New strategy: an Indie-roused Christmas gift idea
Last year around this time, I published an article about Christmas gifts for the craft beer lover. I focused the article on items that were connected to the craft beer scene, but were not beer themselves. The logic was simply that purchasing beer for a craft beer drinker can be easy to get wrong: avoid that possibility by focusing on beer swag, fashion, learning aids, and other beer-related accessories.
But what do you do if you really don’t know anything about craft beer, but are stubbornly keen to purchase your craft beer-obsessed friend or family member beer that they are really going to be happy and surprised to receive?
I recently received a package from Indie Ale House with a nice selection of craft beer. Receiving it suggested to me (given the season and what was on my mind – answering the above question) a way to create a Christmas gift of beer for the craft beer lover I hadn’t really considered previously, and I quite like it.
There are of course a few avenues for you to explore in trying to create a gift of craft beer that will properly excite your recipient. A number of them will likely yield your desired result as well. So, before I explore this newly-considered strategy Indie Ale House roused in me and why I like it, let’s look quickly at some of the other options you have for achieving your goal of curating a selection of craft beer to give as a Christmas gift:
The LCBO approach
Craft beer drinkers want exclusivity, and that’s going to be very difficult to uncover in the LCBO. They have a great selection (depending on the location), but it’s a selection that is more likely to give craft beer enthusiasts an experience they have had already.
Independent retail
You are lucky if you live in Toronto’s west end. At the beginning of the pandemic, 4th & 7 opened, and converted what was to be a new bar into a craft beer retail space. They offer an immense selection of craft beer from across Ontario – and only craft beer not available in the LCBO. This is a great option if you live near this shop. (Read more about 4th & 7 in my article here.)
Otherwise, there may be a similar shop (like a local bar or restaurant) that provides beer retail sales in your area. The establishment though, for our purposes, needs to sell craft beer that is (1) not from the LCBO, and (2) of a sizeable selection (say, at least 20 different craft beers available). This is going to be a lot harder than you think to find, I assure you.
It’s not a good suggestion unless you know of really great place near by worth looking more into… Or unless you’re lucky enough to live near 4th & 7 where you can simply cast a net at their menu of (currently) more than 200 craft beers (!).
Brewery hop
Another possibility is to do what 4th & 7 have done themselves, but you do it: brewery hop, and collect a selection of craft beers along the way for your gift. This isn’t a bad idea (and could be a fun shopping excursion!), but you will need to know (1) whether the breweries are offered in the LCBO, and (2) whether the breweries you are visiting are truly exciting. On top of this, of course, there’s the run around to all the various locations to make your purchases (which might actually be a pain). It can work, but it isn’t the most efficient plan, nor the most guaranteed (or really even likely) to achieve eye-popping results.
Beer subscription
Finally, a beer subscription can be a great way to arrange a craft beer Christmas gift of beer with minimal effort. There are a number of subscription programs (I’ve included a few suggestions at the bottom of this article) that can range from excellent in value and selections to more modest packages that are simply ok. It’s great because it keeps giving throughout the year, and usually provides the type of craft beers your recipient will truly appreciate. That said, they are often of higher cost, so your budget matters here.
A new (for me anyways) approach
When I received my selection of beer from Indie Ale House, it got me thinking of what it is a craft beer drinker really wants when it comes to receiving a gift of beer. It is not merely beer that the recipient desires – if that was the case, you wouldn’t actually need any of this advice! What the craft beer drinker really wants is a journey, a map or trail, an adventure – this gift of beer should aim to be an experience.
My case from Indie Ale House zeroed in on that type of experience in a way unique to the strategies listed above. Rather than bouncing around to all sorts of breweries, dipping my tongue into as many different fermentors as possible, I gained a particular experience with Indie. I got to know this brewery and their beer really well.
The Indie experience
In my own craft beer Christmas gift from Indie Ale House, I received:
- 2x Broken Hipster Belgian Witbier
- 2x Instigator West Coast IPA
- 2x Happy Little Trees Kveik IPA
- 2x Marco Polo Italian Pilsner
- 2x Lemonade Stand Lactose Sour
- 1x Good Clean Fun Helles Lager
- 1x Days In Between Oat Pale Ale
- 1x Breakfast Porter English Porter
- 1x Love Triangle #11 American IPA
- 1x Ritual Madness Flanders Dark Red Ale
- 2x Indie Ale House branded glassware
It was actually the glassware that made this Christmas gift concept pop into my head. I think the glassware is a great touch. Beer always tastes better out of a glass, and having the correct glassware, branded from the brewery you are drinking, really helps elevate the experience you are looking to provide your recipient. In a way, the glassware completes the experience properly, I’d say. Nevertheless, the glassware made it clear to me that it was an experience with craft beer that such a gift should really aim to achieve.
