Scandal's Olivia Pope hearing what her dad wants from this list. Good luck with that!
It's time to make Dad happy during the one true day he gets all to himself!
What’s up!
As I consistently find out every year during my
travels, there are so many great dads out there who do whatever they can to
make sure their kids have the best in life. Hence, I have done a lot of
research and received numerous pitches to be in this year’s edition, resulting
in what I think the best one of them all so far.
From kickass beer-centric
gifts like stainless steel growlers, books, brewing kits mimicking what the
President Obama brews in the White House, t-shirts, new brews on the shelves, and club
memberships, to travel packages to Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, a hard-cased
dopp for toiletries, top-shelf spirits, and numerous
other gifts that will make any Dad say, “Hell yes, you actually thought this through!”
So without further ado, pour a beer and sift through
these extra dope choices to make your dad, husband, or any man with a kid tap dance!
Oh, and I will be adding some last-minute entries to this
list periodically so check back soon!
Happy shoppin’!
Ale
The DrinkTanks™ Growler
If you hate flat beer, this stainless steel
growler is the answer!
Through crowdfunding, Nicholas Hilla and his late father made
their dream a reality: They delivered an awesome growler that is stainless
steel, leakproof, punks traditional screwcaps in terms of carbonation preservation,
and boasts that it keeps beer cold for up to 24 hours! To add, if it’s in the
fridge, beer stays fresh for about a week! I hate how quick brews go flat in
growlers, so this DrinkTanks container could be the answer! Oh yeah, besides
being dishwasher safe and BPA free, these state-of-the-art growlers come in 13
different vibrant colors too! More info is here.
Southern Beer Tours’ Baseball
Package
This one’s a hit!
After kickin’ it for two hours at the awesome Wild
Heaven brewery for six tastings before
heading to Turner Field, the day continues with a game to see the Atlanta Braves against
the New York Mets (who are actually decent this year!) on Saturday, June 20th
at 3:00 pm. This chauffeured package includes a General Admission ticket and
a signature, delicious, alcohol-absorbing Chick-Fil-A sandwich for a mere $65! SBT
also includes a souvenir glass and gift bag with the tour! Pickup is at
the Lindbergh TMac (Taco Mac). Go here
for all the info and get your beer tourin’ on!
The BrewTees.com T-Shirt of the Month Club
Step Dad’s t-shirt game up!
Sign Pops up to get a new t-shirt from a microbrewery
like Stone, Evil Twin, and Wired to name a few every month thanks to
BrewTees.com’s
T-Shirt of the Month Club! The designs are pretty slick, it won’t be a
piece from the macros, and it’s a gift that keeps on giving! Plus, each t-shirt
comes with a lil’ goody. If you have commitment issues to do the monthly program
(they give you choices of three months, six months and a year), just go on
their site and pick the shirt you want (the prices are hella reasonable at like
$20), and then bless Dad’s wardrobe with some t-shirt love. Go here
for all the deets and tell ‘em Ale sent ya!
Brew the beers the White House makes!
Create and sip what the POTUS loves thanks
to Northern Brewer.
Northern
Brewer, one of my favorite online retail homebrew supply shops,
helps us stay patriotic with homebrew kits that emulate the original brews made
by the White House kitchen staff, including President Obama’s faves—the White
House Honey Ale and White House Honey Porter. Of course, Northern
Brewer has hundreds of other kits, supplies, and accessories, but what better
way to celebrate July 4th than with these joints? Here’s the jump to
the official website.
Membership has
its privileges.
The first beer
magazine I have written for, The Beer Connoisseur, just launched The
Beer Connoisseur® Club and have a Kickstarter campaign here
where you can have your dad’s name recognized for his contribution, support an
awesome magazine, and get some cool schwag when he does. I love how they made
me the first member with the cool card boasting “Ale Sharpton.”
They say: All club members receive a magazine
subscription and ALL ACCESS website membership that includes an interactive
Beer School. A custom membership card generates discounts and incentives with
the BC Network Global Partners. The list of partners includes breweries and
brewpubs, international breweries, cideries and meaderies, retail and homebrew
stores, plus a number of beer-centric products and services. In addition, the
club’s director and staff are dedicated to acting as a BC Concierge service for
members to help facilitate beer-related travel activities and find hard-to-get
event tickets. Members will be invited to exclusive club events and can
participate in an online community.
Circa 39’s ‘Would You Wynwood?’ package
Send Dad to Miami!
