Special occasion beer advice

@Jordinbbp if he knew you were doing this for him, he would love you more. Unfortunately pale ales won't age that well, and not all altbeers will either. Most beers that you buy now and drink later are either certain variants of sours or stouts. If he likes those, then I am sure the floodgates will open on what beers you can get him. And believe it or not for the $100 you could get him several bottles of good beer that will age and you could celebrate over the weekend with it several years down the road.

 

Well to start with, you can start picking up rare beers along the way. One thing you can do is at a minimum post the state you are from so people will know the distribution and what will be available to you. Upcoming releases that are usually sought after that are generally available
Bourbon County: Black Friday, several of variants (issue was this year some were bad)
Founders KBS: Released in April

 

Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged Bigfoot and Barrel-Aged Narwhal should hold up nicely and be easier to find. The non-barrel aged versions are super easy to find, age well, and are pretty cheap for a 4-pack!

 

Does your husband like bourbon? If so, I'd suggest a bourbon barrel aged stout. That style will also pair well with a good cigar. The problem you're going to encounter, though, is availability. The majority of the best examples are highly sought after and limited releases. While you certainly have the budget, you're still going to have to do some legwork to obtain one. This site's forums are a valuable tool in finding out when and how these beers are released (the "beer releases" forum will help with those available nationally while the regional forums will help with those only available locally).

 

Deus Brut des Flandres. This is a Belgian "Bière de Champagne," tailor-made for a special occasion and a bargain at $30 for 750 ml. It has the characteristic flavors of a Belgian pale (e.g. yeast, coriander, orange zest), but is exceptionally clear and beautiful (and deceptively dangerous at 11:5% ABV - be warned!).

 

The suggestions of BCBS and KBS are good, and they are obtainable most places as long as you know exactly the day they come out and either make arrangements to get some (reserved and/or prepaid), or be ready to track it down. BCBS comes out black Friday and in many markets you get it that morning or not at all. KBS is tough too, usually selling out quickly - around April 1st. Another favorite - if he likes rum - is Prairie Pirate BOMB! That comes out around Easter and sells out quickly.

Lastly you might consider a Sam Adams Utopias. These are 28-30% ABV, uncarbonated, reportedly excellent and include a cool 24-oz bottle and a retail price of $190 to $225. These are more like a Cognac than a beer. These fall into the collectible category and can be found aged on Ebay (though alcohol is banned) and other forums. New ones available in November. You may be able to figure out which liquor stores have had them in the past and reserve or prepay for one. Last year they made 15,000.

 

For that budget http://store.belgianshop.com/25__cantillon

 

As @bbtkd pointed out, the good ones are in high demand, so I recommend if you choose to do this, you find a bottle shop close by and go talk to the manager and explain what you want to do and I am sure he can help you track down some good beer. The advantage of using this site is if we know the general area you are in (I know this sound stalkerish) someone from that area can point you to a good reputable bottle shop that will help you make good choices, or help you obtain the beer that you choose to get. And also welcome to Beer Advocate

 

So you need something that ages well. It needs to be something you can easily buy, that's difficult. Difficult to get beer here is traded for equally to hard to get beers for the most part. So , that leaves you looking at secondary sale beer sites where you can buy what you want at a price of course. That's reality. So your looking for Sours or Bourbon or Whiskey barrel aged Stouts. $100 is going to be really light for some bottles, like really light, even stretching to $200 might be tough. If he likes sours Belgian beers can be had, but the shipping costs are killer. There's threads here on Belgian in the box I believe it is.

 

Sam Adams Utopias.

 

Rather than a single or a few bottles of beer, how about an overnight short trip to A2? You could be the designated driver and pick a place to stay near here:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10035/

The food is excellent and while the menu doesn't list the beers on offer it is usually a pretty good list. (See some of the reviews for more info.) Also, IIRC it would be a shor, easy drive, if you wanted to, to do a quick visit to the Jolly Pumpkin in A2 and they should have bottles of some of their beers on offer. Then let him pick out a few to take home as keepers.

 

The good thing about beer is that world-class examples can be had for well less than $100. Sure, there are an infinitesimal number of rare beers that command hundreds of dollars, but are rarely worth the money.

You mention something to smoke a cigar with...this naturally leads one to barrel-aged stouts or even some non-barrel aged imperial versions. Alesmith's non-barrel aged Speedway Stout, for example, is listed in the Top 250 Beer List on the site and is readily available for $15 or less.

I admittedly do not know Michigan distribution, but Founder's KBS or CBS, Bell's Black Note, and Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout come to mind. Unfortunately, all of those are special releases generally available one day per year (or in the case of CBS, maybe one day every 4 years). Perhaps a Michigander could lead you to what is currently available. Another option is to put together a six-pack of [relatively] expensive ($8-$12 a 12oz bottle) beers that are generally available. Prairie BOMB! and variants; Mikkeller stouts such as Vanilla Shake and Beer Geek Brunch Weasel; and anything from Dogfish Head that has an exclamation point cap (except Higher Math, don't get that).

 

If I may piggyback on the idea from @drtth many breweries hold Beer Pairing dinners, which I personally would be more excited about. Go to Bell's or Founder's websites and check under events. Founders, for example, has a 5-course beer pairing dinner at the Rochester Tap Room tomorrow for $45/person. Bell's has one on Sept 23 at the Sweetwater Bar and Grill in Grand Blanc that features Black Note.

 

I would snag some items from Founders, Stone, and Bells. If you are familiar with his favorites from a pic or in fridge snag some of those also. The fact you are doing this is all he will need to know, I am sure anything you get him will be special. Pretty cool of you.
Regarding cigar, I would opt for maybe a Arturo Fuente Opus X, Padrone, or Drew Estate Liga Privada #9.

 

I think that is a great idea. My wife and daughter took me to one at a local restaurant featuring Allagash beers. It was in Rhode Island, so that doesn't help @Jordinbbp beyond it being an idea. When I found out the price ($100 per person), I hit the roof. Seven courses and nine beers later, I'd spend that money again in a heartbeat. It was done expertly - the chef came out with every course with the Allagash rep and they talked about the beer and how the food was prepared to compliment the beer. Educational from a beer perspective learning about food pairings, but it was just plain fun. Foods I'd never normally eat, a couple beers I may never see again, and some that have become favorites.

Another thought - bring the question to the mid-West forum. May get some greater exposure from more people in your area. The idea of a "mix pack" is something I would personally enjoy.

The aging part - when is the graduation? Are you talking about a semester away from finishing, or a couple more years? That could open up some more possibilities, depending on what's available to you. I am clueless about what you can get in your area, just thinking out loud here.

 

If you can locate some Achel Trappist Extra, I'm certain he'd be pleased. It is a great and very unique beer!