Well, it’s probably time to think about gift-giving for this holiday season. There is no shortage of excellent beers to give that special beer-loving someone in your life.

And old favourite is joined by a new favourite this year at the LCBO for the winter beer release. Lava from Ölvisholt Brugghús is back, in all it’s smoked glory. I’ve reviewed it twice, once the first time it hit LCBO shelves, and again last year, in a vertical tasting of the 2010/2011 vintages. This is a magnificent beer. Buy lots, for yourself and loved ones. The new favourite is Howe Sound Pothole Filler Imperial Stout. A huge smokey charred stout with a fistful of hops that punches it’s way through the massive stout and leaves a big resinous bitterness that is just divine. It might cause a bit of sticker shock, as it’s $11.35/1 litre, but by volume this means it’s nearly the same price as Lava. Yes, they’re both on the expensive side, but they are both jammed with lots of expensive malts and hops, and they are totally worth it.

Also back this year is the epic Rogue Yellow Snow IPA. In getting the link for that, it was a bit like looking back at an old school photo. Grainy iPhone 3 photo shot on the edge of my desk. Nearly obsessive analysis of the date code. And when Matt and I realized we had friends in common. It also makes me realize I ought to actually review it again, instead of just buying a bunch and drinking it, which had been my plan.

For the beer and music lover, I would be remiss not to mention Flying Monkeys BNL Imperial Stout, their collaborative brew with the Barenaked Ladies. It’s a huge chocolatey beer, that is like dessert in a glass. In it’s attractive, classically Flying Monkeys, individual boxes, it is basically pre-wrapped, just add a card (and a bow if you’re a fancy-pants) and go. Still plenty of this at the LCBO.

In addition to a really good winter beer release, the LCBO is also doing another of their excellent brewery features, this time with Nøgne Ø. All five beers in the release are just lovely, but oh boy, did I ever like that Two Captains Double IPA.

Seasonals this year from some of our favourites include: Bog Water by Beau’s, Winter Beard by Muskoka, Mocha Porter by Lake of Bays, Winter Ale by Great Lakes, Nutcracker Porter by Black Oak (available at the brewery and bars around the city), Wee Heavy Scotch Ale by Amsterdam Brewing (should be at the LCBO but it’s not listed yet), Grand River Russian Gun Imperial Stout, Holiday Honey by Old Credit Brewing, and Cuvee Spiced Strong Ale and Old Kentucky Bastard Bourbon Barreled Imperial Stout by Nickel Brook (both available at the Brewery and bars around the city, Cuvee is meant to be at the LCBO, but isn’t listed yet).

If events are more your beer-gift-recipient’s thing, perhaps you should consider this excellent deal: The Steam Whistle Tour de Force. A group tour of Steam Whistle for ten, then admission to Toronto Festival of Beer on Saturday, July 27th 2013. Tickets and info here: https://secure1.gettickets.ca/Redeem/Regular/SelectTickets.aspx?id=98be4261-22aa-4469-b448-d6ecc47f09a6&locale=en-CA. There’s also the Old Toronto Beer Lover’s Tour, by Oliver Dawson and Chris Goddard. A great tour covering Toronto history and the beer scene. They offer gift certificates for their pre-arranged tour dates. Check out http://beerloverstour.com/ for all the details.

If you need to take some beer to a party (rather than buying a bottle or two for a friend), there are many mixed packs available. Off the top of my head there’s: Amsterdam Entertainer pack, The Best of Beau’s Mixed Pack, Mill St Celebration Sampler, OCB Discovery Pack, McAuslan Winterfest Pack, Welly Pub Pack, and I’m likely missing some (brewers/reps reading this, please chime in). There are also some great mixed gift packs, often with glassware, etc. Okay. I’ll just say it. Westvleteren 12. It’s coming, and you should probably get it. Makes a great gift for the beer geek. And it will go hella fast, so watch out if you want it.

Know what I hate? Going into the LCBO between December 12th and January 2nd. It’s awful. So much angst in one spot. Zero Christmas cheer. So here’s the game plan: stock up on stuff you need from the liquor concern early (spirits, wine, far away beers/gifts etc), then write it off till the new year. But what, you may ask, do I do for beer? Easy: brewery retail stores. And here they are:

Oh, what’s that? You’re not in the GTA? There are a whole lot more options, but I’ll let OCB do what they do best: http://www.ontariocraftbrewers.com/ Whether you are north, east or west of the GTA, there’s likely a brewery retail store near by.

It’s worth pointing out that many/most of those retail stores also feature beer-related “stuff”, ranging from iPhone cases (Great Lakes), glassware (most), shirts/hats (again, most), cool shopping bags (Bellwoods) and no shortage of openers. Great non-liquid options for gifts/stocking stuffers. Particularly if you have to ship it somewhere.

There are two other gifts, one of which isn’t beer at all, and one which isn’t beer yet, that are worth mentioning.

BBbarfly are still producing some really cool butterfly-knife bottle openers. You can pick them up at The Beer Store, as well as order them through their website, http://BBbarfly.com.

For the would-be beer maker in your life, consider a Brooklyn Brew Shop Beer-making kit. Comes with everything you need to make a one gallon batch of all-grain homebrew (except for a large pot that you need to have). You can order them (as well as their excellent recipe book and refill kits) on their website (http://brooklynbrewshop.com/), but the kits are also available at shops around Toronto, notably BYOB on Queen West (@BYOBtoronto on twitter. Don’t seem to have a website).

Oh, and while we’re talking about BYOB, aside from having pretty much anything you need for serving alcohol of all sorts, they also sell ReCaps (http://recapmybottle.com/), the innovative rubber bottle caps you can use to reseal open bottles. Perfect stocking stuffers! They are also available at Burger Bar (Brock is the master-mind behind selling them in Toronto), and other places around Toronto.

So get out there, and get your shopping done. Make sure you get yourself a reward or two for all your hard effort while you’re out there!