A Very Beery Christmas

I figured, with people knowing me and my hobbies, I would get a few beer-related items for Christmas this year.  Especially since that was almost all that I asked for.  I didn’t, however, expect to be as inundated with beer-related gifts as I turned out to be—and trust me, this is not a complaint.

The fun began with our first Christmas (LeeAnne and I were travelling and split our weekend between two families).  My brother and I had a little six-pack exchange in which I received a Duchesse de Bourgnone, De Dochter Finesse, Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze, De Dolle Oerbier Reserva (2010), Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse and a Nogne O Winter Ale—all packaged up nicely with a bonus Maredsous glass. In addition, my sister got me two bombers: a Hoppin’ Frog Christmas Ale and a Goose Island Pepe Nero, which was great because I hadn’t yet told her about my problems getting my hands on Goose Island in Philly.

After the beer, I opened a set of six beer-specific glasses from my mom.  She also bought me the Oxford Companion to Beer—even after a brief skim, I can tell the book will be helpful and educational despite the controversy that briefly encompassed it.

For our second Christmas, we began with food gifts and I opened a bottle of De Struise Tsjeeses Reserva.  The Tsjeeses is one of my favorite beers, and I’ve never had the Reserva, so I’m pretty excited about this one.  LeeAnne also bought me The Brewmaster’s Table as well as a small, not-well-known book called Food Heroes: 16 Culinary Artisans Preserving Tradition by Georgia Pellegrini.  I started reading it Christmas morning, because it has a chapter dedicated to Matthias Trum, owner and head brewer of Brauerei Heller-Trum, the producers of Schlenkerla.  I read about four other chapters that morning and was fascinated the entire time. Foodie or beer fan, you should buy this book.

The coup de grace, though, was the final beer gift: a home brew kit.  LeeAnne finally pulled the trigger on the kit—something we’ve been toying with getting for about three years—as well as the required pot and spoon for brewing.  Her parents were nice enough to chip in with a bottle drying rack, a bag of bottle caps, and label-making software.  They also gave me a gift certificate to Home Sweet Homebrew so I could buy ingredients and anything else I would require to get my first batch under way.  I cannot wait to get started—all I need now is a name for my “brewery”.

How was your Christmas?  Was it as beery as mine, and did you get everything you asked for?  Drop a comment letting me know what beer-related gifts you received!