What you can’t do with the other strategies, you can do with this one. Focusing the gift on the experience of one brewery alone allows you to complement that experience with properly branded glassware to match. That’s actually pretty awesome.
The right brewery
Now, obviously, the Christmas gift you choose to create does not have to be of beer from Indie Ale House. Indie inspired me here, but they certainly aren’t the only Ontario brewery worthy of being the subject of such a Christmas gift. That said, they do work perfectly as an example of the sort of brewery you want to choose for this gift idea.
This is the Indie Ale House philosophy:
“Our mission is to inspire people to Live Indie. Whether it’s identifying with a certain unique style of beer, or if it’s supporting local and high-quality goods, our mantra is rooted in the fact that we encourage exploration and choice for everyone, particularly those who like to innovate and diverge from the mainstream masses.”
from the IAH “About” page
The sentiment here is pretty much the rallying cry for craft beer itself. Jim Koch of Sam Adams has always said similar things – it’s not new.
Now, while Indie does say it well, they also perform it very well too. And that’s the much more difficult part.
It helps to have been around the craft beer block, which Indie Ale House has, opening in 2012, at what was really the beginning of the craft beer boom in Toronto. This means they’ve had the time to hone their craft and brand, produce an incredible plethora of beers (one of the most of any brewery in Toronto), and establish immense credibility and respect within the industry by executing this very well.
Their focus on and dedication to their “Live Indie” philosophy led them to achieve their success and gain their reputation as a brewery pushing boundaries. This is exactly what you are really looking for in a brewery for your craft beer Christmas gift: one with a credible history in the brewing community, especially for pushing boundaries.
A bit of research online is all it takes with the right questions: How long has the brewery been around? What is the consensus in the online beer community, say at RateBeer or BeerAdvocate, about the brewery? Looking there, how many beers have they released to date? Are they attempting to “live Indie”? How many ‘checkins’ do their beers receive on Untappd in relation to other breweries – are they popular? Answering just a few of these should indicate whether you’re on the right track with any brewery in question.
What’s in a box though?
But back to my box of Indie beer. The glassware provided an excellent finishing touch that I would argue is near-indispensable for achieving ideal gift results here, but of course what’s clearly most important is the variety of the beer.
I was very pleased with the variety included in my box, but I was curious to see what else Indie Ale House had available at the time. I received 10 different beers, and they had an additional 14 beers available at the time (check their shop for the latest count!). That is an astronomical amount really.
Indie Ale House is one of those breweries that seems to never be afraid to shy away from any particular beer style. This cannot be said about most breweries. Indie has an advantage over most, given it’s success and history. They have grown their operations a number of times, adding a production facility in Etobicoke and then partnering with Eataly for an additional small batch facility (called “Birroteca“) in Toronto’s downtown core. This allows them to produce far more beer than your average craft brewery. Indeed, it allows them to adhere to their philosophy even more intently – it allows them to experiment more.
But even larger, more successful craft breweries don’t come close to the output of variety that Indie Ale House does. It’s their drive for experimentation that leads them this way. To be sure, the variety they offer is one that is constantly evolving and rarely obvious. It is a definite adventure, which is exactly what you want out of the brewery you choose for your craft beer Christmas gift.
Making sure the brewery produces a lot of different beers, and in many different styles, ensures a quality craft beer adventure.
The advantage of one when looking for many
My box from Indie Ale House provided me with an adventure. It had it’s comfort zones – the lagers and IPAs – but then it twisted the paths in more unexpected ways that forced me as the drinker to be more creative in my drinking and expectations. It wasn’t simply the next IPA after the other. Understanding the mood of a Flanders Red is a trip one wants to pair properly, and finding that moment leads to more unique and exciting drinking.
It leads the drinker to investigate more about that brewery and their beers. It quenches their desire for a truly proper craft beer experience. Indeed, one great brewery, such as Indie Ale House, can provide the many flavours your recipient is looking for.
While some of the other strategies will certainly lead you to building a great box of craft beer for Christmas, this is the only strategy that provides a more lasting experience by connecting the drinker to a particular brewery.
So, I say go for one that provides you many – and don’t forget the glassware.
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