Beer Me!
I
Majorly overthought beer list
BY SHANNON FINNELL
f you have a suds-lover or locavore on your
list, if you want to buy an out-of-towner a
“made in Eugene” gift or if you know broke
college students and recent grads who con-
sider microbrews a luxury, a stocking
(Hirons, $9.99) or basket full of the good stuff is an
excellent consumable present.
Ninkasi’s Sleighr ($3.99) is arguably the most
obvious starting point for a holiday brew basket.
Dark, malty and with a hint of chocolate, the seasonal
brew tastes a bit like a dessert lager and deliciously
unlike a 7.2 percent alcohol-by-volume brew — the
alcohol is well-camouflaged by other flavors.
Those who have tasted vanilla porters spoiled
by an overpowering vanilla flavor will especially
appreciate Hop Valley’s Vanilla Infused Porter (VIP)
www.eugeneweekly.com
($4.29). Its vanilla flavor balances with the rest of
the beer without fading into the background,
while the chocolate and coffee flavors act as
complements.
While pumpkin symbolizes non-gifty Halloween
and Thanksgiving, Oakshire’s Big Black Jack Imperial
Chocolate Pumpkin Porter ($6.99) packs a holiday
taste suited to December, too. Its strong chocolate
taste pairs with the subtler pumpkin to create a rich
brew to sip late at night in front of the yule log.
Bonus: It smells great.
More purposefully holiday seasonal, Oakshire’s Ill-
Tempered Gnome ($4.99) tastes of caramel; it’s a
dark and malty winter delight, but the brewers didn’t
skimp on hops when devising this recipe, either.
Not every gift beer needs to be seasonal and
dark. Ninkasi’s Total Domination IPA ($3.99) was the
company’s first, and it’s become symbolic of
Eugene’s microbrew industry. The hops combination
in this sharp brew is its soul, which has led to its
commercial success.
Hop Valley’s Double D Blonde ($4.29) rounds out
these picks. Dark beers are fantastic in winter, but if
your gift recipient is considering purchasing a
tanning bed just to feel warm and dry, Double D
Blonde is a refreshing reminder of summer. It’s a
great hoppy beer for people who feel “meh” about
hops — the hops flavor is well-balanced, and it
makes “refreshing” feel like a flavor.
Pick up these brews in local grocery stores or
visit the breweries themselves for gifts like T-shirts
and bumper stickers. GG
Eugene Weekly’s GIFT GUIDE 2012 13