Category: Beer Books

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A Book & A Beer – Dodge City by Tom Clavin


Print the myth. When it comes to the Wild West, that was the standard but Tom Clavin cuts through the show to the facts beneath in his book about the notorious Dodge City.

The focus is squarely on Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson how they policed Kansas and other parts of the West and all of the people that gravitated into their orbit including Wild Bill Hickock, Jesse James, Doc Holliday, Buffalo Bill Cody, John Wesley Hardin, Billy the Kid, and Theodore Roosevelt.

The book is set-up in a vignette style. Chronological from birth to Event A to Event B and because the duo had such an eventful life, you can be excused for feeling exhausted after a while. 3/4 of the way through the book, I was hoping that either would settle down and marry someone other than an “frontier entertainer”. You almost need a flow chart to help manage all the names and shifting positions. Was Bat a Sheriff of a county or the undersheriff. Then next year he was a town marshall or was that Wyatt?

There is a tremendous amount of research here and it does cut away the myths effectively but it does sort of skimp on the city of Dodge itself. I would have liked to known more about it. With Earp and Masterson moving so much, the author follows their exploits and leaves Dodge behind a bit too much.

I did find out some fun facts. Bat Masterson ended up in New York as a sportswriter of all things. Mentoring the golden generation of NY sports journalists. Wyatt’s older brother Virgil is buried in Portland, Oregon which is cool to know.

Beer Wise, gotta find some or trade for some Tallgrass Brewing beers from Manhattan, Kansas. Buffalo Sweat Stout or A Campfire Classic are perfectly suited for a tale of the prairie.

Or you can go bitter and get the Stone Revolver Series. Get it. Revolvers. Gun Play. A bit too on the nose maybe.

Getting really to the point there is a Tombstone Brewing and they have a Little Wyatt beer.

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An Old Cellar


I had hoped to see another archaeological beer collaboration between Dogfish Head and Dr. Patrick McGovern but I guess that a book about past beers (along with home brew recipes) will have to do for now.

Getting to know more of the historical backstory of fermentation should be quite enlightening.

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A Book & A Beer – George Lucas, A Life


http://www.powells.com/book/george-lucas-a-life-9780316257442/2-2

I hesitated a bit in front of the biography of George Lucas by Brian Jay Jones. It is hefty and not due to photos from the sets of Star Wars. This book goes back to the beginning from Modesto through Skywalker Ranch.

Jones starts with Lucas as youngster as the son of a prosperous stationery store owner in Modesto. Reveals his racing car and mechanic roots and his breaks that got him into USC and film school at just the right time to befriend so many people crucial to his films.

It spares no feelings either. Lucas is shown with many warts here. Most notably in his personal relationships. But he is also shown as incredibly tenacious in his business. Willing to spend everything on not just one movie, but then the next and the next. If Star Wars had failed or Empire Strikes Back had not struck such a chord, checks would have come due.

This biography moves by quickly without feeling rushed. Jones could have gone down side alleys easily. But he pushes through so you can learn all manner of details about Lucas. His first marriage, how he interacted with studios, and tidbits about Star Wars.

To drink with this, it would have to be an #independent brewery. Lucas was fiercely protective of what he wanted to do and did not brook interference.

Start with Change Order IPA from Dust Bowl Brewing to get an idea of the area from whence Skywalker came and then move on to try either Holiday in Troy or Space XPA at L.A. Ale Works founded by an USC alum. Then finish with Faction Brewing and their Imperial Stout.

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Traveling in Belgium


I have not been to 1 of the 11 Trappist breweries around the world but I can sorta go through the new book Trappist Beer Travels, by Caroline Wallace, Sarah Wood, and Jessica Deahl. According to the authors the book, “provides complete coverage of abbey histories, beer profiles, and travel tips in Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, and the United States.”

I like the idea of merging the history of each abbey with beer. And I hope that the photography can really capture such diverse places as Chimay, Westvleteren, newbie Tre Fontane, and even America’s first Trappist brewery, Spencer.

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A Book & A Beer – The Mezcal Rush


http://www.powells.com/book/mezcal-rush-explorations-in-agave-county-9781619028449/62-0
I was perusing the new food and bev. books at the renovated Glendale Central Library when I noticed The Mezcal Rush tucked in amongst the choices. Not knowing much about either the drink or the author, I took a flyer and checked it out.

Writer Granville Greene takes you to far flung points in the hinterlands of Mexico to mezcal fabricas to introduce us to the maestro mezcaleros who create this agave based spirit. Very distinct from the tequila that Americans know about.

Along the way we learn the process of making Mezcal and the people who make it and their differing opinions on it.

