6 minute read
Christmas Beer Gifts
BY DAVID NUTTALL
The 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.
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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. 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
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.
Craft Beer Advent Calendar
Stiegl Advent Calendar
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ALBERTA / FOOD & DRINK / RECIPES
As the end of 2021 draws near, we’re busy planning articles and features for 2022, and we're always looking for ways to make the most of Culinaire Magazine for you.
Of course, the best place to start is to let us know who you are (don’t worry, the survey is completely anonymous), and what you like about Culinaire Magazine.
Head to culinairemagazine.ca or scan the QR code to take our short Reader Survey, and enter for a chance to win one of three $175 gift cards for beautiful Spirit Wares Ceramics (spiritwares.ca)!
Our survey is open until December 31, 2021. Winners will be selected at random on January 7, 2022.
Averbode Delirium Noel Erdinger Variety Back
GIFT PACKS WITH GLASSWARE
Averbode (Belgium). 4 bottles and glass. CSPC +798132 $22
Bosteels Kwak (Belgium). 4 bottles, glass and stand. CSPC +715775 $37
Delirium Noel (Belgium). A Nocturnum, a Tremens, and 2 x Christmas Beer and glass. CSPC +761985 $24
Erdinger Variety Pack (Germany). 5 different beers and a glass- three of the beers are not available singly - in addition to the Dunkel and Weissbier. CSPC +519751 $21 Lindemans Taster (Belgium). One bottle each of Kriek, Pecheresse, Framboise, Faro and a glass. CSPC +826315 $21
Duchess De Bourgogne Gift Pack
(Belgium). 2 x 750 ml. bottles and glass. CSPC +798131 $26
Chimay Trilogy (Belgium). One bottle each of the Red, White, Blue, and a glass. CSPC +858839 $22
Erdinger Bavaria Pack (Germany). A Dunkel, a Weissbier and a glass. CSPC +720039 $13
Chimay Trilogy
Blindman Super Coffe Stout
UNIQUE BEERS
Most breweries will be turning out holiday or winter themed beers over the next few months, but many had not committed to what exactly they were going to be at press time. For a list of past local beers which may or may not reappear, check out Culinaire December 2019 issue: What’s New in Winter Brew That Rings True?
Blindman Super Coffee Stout
(Lacombe), smooth rich coffee flavour, CSPC +861597, $18 for 4 x 568 mL cans
Xhale Brew Co. Aunty Rene's Plum
Pudding Porter (Calgary), dessert in a glass CSPC +861806, $19 for 4 x 473 mL cans
Wild Rose Brewery's Cherry Porter
(Calgary). A seasonal favourite now in 4 x 473 mL cans $14 De Ranke Pere Noel (Belgium), CSPC +753781, $16 750 mL bottle
Shepherd Neame Christmas Ale (UK), CSPC +808709, $8 500 mL bottle
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (UK), CSPC +408005, $8 550 mL bottle
OTHER
You can support your local breweries by buying more than their beer. You’ll find many sell shirts, hats, glassware and a host of other items that make great gift items. You can also buy gift cards for those hard-to-buy-for beer lovers.
David has worked in liquor since the late 1980s. He is a freelance writer, beer judge, speaker, and since 2014, has run Brew Ed monthly beer education classes in Calgary. Follow @abfbrewed.
2021
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