Timing is a bit off. Reading a book about pub culture in a time of isolation. But It’s the Beer Talking has been on my list for awhile now. Author Ian Clayton is the type of person that is the exact opposite of me. Outgoing, quick to make friends and even quicker with a story.
So, at first, I was a little put off, to be honest. But once I re-dove into the book, it made sense. The beer is center here, as are the buildings and cities they are in, frankly, as the people are. But Clayton is talking about the underlying spirit that animates all of those things. What makes people care for the beer, buildings and people and by the end of the book, even a jaded introvert like me could see it.
Clayton, to me, would be one of those people who would be perfect for a podcast. You can tell that he is most at home around a table with some mates talking about “that time, when so-and-so and I….”. That gathering of friends has been captured in the book. Along with a wild cast of characters that novelists would have a hard time dreaming up.
I think you will have a wistful smile on your face as you turn to the last page.