If you see this…
…at your local tap room or bar, then turn to page 20 to read my review / prescription for future breweries in Los Angeles…
And yes, those are a few of my beer books in the background.
Beer Paper LA – February 2020
Book Review – Best Food Writing of 2018
I try to read at least a couple Best Of books each year and I finally got around to the 2018 Food Writing edition.
And this year’s edition was another fascinating read. The short articles that reached me (in no order) was the Female Chefs piece which was quite the indictment of food media coverage and a roadmap for how to talk about minorities. (Oscars take heed). The science and business behind Driscoll’s strawberries was a peek behind the agricultural curtain to some shady business. White Lies of Craft Culture by Lauren Michelle Jackson was really powerful and though it has beer reference in the first paragraph that is then dropped it also deftly touches on appropriation. How to move forward wasn’t addressed to my liking but it was a thinking piece. And considering my arms length treatment of social medai, the article about a young Alaskan whaler really shows the power of loud voices. Especially in American, wrong loud voices that do not care that they are both.
Search this book out and you will be treated to a collection of well-done stories.
A Book & A Beer – The Fire is Upon Us by Nicholas Buccola
I picked up The Fire is Upon Us from the library primarily because it was written by a professor at my Alma Mater, Linfield College. Not because I had an empty image of either of the two men at the center of the book.
Because the focus is narrowed to race, it is really hard to muster any sort of feeling for William Buckley. He was a prolific writer and as opposed to many politicians held convictions firm but he was also a man that time has passed by at a rapid pace whilst Baldwin becomes more and more important with each passing year.
Couple that with the fact that the debate isn’t arrived at until literally late in the last quarter of the book and you have the problem of having to leaf through backstory more than you experience the debate. Personally, I would have opted for a smaller book that really dug into everything around the debate as well as extended notes on how re-constructing a debate where only snippets of video exist, would have packed a more powerful punch. Heck, the fact that Buckley had severe time constraints due to an injury to his wife that he admirably did not want to leave alone, would have merited more attention.
Indeed the transcript of the debate makes for fascinating reading and reveals debate and oratorical skills as well as a grasp of socio and political ideas that I found fascinating.
As far as beers to taste while reading this book, I would tongue in cheek pick two breweries and give a representative sampling of their core beers of both to some friends (as well as yourself) and have them write down which beers struck their fancy and which brewery they think “won” this drinking debate. Perhaps get beers from a pair of New York breweries to make it closer to Baldwin’s home turf, since he (spoiler) won this debate.
Book Review – The Microbrewery Handbook
I received a press copy of the Microbrewery Handbook amidst a flurry of library books so I set it aside for a quieter time since this is not a book that you can gloss over quickly.
Author D.C. Reeves has achieved the rare feat of writing a book that is full of actual, helpful information. And most of the book does not talk about beer at all.
Want to write a business plan? Tips inside. Social media strategy? Tips inside. How to engage with the community? You guessed it. Tips inside. But the section that most impressed me was how to keep employees engaged and how to hire them. I have worked now for a few different companies and managers and I can say that if I had one that followed what Reeves instructs, I would probably never leave that job.
Any brewery that is in the starting gate should read this book. Or if your brewery is at an inflection point, it should be read. I do not normally read or like “business” books but this one was an eye-opener.
A Book & A Beer – Night Boat to Tangier
Two men sitting around a dock waiting for a relative to arrive (or maybe depart) by boat may make some think of the famous play Waiting for Godot and you would be right to think that the slim Night Boat to Tangier treads that territory. Two aging Irishman with a past of misdeeds and sexual dalliances are looking for the daughter of one (or is it the others) who left three years ago and hasn’t been heard of since.
The book made the New York Times Best of the Year list but it was a little too cold and calculating and left chunks of the two leads lives open to interpretation. There were repetitive lines as well that I understand were part of a poetic musicality, keeping up a pace but it did not work for me. Overall, I was more interested in the daughter character and her arc and with an interlude at a haunted housing development in Ireland than in Tangier.
