Since we are talking pubs, let’s get into the latest book from beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones, A Pub for All Seasons.
I would say that the sub-title of this book is misleading. It is not a book of rankings or whether Fall is better than Winter. Winter obviously wins. But more a trio of interlocking themes. Memoir meets existential thoughts and the people who run and frequent the pubs.
And for some readers, that second thread of musings on life is the one that I found hardest to latch onto. Yes, you can wax poetic about the first sun of summer but I want to know more about why a pilsner on a pub patio works so well or give me a tip as to beers that you might not know work really well on a rainy day in April. There is some of that in the book but it is a little more inner when I was hoping for a little more travel guide.
Which leads to my next nitpick. I really would have loved to see a map or three in this book. I was trying to follow the winding train tracks but kept having to press pause on the book to do so.
Those two improvements aside, I did really enjoy the book and how the publicans and brewers are piloting their ways through ownership in this day and age. The beers described made me thirsty throughout the book and it was overall a relaxing read through all four seasons.