Here's The Best Holiday Gift For Chicago Beer Lovers

By Anthony Todd in Food on Nov 17, 2016 3:09PM

The beer advent calendar. Photo courtesy of Bottles & Cans.

If you've got a beer lover in your life, you know that they can sometimes be difficult to shop for. They've already got all the fancy glasses, you don't want to buy them another guidebook, and somehow just buying a sixpack or a bomber doesn't seem like quite enough. We've got the holiday gift for you, and best of all, it's local.

Bottles & Cans, the totally awesome beer store in North Center, has developed a Beer Advent Calendar that's perfect for the beer lover in your life. "It's a really fun way to kick off the holiday," explains owner Carly Katz. "You start on the first of December with your first beer."

The store had special boxes custom made to hold 25 different beers, which are kept in sealed bags, so exactly what you'll get on a given day is a bit of a secret surprise. They're just like the advent calendars with tiny toys or chocolate—except way more fun. There are even a few large-format bottles tucked in the box. "They all fall on Saturdays, so you’re not drinking a 13 percent bomber on a Tuesday," laughs Katz.

There are three different types: an "everything" box, a hoppy box and a dark box. They've even arranged the beers in optimal order so that the beers that need to be drunk the freshest fall early in the rotation.

The price? A pretty reasonable $89.99. Last year, Bottles & Cans sold 200 calendars, and because of the popularity, they had to rent an extra facility just to prepare and pack them. There's no limit to how many they will sell, but orders close at the end of the day tomorrow, so if you want to get one of these boxes for the beer lover in your life, order it now. Email Orders@bottlesandcanschicago.com to place your order.

An added bonus: Bottles & Cans is participating in the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood "Unwrap" promotion. The first 150 people who turn in receipts for $300 worth of stuff bought from participating neighborhood businesses can send in their receipt to the Chamber of Commerce for a $50 gift certificate to certain local businesses. If you're shopping local for the holidays anyway, this is a great deal, and this advent calendar will get you almost a third of the way there.