I learned about the diversity of agave plants. Their biology and their destruction and preservation. I learned about what makes Mezcal separate from tequila and the different style variants and I learned about how it is blended and marketed and sold to bars and restaurants for prices north of $100 while the distiller might live in a town with one phone. I also learned that I would make a crappy artisanal Mezcal maker and would probably end up stuck on the spines of an agave. Even weirder still, I learned there is a Mezcal made with poultry and spices called pechuga.

Greene writes with wonder throughout. He treads a fine line between participant, friend, fan and drinker to bring the inside story to those who don’t know about it. He hits several sub-themes that craft beer fans will recognize and though he sometimes prods a particular point a bit hard, still does not come across as preachy. The agave illustrations are really cool as the chapter breaks but I wish there were photos of the fabricas and the people and of the agave harvesting. That would have added another layer to a fascinating tale.

To pair with this dive into the world of Mezcal, the first stop would be Coronitas. The stubby bottles of Corona that are referenced as the drink of choice from small town to small town.

Closer to home, I would pick Foam Top Cream Ale from Beachwood Brewing. There is a Mezcal variant called Crema that made me think of cream ales.

Since I have not seen an agave beer or a beer aged in Mezcal barrels, I will have to recommend Tequila Merkin from Firestone a Walker as a close substitute. But when you drink it, remind yourself that tequila is to Mezcal what an ale is to a lager.

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Mash


I am a voracious reader so when I heard that there was going to be a new beer magazine, and interestingly enough, this new magazine covers “the culture of craft beer in Canada.”

It is named Mash and it wants to “focus on stories about the people who are driving Craft Beer innovation – what inspires and drives them.”

This is cool because here in the U.S. do not know much about the Canadian beer scene so this will be a good way to check in on the beer and people behind it. And plan vacations too.

The premiere issue of MASH will be available this month.

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How to Brew – Revised


When I think of home brewing gurus. Three names leap to mind. Charlie Papazian of course. Drew Beechum of Maltose Falcons fame and then John Palmer who literally wrote the book How to Brew.

And now he has gone an updated it. Subtitled Everything You Need to Know to Brew Great Beer Every Time was last revised in 2006. Extra emphasis has been placed on “Palmer’s Top 5 Brewing Priorities” and five brand new chapters have been added covering malting, adjusting wate for style as well as brewing strong beers, fruit beers and sours.

Head over to the Brewers Publications wing of the Brewers Association to order your copy.

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A Book & A Beer – Lincoln in the Bardo


Let’s stay in the nation’s capitol and re-engage with Abraham Lincoln. There was a lot of glowing reviews of Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. So much so that I quickly added it to my library “want” list.

Well, turns out, it was not the book for me. It started with the screenplay, staccato format that Saunders employs throughout the book. It is a combination of lines of dialogue and quotes pulled from history books. Just when you get into a rhythm with the the three main voices (characters), you get a chapter with the history quotes. It is hard to build up to a climax when the story keeps getting undercut.

The second issue is that neither Abraham or Willie Lincoln is in the book all that much. The story is about the grief of dying and leaving your mortal coil. But neither gets much time in the pages. I kept wanting to know more about Willie and kept getting pulled away from him. If Saunders wanted to focus on the others stuck in the Bardo, why use Willie Lincoln as just a plot driver?

It is a pity because the idea of a Bardo and how one ends there after death, and how one gets out (if at all), is a good starting point. Easy to populate a universe of characters operating under certain rules known and unknown.

Beer choice, wise, you can’t get too on point than to recommend a beer from the forthcoming Lincoln Beer Company of Burbank. Perhaps the Honeysuckle Session ale that you could sip whilst reading the book.

You could also go for Acoustic Ales Unplugged – Heaven Hill an Imperial Stout with Belgian Chocolate Aged in Heaven Hill whiskey Barrels.

If you want to honor Lincoln’s state, then maybe choose Off Color’s Troublesome Gose to drink while the mischief making ghosts create havoc.

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Book Review – Hoptopia


The backstory on hops coming from Oregon is on partial display in Hoptopia by Peter Kopp traces hops from their start in Oregon up to the craft beer boom.

As happens with many beer books, the story just grinds to a halt once you hit Y2K. There is a bit of an epilogue but it seems that a general wrap up with a nod towards the future could be beefed up.

I wouldn’t even worry if the preceding chapters were not so interesting. You learn how the hop plant made it to Oregon. Spoiler – It wasn’t growing here before. You learn of the hop barons. There are tidbits of how Oregon hops made their way into Guinness beers and then, to me, most fascinating is the long and slow slog to start hop breeding and how one person, really set the wheels in motion for developing new varietals.

You will want to look up the name Dr. Alfred Haunold. Then thank him the next time you are drinking an IPA.

You get not only agriculture but business, people, labor force news a whole cornucopia of not just the hop cone but all the surrounding factors that go into growing and harvesting.

I was dog-earing pages left and right as I furiously flipped through this book on my Kindle. I just wish it had been longer.