Home Brewing Equipment for Christmas

This would do it right if you think he'll stick with it!

http://morebeer.com/products/personal-home-brewery-kit-5-kegging-super-deluxe.html

 

Interesting spin off of the weekly "What gear should I get to start brewing" threads. If this is for someone else the first question I'd ask, does he like to cook? If not, I'd worry that he might not be serious about this. I could be wrong. For lots of us, this is a deranged love of cooking.

As for picking out a set, what would be better than taking him to a local homebrew store and helping him hash it out with the employees there? Get some great advice, some hands-on fun, and swipe the credit card at the end. It sounds like a fun day to me.

 

Here's a decent shortlist:
Glass Big Mouth
8 Gallon Brew Kettle
Wort Chiller
Keg
Regulator
Tank
All the parts and pieces and ingredients can then be local (should be under $500) - the above is $320. And no plastic bucket!

 

Keep in mind that your local homebrew store probably sells gift certificates, certainly all of the online stores do. You could go to the local store, figure out a ballpark price for a starter kit and then give him a gift cert in that amount so he could pick out exactly what he wants.

Alternatively, if you want something more than an envelope under the tree, get him a glass carboy or better bottle (I strongly recommend the better bottle over the glass), get an 8 to 10 gallon stainless pot, a copy of how to brew or some other beginning homebrew book, and get a gift certificate that will allow him to buy all the odds and ends himself. Most of the starter kits aren't that great a deal anyway and come with at least some stuff that you end up not needing.

Either way, you are a great wife for going to this much trouble to get him what he wants, I am sure he will be thrilled. Just be prepared for him to become obsessed with brewing, thats usually what happens .