To drink with this book, I would recommend finding a flight of Witbiers that utilize different spices. Eagle Rock Brewery has their Manifesto as well as variants (one with lemongrass) that would mimic some of the spices used in the food that you might find in Tangier.
Book Review – Lager by Mark Dredge
I have already posted about my excitement for this new book about Lager from Mark Dredge and I finally got my package from Powell’s in the mail and dug into it quickly.
And there is a lot to like about the book. Dredge starts with a bang, in Germany with the Reinheitsgebot. But that tone of beer fan then cuts to lager history and that playfulness goes with it to an extent. It is clear there are some aspects of lager that really excite him, like the dive bars of Vietnam where gas tanks hold the beer and other areas where it seems he had to include to complete the story but leaves quickly like China.
This split personality structure stopped me from enjoying the book especially in the latter half which becomes a chapter by chapter tour of various countries and their part in the lager legacy.
I would have liked to have seen a more novella approach. Part 1 being German lagers and the foursome of brewers who started it. Part 2 being the American side of the story. Part 3 Asian influence and then Part 4 could slide into talk of the future. Then Dredge could have really dove in and the anecdotes would have packed more punch.
Overall, there are a lot of golden nuggets of lager knowledge to be found within the pages but the book’s momentum stalls out too many times.
Twins
Take with a grain of salt, considering this was on the Mikkeller Facebook page, but a Danish journalist has written a twin-ography of the identical twins who started two breweries and have been feuding for practically all of those days. Will this be a fair account of both or will the arrow tilt one way over the other? Either way, I hope there is an English version in the works.
A Book & A Beer – Full Throttle by Joe Hill
I am a fan of short stories and horror short stories are even better. Then add in that two of the stories in the Full Throttle collection from Joe Hill are co-written with his dad, Stephen King and you know you are in for some frights and dread.
Strangely though, I was most affected by the author’s foreword where he talks about his dad and other mentors in his life and especially by the less than a page story in the notes, A Little Sorrow. I re-read that piece many times before returning the book to the library.
In the meat of the book, All I Want is You is one of my picks, very Gaiman-esque but with a nasty little twist that is pure King brutalism. Late Returns, though a bit maudlin was also a nice ghost story turned to a different angle. The social media Twitter/Zombie story moved at a breakneck pace that I liked even though the ending was a bit predictable.
With short stories, you will find the “not my taste” pieces too. Read 10 reviews and I bet the favorite and least favorite will be drastically different. Faun, was a little too on point for me and the Dark Carousel was kind of overly predictable in the plot.
You can have fun with choices for horror stories and the beers to drink with them. Find a nice sour Allagash beer and sip while you read. Or if you want to create your own jump scares, get a coffee beer and let the caffeine do the work. Another good choice would be to find a Rose beer, Crooked Stave Sour Rose and pretend it is a different liquid.
How To in 2019
I know that the Brewers Association has helpful tools and advice for those pondering the idea of opening their own breweries but sometimes you may want to hear from someone who has done it. DC Reeves offers up The Microbrewery Handbook based on his real life experience in opening up Perfect Plain Brewing Company in Florida (never heard of it myself but then again, I cannot keep up with California) The goal of the book is to offer “real-world advice and proven strategies to help brewers thrive in the competitive micro and craft brewing industry.”
What caught my eye is the fact that Reeves has sections where the following offer up advice: Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, Jeffrey Stuffings of Jester King and Doug Resier of Burial Brewing. And if you are thinking, “Why would a customer only want to read this book?”, well maybe you will see something that your local brewery might be doing already or should do to make visiting a taproom and experience rather than a trial. Or maybe you will gain some empathy for those making this leap.
Bitter TV
Of all the books to be optioned for a TV show, I did not expect Bitter Brew to be one. But according to this ARTICLE, it is in planning. Maybe it is a success of Succession thing.
If you haven’t read the book, do so. Maybe grab a new Non-Alcoholic Budweiser Zero to drink.