Christmas Beer Gifts T BY DAVID NUTTALL
he fall season heading into the holidays of December is usually one of the most exciting times of the year for beer lovers. Not only do whole new varieties appear, but it’s the most popular time of the year for seasonals. Spiced and dessert beers, winter warmers; bottle conditioned and aged beers; fun, holiday-themed beers; and the special releases all tend to make an appearance in the last quarter of the year. It’s also the time when gift packs and advent calendars arrive, making giving the gift of beer a slam-dunk, even if it’s just for you. This year, the number of special beers and packages are still not at the level they were in 2019, but have improved over 2020. Last year, as the pandemic was hitting its winter wave, many of the usual products never appeared. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest cause was the uncertainty amongst brewers and importers about what, not only the holiday season, but the whole year of 2020 leading into 2021, was going to look like. Producers often plan their programs several months, even a year in advance. When COVID hit in March 2020, no one was sure how the rest of the year was going to play out, so many plans were scrubbed. The repeated closing and reopening of breweries, restaurants, bars, and stores played havoc with production and staffing. In addition, the supply lines of ingredients and packaging, let alone transportation issues, exacerbated the situation. Therefore, most breweries, liquor agencies, and importers, went with the tried and true. By staying the course with their regular items, the supply would remain somewhat normal through uncertain times. This put the kibosh on many seasonal and special products, given that they don’t want to be selling Christmas beers in June. So while some items did appear in 2020, on the whole, it was pretty much a down year for special beers and gift packs. As optimism grew with the arrival of the vaccine in late 2020, things have improved somewhat in 2021, and this holiday season will see an improvement over 2020. Below are some of the items to look for in stores for yourself, or as a gift for the cerevisaphile on your list.
34 Culinaire | December 2021
BEER ADVENT CALENDARS They have been in our market for ten years now. You can now find multiple versions from around the world. The original Craft Importers Craft Beer Advent Calendar 2021 repeats its theme from 2020 with 24 cans of gold medal winning beers from around the world. CSPC +1189148 $165. Others include: Most Wonderful Time For A Beer Advent Calendar from B.C.’s Parallel 49 Brewing Company. CSPC +824986 $95
Craft Beer Advent Calendar
German Beer Advent Calendar 2021 Edition with 24 unique German beers, cans not otherwise available. CSPC +858063 $120 Stiegl Advent Calendar from Austria. CSPC +858111 $70 Also look for unique in-house versions of beer calendars from select local breweries and liquor stores.
Stiegl Advent Calendar
