Christmas Gifts

Bellingers Sleigh Fuel 5.2% abv

What a great opportunity Christmas offers to introduce friends and family to the charms of real ale and craft beers. Beer makes an excellent gift and there are so many different styles and tastes to choose from that for sure you can find something to suit.

The local supermarkets offer a full and interesting choice of bottled beers but often you are faced with the same familiar brands to choose from. What is more fun is to seek out your local brewer and see what they have to offer. Or, find a beer that has a name that suits the person in mind in terms of their interests or character. You might even find a Christmas gift pack or Christmas themed beer.  More brewers are brewing seasonal beers and at this time of year you can expect to find some wonderful full, malty, fruity and spirituous beers, liquid Christmas pudding in a bottle!

Now-a-days, every town, even village seems to have a small but industrious craft brewer, producing beers with passion, pride, often using local ingredients and with names that reflect their geographical locality. You can make this even more appropriate by introducing some local foods - cheese is a great fit for beer. A local beer with locally produced cheese is very tasty and offers something out of the ordinary, plus of course it supports local business!

If you are stuck for a present for a loved one, then you could do worse than find an appropriate beer. Go on line to find a local brewer, you can often buy through the Internet. If you are lucky, some of the larger towns have a their own specialist beer shops which are also worth a visit. You wont necessarily find cheap beer here, but you will find quality beers and often an informed assistant who can help guide you through the morass of labels to ensure you select a suitable beer.

Beer as a gift is great, but its meant to be drunk. To enjoy bottled beer in particular at its best, you need to drink it sooner rather then later. Don't stick bottled beer gifts in the cupboard and forget them - beer ages for the worse unless its designed by the brewer to improve with age, so make sure you drink any beers you receive within a reasonable time frame.

Finally, above all else, beer is meant to be fun, so relax and take your time both choosing and drinking beer at Christmas.