Ho Ho Ho, it’s time to round up some gifts for your friends, family, and community members. Everyone is well aware that local businesses are suffering this year, Amazon is booming, but the little guys need our support. 

So, when you open that wallet, Apple iPay, clutch, or checkbook (do you still have one?), remember that a dollar spent in our community with a local business goes a lot further in our local economy than a dollar spent at a national or regional retailer.

Well, at RoHa, we drink a bunch of beer, we talk about beer, we sell some beer, and well we make beer - so we have a theme BEER!

When it comes to gift giving, we are pretty focused; on beer and beer gifts.  So I thought I would give a quick roundup of ideas, last minute or otherwise so you too can stay focused this year on making sure that your friends and family recognize the importance of beer.

Another reminder, then we will get to the gifts.  Often, when giving a gift - if you are able to create an opportunity to create a memory, or experience, that gift goes a lot further than just another “thing” to store and deal with.

OK, the Beer drinkers gift guide!  Beer drinkers like beer, and since you are still reading this, I am assuming you are a beer drinker, and want to know what to get for your friends who also love beer.  

Start with the basics: 

Every beer drinker loves to get beer, plain and simple.  All craft beer drinkers are on a never ending quest to fill their beer fridge or cellar, and then empty it, fill then empty.  So, no matter where you land in that cycle, you are helping them out.  Now, just a beer, will not necessarily create the experience you’re going for, so look for specialty beers.

Here at RoHa we are keeping our fridge stocked with Fresh Crowler beers, only available at RoHa, and only available in a crowler.  We have also recently released our Project Porter, one of the only Porter’s available in the valley, this dark porter is rich with chocolatey flavors and a complex malt finish.  This is a unique way to support a local business while also providing an opportunity to create a memorable experience.  

Several local breweries are putting out great limited seasonal releases, the classic is Red Rock’s Griswald, in short supply this year find it if you can.  Similarly, our friends over at TF Brewing put out HollaHaze Juicy IPA.  Shades Brewing seems to have an endless supply of new limited releases - the latest is this Slurry Sugar Plum Sour, a cavity in a can, and your craft friends will not stop thanking you. The folks up at Bewilder are putting out some new stuff, I know their Mole Porter is something new and different - even being featured down at Hopkin’s Brewing alongside their great beers.  Level Crossing put out a huge 12.11% ABV Barley Wine, that will put you on your lips. Fisher Brewing just put a bunch of beer in 16-oz cans for the first time, making them available this week.  

While this is not a complete list - we are fortunate we have a couple great local bloggers keeping tabs on all brewery activities.  If you have not yet - be sure to sign up for Utah Beer News, and The Utah Beer Blog (New Beer Friday) releases to keep a better pulse on the local scene.

In addition to these beer ideas, consider a gift card - the hero gift - it gives the local establishment money now, and gives the brewery a patron later, the perfect combo.  It is also a great way to allow that friend or family member to create their own experience at some point down the road.

My point is, get them beer, but make sure it is a beer that will create an experience.  Something new, seasonal, or fun to share.  

Take it up a notch:

While you are out rounding up these limited release beers - throw in some unique item of schwag, not only is this a good way for your beer buddy to remember the beer-sperience with you, but it is also great for the brewery.  I think all the local breweries are putting out phenomenal stuff right now, and it is a lot of fun to see it out in the wild.

Finally, an opportunity to change the experience through glassware.  Yes, we talk a lot about glassware, containers, cans, bottles, solo cups and the like - but it's really the other half of the beer drinking experience.  You have beer, and you have a vessel to drink from. 

At RoHa, our favorite is the standard straight sided pint glass - this is a good daily driver, and a great way to enjoy almost any beer.  But the glass manufacturers have gone out of their way to enhance the beer drinking experience for very specific beer styles as well.  We have the tulip glass, or Belgian style, designed to allow some good swirling to warm the beer in a large bowl and trap the aromas at the lip.  

The IPA glass is a relatively new creation that has some etching to release hop aromas through CO2 releases right down the barrel of the glass, a large bowl for the same warming and release sensation and finally the tapered rim that captures that pungent aroma we all desire - as you tilt the glass the hop aroma is torpedoed into your nose.  

There are also Pilsner glasses, Weizen glasses, all designed to enhance the drinking experience for that style of beer.  So if you get a specialty beer - round out the gift with the perfect glassware for the occasion.  This might be trickier to source locally, but you will find a way.

Alright, this ramble is nearly over.  Beer is love, and beer brings joy.  As we try to fluff up that joy around the holidays, take a minute to reflect on why you wouldn’t share this kind of joy, all year round.  Why are we so focused on spreading this happiness around the holidays. 

Beer drinkers love beer, and are on that never ending quest to fill and empty their cellar, so help them out, share some, drink some, and be merry.  Happy Holidays from RoHa.