus of Southern California shine through. Put it on ice, with soda water or make an Angeleno Boulevardier – 1.5 oz bourbon, 1 oz Amaro Angeleno, 1 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth. Stir slowly. Serve over ice with an orange peel garnish. You can purchase a bottle at Barkeeper in Silverlake.
Cocktail Mixing Glass
One of the more gratuitous at-home bar items is (not surprisingly) one of the most luxurious. Grab a well-balanced bar spoon and a Hawthorne strainer and you’re on your way to making a crystal clear batch of Manhattans for your New Year’s Eve party.
For the LA Beer Drinker
Teku Glasses
Truly the world’s best beer glasses. Appropriate for any style of beer, these wine-style glasses showcase the color, clarity, aroma and taste of any beer you sip.
Stimulus from Eagle Rock
A perennial favorite from one of LA’s oldest breweries. Stimulus is a 14% coffee beer that uses Dark Matter coffee beans that were aged in Few Spirits rye whiskey barrels. If you need any other local beer tips – call 855-LA-BEERS.
Hopped LA Brewery Shirt
One shirt to rule them all… This t-shirt from the guys over at Hopped LA names all of the 2017 members of the LA Brewers Guild (with Indie Brewing taking the coveted stem spot).
2018 LA Brewers Guild Enthusiast Membership
Want to be a card-carrying member of the LA Beer fan club? Become an LA Brewers Guild Enthusiast! Tons of perks, benefits, discounts, beer and merch. Too many to list in fact. Check the site for lots of details.
Cellador Single Barrel Syndicate Membership
There are a lot of beer memberships out there, but the hottest ticket in LA is from Cellador Brewery in Van Nuys. They are wizards of barrel aging, blending and mixed fermentation and their 100% oak fermented beer showcases some of the best ingenuity in LA.
Pico Brew
The pico brew is to beer what the keurig is to coffee. Kinda. It’s the most direct and space-efficient way to brew fresh beer at home. Sits on top of your counter top and brews real beer, real fast.
LA Beer Hop Tickets!
They’re good for any tour, any time and never expire! Truly one of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone over the age of 21.
For the Boozy Bookworm
Meehan’s Bartender Manual
Learn everything about modern cocktail building from acclaimed mixologist Jim Meehan. This books covers ‘mise en place’ to Manhattans from martinis to mixers. It’s a tome and a necessary component in any home bar.
The Monocle Guide to Drinking and Dining
Any Monocle Guide is a great gift. They’re beautiful, well-curated collections of the world’s top performers in any category. This edition covers the world of drinking and dining (which is the only world I want to live in).
Fictional Hotel Notepads
Keep these around to delightfully jot down any booze-addled thoughts you may have. The notepads cover the hotels from Dirty Dancing, Vertigo, At Bertram’s Hotel, Twin Peaks, The Shining, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, The Wicker Man and The Graduate.
And a Bunch of Non-Booze Related Gifts
Headlamps
Every man, in every civilization, in every planet, has been obsessed with lights. And in particular, lights they can wear on their heads. You better believe that if there is life on other planets, there are martian Dad’s really to receive a new headlamp.
Tenkara Rod Net
This is a really good-looking, well-made fly fishing net. It’s a pretty specific gift for those group of people who actively pursue fly-fishing as a hobby, but for those people, this is a great gift.
AirPods
Not since 2003 has it been common to see so many white pods hanging out of peoples ears. But, Apple has managed to make it a thing again with their new Airpods. They come in Black too…
BioLite Base Lantern
I am not a fan of combining technology with camping. Being outdoors is about blunt instruments like fire, axes and whiskey. But… almost everything BioLite makes is pretty awesome and this lantern is great in so many ways.
Bose SoundLink Revolve 360 Bluetooth Speaker
Bose is at the top of the game when it comes to matching price and quality and this bluetooth enabled 360 degree speaker fits right in the sweet spot.
Weiss Watch
Part of my EDC – including Raybans, a Pilot Juice .38mm black pen, and my Machine Era Co Brass wallet. I love the watch and I love the company. If you’re at all familiar with LA beer geography, their HQ is located just a stone’s throw from Strand in Torrance.
Brass Match Scratcher
If only I smoked cigarettes… I would be able to use this all the time. Oh well… Looks like I’m going to have to develop a serious candle addiction just to justify my use of this beautiful match scratcher.
Brass Key Ring Bottle Opener
Grovemade describes this key ring bottle opener as having “Majestic Heft”. I hope to God someone will say that about me when I inevitably give up jogging and add on some serious beer-weight. I also hope to God someone gets this for me to add to my EDC.
Secret Hitler
The world seems to think that we’re far enough removed from WWII to make a board game where we accuse friends and family of being Hitler (next game… Secret Roy Moore). It’s a great game for the holidays, just make sure you play with a large grain of salt.