I’ve been asked a few times by members of the fairer sex what sort of beer they should buy as a gift. When searching for gift ideas for men beer is a great place to start for committed beer drinkers. We all like to receive craft beer as a gift, so here is my reply and guide for buying beer as a gift.
Dear Confused,
I’ve taken a look at the mixed packs and gift basket beer selections online and most are pretty average. It’s like they are clearing out all the stuff they couldn’t sell. When you build a mixed pack of beer for your beloved you want that puppy to contain nothing but the best beer money can buy. You want to see that mans eyes well up slightly when he opens the gift box.
My suggestion is to build your own mixed beer gift pack based on the best NZ beers available combined with your budget and no doubt intimate knowledge of your man’s drinking preferences. The preference is pretty important, since for example there is no point getting him dark beers if he doesn’t drink them. Also if he drinks a lot of lager he probably is not going to like anything with too much hard core taste, so perhaps look for Pilsners and IPAs only.
If he is right into beer and hard core about it you will get massive cred for selecting super hard core bottles, if not he will hate them. As you can see this is about as complex as a man selecting makeup as a gift. However if you get it right it shows you understand your man and can express your true love in the most appropriate way. Here is a list of some great NZ beers, the cost, style and difficulty. Skim through and select a few of each based on the factors above and you will have yourself a great man beer gift.
| Name |
Cost |
Type |
How hard core is he |
| Ales (mostly Pale) |
|
|
|
| Epic – Aged Armageddon |
$$$$ |
IPA (pale ale) |
Super Hard Core |
| 8 Wired - Hop Wired |
$$$$ |
IPA (pale ale) |
Hard Core |
| Renaissance – Stone Cutter |
$$$ |
Ale |
Super Hard Core |
| Epic - Armageddon |
$$$$ |
IPA (pale ale) |
Hard Core |
| Twisted Hop - IPA |
$$$ |
IPA (pale ale) |
A Little Hard |
| Epic – Ale |
$$ |
IPA (pale ale) |
A Little Hard |
| Tuatara APA |
$$$ |
IPA (pale ale) |
A Little Hard |
| Hallertau – No 1 |
$ |
Ale |
Easy Drinking |
| Hallertau – No 2 |
$ |
IPA (pale ale) |
Easy Drinking |
| 8 Wired - ReWired Brown Ale |
$$$ |
Dark Ale |
Easy Drinking |
| Lager (easy drinking – not hard core) |
|
|
|
| Epic – Lager |
$$ |
Lager |
Easy Drinking |
| Twisted Hop – Pilsner |
$$ |
Pilsner (Lager) |
Easy Drinking |
| Croucher - Pilsner |
$$ |
Pilsner (Lager) |
Easy Drinking |
| Emersons - Pilsner |
$$ |
Pilsner (Lager) |
Easy Drinking |
| Dark Beer |
|
|
|
| Renaissance – Craftsman |
$$$ |
Stout |
A Little Hard |
| Epic - Stout |
$$$ |
Stout |
A Little Hard |
| Epic – Oak Aged Stout |
$$$$ |
Stout |
Super Hard Core |
| Epic – Portamarillo |
$$$$ |
Porter |
Super Hard Core |
| Hallertau – No 4 |
$ |
Stout |
Easy Drinking |
| Yeastie Boys – Pot Kettle Black |
$$ |
Black Ale |
Super Hard Core |
| Wheat Beer |
|
|
|
| Moa - Blanc |
$$ |
Wheat |
A Little Hard |
| Moa - Harvest |
$$ |
Wheat |
Easy Drinking |
I would suggest printing out the table and popping along to one of the few craft brew suppliers in town. In Auckland perhaps head for the College Hill New World supermarket, or Liquorlands at Newmarket or Forest Hill. For other centres email me and I will try and help.
Good luck.
Joel
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