There’s no doubt you’ll have someone who loves to imbibe an adult beverage on your gift list this Christmas. That can make buying a bottle or two a simple-yet-appreciated gift.
But what to get someone who has enough beers in their cellar or spirits on their bar cart to keep the holiday cheer going for a while? (Were you hoping for wine? Gift ideas for wine lovers have been covered in recent weeks by Great Northwest Wine columnists Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. Go to www.heraldnet.com for lists of whites and reds.)
Have no fear, there’s plenty of non-liquid gifts (well, not totally dry) to buy that social drinker on your list. Here’s a look at some of my favorite (hint, hint):
Tickets to Westland’s Peat Week. Seattle’s Westland Distillery is one of the most celebrated whiskey distillers in America, and Peat Week is its celebration of “The Greatest Smoke on Earth.” The fifth annual Peat Week is Jan. 22-26 and includes special events, peat-focused tours and specialty cocktails, plus a bottling of a limited edition Peat Week whiskey.
For the whiskey lover on your list, tickets to Peak Week events are a great idea. They can listen to Master Distiller Matt Hoffman discuss the variety of ways barley is smoked across the country with head distillers from both Balcones and Hamilton distilleries. There’s also a Peat Week cocktail competition and closing party.
Tickets can be purchased for single events or for all three at westlanddistillery.com/5th-annual-peat-week.
Brew your own beer at Gallaghers’. Edmonds’ Gallaghers’ Where-U-Brew is a great place brew your first batch of beer. Have a beer lover on your list who has always wanted to brew their own beer? Gallaghers’ does most of the hard work for you, including procuring ingredients and housing the equipment, so it’s easy to drop in and brew.
Gallaghers’ has more than 50 recipes to choose from. It takes about two hours to brew the beer, and then another few weeks for it to ferment. After that, your friend can lug the bottles home for keeps. Maybe they’ll even share some with you!
Beer books by Joshua M. Bernstein. Brooklyn’s Joshua M. Bernstein is one of the most prolific beer writers in America. Along with writing a number of books, he’s written in-depth articles for Beer Advocate, New York Times and Imbibe magazine.
I met Bernstein on a media tour of Yakima’s hop field during the 2017 Fresh Hop Festival, and the guy is a fount of fermenting knowledge. Bernstein’s newest book, “Homebrew World,” features homebrewers from around the world and shares their stories and secrets. He’s also written books on helping novice beer drinkers become full-on beer geeks (“The Complete Beer Course”) and everything you’ve ever wanted to know about IPAs (“The Complete IPA”).
Buy Bernstein’s books at www.joshuambernstein.com/books.
All right, I lied. We must have some liquids on this list to make it legit. Here’s some beers and spirits that will be well-received by the imbiber on your list:
Spirits. Lynnwood’s Temple Distilling recently released its first aquavit, and it’s magical. Made of two distillates, one with star anise and the other with caraway seeds, bitter orange peel and grains of paradise and, blended together, Temple Distilling’s Aquavit is a beautiful expression of the style. … Snohomish’s Skip Rock Distillery has a few bottles left of its Triticale Whiskey. Made from a wheat/rye hybrid developed in Scotland in the late 1800s, Skip Rock’s Triticale has the spicy notes of a rye whiskey with a gentle softness. … Dave McGlothern of Arlington’s Bad Dog Distillery went above and beyond with his Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey. With depths of flavor and a smooth finish, the single barrel version of his bourbon is great straight or in a hot cocktail.
Beers. Sound to Summit’s Mount Crumpit Winter Warmer has notes of dark fruit, caramelized sugar and Scotch. … Foggy Noggin’s FnXmasTree is an English-style IPA brewed with fir tips and perfect for hunting for the family Christmas tree. … At Large Brewing recently released 22-ounce, wax-tipped bottles of its Barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout. … On Whidbey Island, Double Bluff Brewing recently released its Belge Noel, a Belgian dark ale made with lavender and with notes of dark fruit, chocolate, cinnamon and cloves. … Haywire Brewing’s Drury Lane is a gingerbread brown ale with notes of molasses, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans and ginger root. (Note: Brews available now or soon at noted breweries.)
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