2015 Holiday Gift Guide

Beer is good. Bikes are good. Beer and bikes together are great. Get your bike loving significant other beer gifts and they will be happy and love you more. We promise.

Hydro Flask True Pint Holiday 4-Pack

Hydro Flask True Pint Holiday 4-Pack

Travel with it, camp with it, party with it! The 16 oz True Pint is made from 18/8 food-grade stainless steel and the double wall vacuum provides top-notch insulation. Aside from keeping your favorite beverage cold, this pint glass delivers extreme durability while still letting the user feel like they're still drinking from a glass and not a thick tumbler. The pints don't get stuck together either, due to some subtle design details. Price: $80 or $22 each | More info at www.hydroflask.com

Ballast Point Sculpin

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

The great Sculpin IPA has powered the Ballast Point company into a billion dollar powerhouse. It is available in bombers, six-packs and cans. Ballast Point Sculpin is a big, bold American IPA weighing in at 7% ABV and it has new variations called Grapefruit Sculpin and Habanero Sculpin. It's brewed in San Diego and features strong flavors of citrus and tropical fruit from the hops, and a bright, bitter finish characteristic of San Diego IPAs. Price: Varies | More info at www.ballastpoint.com

Westvleteren 12 (XII) Belgian Quadruple

Often referred to as "the best beer in the world", Westvleteren 12 is a Belgian Quadruple brewed by monks at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in northwest Belgium. Nicknamed, Westy 12, the 10.2% ABV beer is brewed in small batches and until recently was only available for purchase at the brewery itself (the beer came in wooden crates). Westy 12 features flavors of rich figs, raisins, dark cherries, a malty caramel backbone, brandy, rum and brown sugar. It's bottle-conditioned and ages very well, mellowing out the alcohol-heavy finish and blending all of the fruity characteristics. This is a very hard beer to find in the U.S., but it's still available via online vendors and shipped direct from Belgium. A definite must-try beer for any enthusiast who appreciates the complexities of strong Belgian dark ales steeped in history. Price: Varies | More info at www.sintsixtus.be

Modern Times Beer Cans

Modern Times Beer

Seemingly out of nowhere, this San Diego Brewery popped up and started producing great canned beer. Every beer we've tried from them has been excellent, especially their Blazing World, hoppy, dark, amber offering. Price: Varies | More info at moderntimesbeer.com

Alpine Nelson

Alpine Nelson IPA

In an industry absolutely dominated by IPAs, Alpine Nelson is a beer that has very few rivals at the top. Brewed at a tiny brewpub 30 minutes east of San Diego in Alpine, Nelson is a 7.1% ABV IPA featuring Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand and a malt backbone fortified by European Rye. It features a unique flavor of grapefruit rind, pineapple, earthy pine and crisp white wine with a light, yet distinct spiciness from the rye in the malt. It has a thin body and a bitter profile that doesn't linger, but instead leaves the tongue dry and searching for more. Nelson shares the spotlight with Alpine's other world-class IPA, Duet, which is a perfect execution of more traditional IPA flavors (sweet malt backbone with solid bitterness and a hop profile consisting of citrus, tropical fruit and piney resin). Available only in San Diego before, its partnership with Green Flash Brewery has given it distribution in many places Green Flash is found. Price: Varies | More info at www.alpinebeerco.com

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Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA

Deschutes is among the best 'bigger' breweries out there because of beer quality and what they do for the cycling community. But they have always been lacking in the IPA department - until now. This Fresh Squeezed IPA is a game changer for them, but it is hard to find. Hop Trip or Chasin' Freshies are good alternatives. Price: Varies | More info at www.deschutesbrewery.com

Stone Brewing Enjoy By …

Stone Brewing Enjoy By… IPA

This is Stone's answer to Pliny with its high alcohol content, floral notes, and freshness. Pliny is so rare that it is usually consumed within a couple weeks of bottling. So Stone brewing puts a date on this beer label and it is distributed only at certain periods and is supposed to be consumed before the mentioned date. Price: Varies | More info at www.stonebrew.com

Bell's Hopslam and Bells Two Hearted

Bell's Beer Hopslam Ale or Two Hearted Ale

From Michigan, this Hopslam beer is strong and balanced from start to finish. Using six different hops, it delivers with floral, grapefruit action and finishes with honey. It is good but don't get too hooked, as it is very rare and only available at the beginning of each year. The good news is Bells Two Hearted is always available and just as flavorful. Not quite as boozy so you can enjoy it with a meal anytime. Price: Varies | More info at www.bellsbeer.com

Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale and Deviant Dale's

Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale or Deviant Dale's IPA

Like Deschutes, another brewery that supports all things cycling and regularly gives back to the community. Unlike Deschutes, they have offerings in cans, which make for great mid-ride refreshment options. Great for packing in, packing out. Price: Varies | More info at www.oskarblues.com

Lagunitas Born Yesterday Fresh Hop Ale

Lagunitas Born Yesterday Fresh Hop Ale

Lagunitas is the creator of one of the greatest gateway IPAs ever made, the Lagunitas IPA. It is identifiable with big, bold IPA letters on the label and taste that is simple, unique but definitely with bold up front IPA bitterness followed by a sweet ending. With the rapid introductions of very fresh, aromatic IPAs like Pliny The Elder, Lagunitas has finally put out their idea of what a fresh hop beer should taste like. And it is a good one. This wetter-than-wet beer has 11lbs-per-barrel of Amarillo, Equinox, Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic and Indigenous Catawampus hops. Price: Varies | More info at lagunitas.com

This article is part of Mtbr's 2015 Holiday Gift Guide. For more gift ideas and holiday guides, CLICK HERE.