The 12 Best Gift Ideas for Homebrewers Under $30 (2021)
Choosing gifts for homebrewers can be overwhelming. There is a seemingly endless number of items that a homebrewer may want to have, and many of them (at least according to my wife) sound like made-up words. To take the guesswork out of the process of finding an inexpensive gift for the homebrewer in your life, here are great gifts for homebrewers under $30.
The Best Gifts for Homebrewers Under $30:
1. Dual Scale Refractometer with Specific Gravity & Brix
Refractometers are a cheap but substantial upgrade that allow brewers to check their gravity quickly with much smaller samples than a hydrometer and with less risk of infecting the beer. The built-in Automatic Temperature Compensation feature makes it possible to get consistently accurate readings without the need to adjust the readings based on the sample temperature. The refractometer comes with dropper, screwdriver, user manual and cleaning cloth, all included in a hard compact case, which is perfect for putting in a stocking.
2. Auto-Siphon
An auto-siphon is one of the best purchases you can make as a new homebrewer. Auto-siphons make transferring wort from kettles and fermenters into fermenters, kegs, and bottles much easier, and with a substantially smaller risk of infecting the wort. Simply insert the auto-siphon into your fermenter, pump the center tube, and the siphon is started. The tip on the racking cane is specially designed to minimize the pick-up of sediment during transfer. After use the siphon disassembles easily for cleaning. Not only is the auto-siphon one of the best purchases you can make as a new homebrewer, but at only $15.47 on Amazon, it’s one of the best gifts you can use as one of your homebrewing stocking stuffers!
3. The Original Tubby Glasses (Set of 2)
The Tubby is probably the coolest pint glass I own. Tubby pint beer glasses are a state of art glasses created for beer lovers. Each piece is unique being hand blown with precision and has an ultra wide mouth making it a full 16oz glass. These pint glasses are short, stackable with ease and provide a great nose. The drinking rim has been engineered uniquely with a patent pending rolled profile to make sipping more comfortable. Premium packing of this pint glass set delivers an unforgettable unboxing experience. This high quality glassware gift will never disappoint, making it one of my favorite homebrewing stocking stuffers. I use them myself!
4. Homebrewing Apparel
Any homebrewing apparel makes for an awesome stocking stuffer! Selfishly, I’m going to recommend you check out some of our awesome BrewTogether official apparel, but there are a million other cool homebrewing shirts out there, and they are great gifts for homebrewers. But if you want my favorite one of all time, it’s this one:
5. Digital Kitchen Scale
If your homebrewer has started to move away from only brewing store-bought kits, one of the first things they will need is an accurate kitchen scale for weighing out hops. At $10.99, this stainless steel digital kitchen scale will weigh anything accurately between 2 grams and 11 pounds; perfect for homebrewing applications. It’s small footprint makes it easy to store with the rest of their brewing gear, and makes it a perfect homebrewing stocking stuffer!
6. Digital pH Meter
Homebrewers often spend a great deal of time thinking about three of the four ingredients in beer (grain, hops, and yeast), while forgetting how important the fourth ingredient (water) is! Beer is mostly water, and one of the best ways to improve one’s homebrew is to use a pH meter to test the minerals that are making up their brewing water. Coming in at only $12.99, a pH meter is a great gift for homebrewers!
7. Corny Keg Dry Hopper
If your homebrewer is into hoppy beers like IPAs, they have probably been dry-hopping during fermentation. But now, with this stainless steel dry hopper, they can even dry hop in the keg! With this dry hopper, all of the hops are contained in one place which helps keep beer clean and clear while still imparting flavor and aroma from the hops. The stainless steel mesh is reusable, easy to clean, and easy to sanitize, making it a far better solution than hop bags or directly dry hopping into the beer.
8. Weldless Kettle Valve
If your homebrewer is still using a kettle without a valve, this is probably the single best upgrade on the list. Adding a valve to your brew kettle saves time and effort on brew day when transferring the wort out of the kettle, which is also when the wort is most vulnerable to infection. Luckily, weldless stainless steel bulkheads and valves are available, which means that any brew kettle can have a valve installed quickly, easily, and without any need for welding tools. All that is needed is a drill and a few minutes, and this small item will make it feel like a whole new brew kettle. At only $17.71, this is the best brewing gear upgrade for under $20.
9. Weldless Thermometer
If you upgraded the brew kettle with a weldless valve, or if his kettle already has one, the next best kettle upgrade is a built-in thermometer. Built-in kettle thermometers allow brewers to have easy, accurate, and constant temperature monitoring, and eliminates the need to hold a thermometer in hot or boiling wort. Thermometers are easy to install in a kettle and make a big difference on brew day.
10. Hydrometer Set
A good hydrometer set is a must-have for any home brewery. A hydrometer measures gravity (the sugar content of your wort and beer) to determine the amount of alcohol in the finished product. We use this awesome hydrometer set from our friends at Brewingon, and it makes a great gift for homebrewers under $30!
Not sure how to use a hydrometer? Here’s our guide to using one!
11. Brewing Journal
Taking detailed notes during and after brew day is an important step in increasing the consistency and quality of homebrewed beer. Our favorite brewing journal is this awesome one from our friends at Brewingon. It comes with a ton of great information including hop and yeast charts, and space for recording a ton of recipes. We love our brewing journal and highly recommend it as a great gift for homebrewers!
12. Consumable Items!
There are also several small consumable items that make great gifts for homebrewers:
- StarSan
- Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW)
- Campden Tablets
- Potassium Sorbate
- Yeast Nutrient
- Yeast Energizer
- Fermentation Tablets
- Extra Carboy Bungs
- Extra Airlocks
Affiliate Disclosure: BrewTogether is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. BrewTogether is also a participant in an affiliate program with MoreBeer, our favorite online homebrewing equipment/ingredients retailer. Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase after clicking the link, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please feel free to reach out with questions. Thank you for your support!
Looking for a bigger gift?
Looking to give the homebrewer in your life something a little bigger this year? The number one item on most homebrewer’s holiday lists this year is an Electric All-In-One Brewing System. We use one ourselves, and have compared several of them to make the decision process easier. Check out our guide to the Best Electric All-In-One Brewing Systems here!
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What are the best gifts for homebrewers you have ever received? Leave a comment below or post in the forums!
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