Let Pops bask in the sun, get his people-watching on, and
indulge in Wynwood Arts District’s stunning art! I did a post on Wynwood here because it is an amazing section in Miami that continues to be adorned by
murals painted by world-renowned artists.
Hip boutique hotel Circa 39 based on the celebrated “Wunder Mile” along Miami Beach (also known as Mid-Beach) has an awesome package called “Would You Wynwood?” starting at just $219/night, 10 percent off best available rates, plus one full-day bike rental in Wynwood and—get this—a Wynwood Brewing Company tour and tasting! Oh, and let’s not forget the daily breakfast and a complimentary craft cocktail at the WunderBar located on the property. (And don’t worry, they have local selections from the brewery as well.)
Hip boutique hotel Circa 39 based on the celebrated “Wunder Mile” along Miami Beach (also known as Mid-Beach) has an awesome package called “Would You Wynwood?” starting at just $219/night, 10 percent off best available rates, plus one full-day bike rental in Wynwood and—get this—a Wynwood Brewing Company tour and tasting! Oh, and let’s not forget the daily breakfast and a complimentary craft cocktail at the WunderBar located on the property. (And don’t worry, they have local selections from the brewery as well.)
By the way, the representatives noted that the Wynwood
Art Walk takes place the second Saturday of every month, which I have done and it is totally worth the brief exercise. So plan accordingly because Dad will dig it!
Dopp it the hard way!
I love The Grommet
site because it sifts through the thousands of product submissions by start-up
companies and entrepreneurs, and only three percent get selected. I visit it often to see what’s new. Besides the growler, I travel a lot and thought
the Tooletries—a hard-case
dopp kit—was a cool accessory any traveling dad would appreciate. Always
sweating how your luggage is handled during flights, clippers, electric razors,
cologne bottles and other breakable items are held down by removable silicone
netting, plus there’s waterproof neoprene lining for extra security.
Check out the details here and bag...I mean...case this!
Uncle John’s
Beer-Topia
Book
it.
The increasingly popular Uncle John’s Bathroom
Reader series has been entertaining us while on the flushing
throne for more than 25 years with books full of time-killing fun facts on
various subjects. Now it’s beer’s turn with the Uncle John’s Beer-Topia:
A Heady Brew & Beer Miscellany. Here’s what they list this page-turner packs:
• The histories and origins of all the different styles of beers
• Interesting (and weird) beer flavors
• The science of beer, and how it’s made
• Crazy beer-related news stories
• Beer terminology
• Funny microbrew names
• Drinking games
• The histories and origins of all the different styles of beers
• Interesting (and weird) beer flavors
• The science of beer, and how it’s made
• Crazy beer-related news stories
• Beer terminology
• Funny microbrew names
• Drinking games
Instead of the typical rolled newspaper under his
arm, Al Bundy would love this as a Father’s Day gift!
Hip Sips...
Unibroue Éphémère
Pear
Gettin’
fruity widdit.
It’s a new
addition to the Éphémère beer series from one of the best breweries in the
world, Unibroue. I did the Cranberry here. Now it’s the Pear’s turn
cased in 750 ml cork and cage bottles, and on tap at various bars and
restaurants across the country. Refreshing, fruity, and delicious. Sip this
with a pinky up in a tulip glass or flute for extra class! More click here for more the full description.
Red Hare Gangway
IPA aged in Jose Cuervo Tradicional Tequila Barrels
Get Red
Hare’s first bottled beer!
Marietta,
Georgia-based brewery Red Hare is putting their first bottled beer on
the shelves (they have solely been cans in the past), so this is seriously a
collector’s item. Luckily, the beer in it is awesome as well! It’s the
22-ounce, Jose Cuervo Tradicional Tequila barrel-aged Gangway IPA (6.2%
ABV) that’s only available in Metro Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia. To make it even
more special, Red Hare is only one of three breweries throughout the US that
was selected in Jose Cuervo’s Cask Ale barrel swap program.
An
exotic trip to Mexico without Dad leaving the house!
Speaking of tequila, hook Dad up with a little DeLeón’s oak-aged Reposado made from 100 percent Highland agave. I even through a recipe in there for ya courtesy of the
distillery, the DeLeón Old Fashioned, which “…takes the standards of the Old
Fashioned category to the next level,” they boast. Get it at any package store
with class.
1 ½ oz
DeLeón Reposado
¼ oz Mezcal
1 bar spoon agave
nectar
2 dashes of
angostura bitters
Stir all
ingredients in a mixing glass over clean cubed and cracked ice until thoroughly
chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a single, clean, large format
rock. Garnish with an orange peel.
Boom!
Ale
