Samuel Smith says new taste experiences are best for beer lovers

If you’ve got a hardcore beer lover on your list, you better not show up with a case of John Labatt Classic with a bow on it and expect a lot of handclapping. You can do better. A good place to start is a spin through www.lcbogifts.com. Even then, there’s a dizzying array of gift packs so here are some tips: A) When in doubt, give Belgian to a beer lover. There are multiple packs, so snag any one you like ( well, any one that doesn’t have Stella as part of its combo. You want to try harder than that). Buying Belgian is like giving Wolf Blass wine: It shows you at least know who’s making popular stuff, even if you don’t feel confident picking out a bargain buy from South Africa.

B) If all the Belgians are sold out, or if you know your own beer geek loves dark ales or porters, for instance, then chances are they’re going to hate Corona and other light mainstream beers like a Star Trek fan hates Borgs. So go the opposite way and buy your geek a Coronita Extra Gift Pack for $14.95. You get six little Coronas and an actual bucket. To maximize the effect of the joke gift, play dumb, and say something like, “Oh, I think you’re really going to like this . . .” in the hopes of getting a really good angry or disappointed face as the gift is opened. Have your camera ready. C) Buy the Samuel Smith selection box for $13.45. (See photo, C1.) It has a nut brown ale, oatmeal stout, pale ale, pint glass and two coasters. I’m recommending this even though I haven’t tried any of the beers yet, and that’s exactly why it’s such a good gift. For a beer lover, new experiences are often the best, no matter what they end up tasting like. Even if your beer lover has tried any of the three, these top-rated British beers are rare enough here to be special.