Category: Beer Books

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On Beer


One of my favorite book series is the Best of {insert year} books. You can choose comics, sports writing, fiction, or my choice Food. Usually I am disappointed that there is not an article or two about beer. There is great short and long form writing out there that should be exposed to new eyes.

Which is why I am glad to see that there is, at least, a British tinted anthology of the best writing about beer. Pulled together by Adrian Tierney-Jones with the title Beer, In So Many Words.

You get current writers like Boak and Bailey, Roger Protz, Jeff Evans, Melissa Cole and Pete Brown co-mingled with famous authors of the past such as Dylan Thomas, Ian Rankin, Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene and Charles Dickens.

You can go from page one to final page about the typeface or you can jump between themed sections from The Taste of Beer, Beer in Pubs, Beer People, Brewing, Beer Journeys, Beer and Food and The Meaning of Beer.

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THE Belgian Beer Book


To break ourselves out of lupulin stupor hazy or otherwise, might I suggest getting a last minute gift about Belgian beer?

The Belgian Beer Book by Erick Verdonck and Luc De Raedemaeker has a lofty title and covers Belgian beer and its place in Belgian culture topics that range from history, beer styles, how not to be an Uglier American than our “president” then tourism and beer cuisine.

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A Book & A Beer – Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Phillbrick

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In this time of political upheaval, I feel pulled to re-read history to see that it wasn’t all peaches and cream when our (possibly now damaged beyond repair) democracy was being created.

Which is why I picked up Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick. And my first thought upon putting it down was, “Why couldn’t this be taught in history class?”

There is so much intrigue and infighting and messy back-and-forth’s and impossible to believe parts that you can’t help but turn the page.

This book focuses on two people for a limited time frame. George Washington and Benedict Arnold from mid Revolutionary War to just before the end of the war. Both men are interesting in vastly different ways. Reading about the uncertainty in Washington as he made wartime decisions and the brashness of Arnold which helped him win battles but certainly didn’t win him friends is fascinating.

Also to know that Arnold was wounded twice in the leg. One time so badly that it took him months to recover after almost losing it adds to the complete picture of the man who finally became so disillusioned and poor that he felt he had no recourse but to turn traitor.

To drink with this book, with its description of the privations of the army at (especially Valley Forge) puts me in the mood for something dark and heavy. Add something that would be understandable to a military man back in 1776 too.

Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout – the leg is integral to the story as are the seas & waterways of the East Coast.

Sam Adams New World Tripel – Obvious to choose a patriot who gets passing mention in the book but also a strong hearty beer with spices that remind of the maritime trade.

DC Brau Penn Quarter Porter – Even though the capitol was not yet set in DC, the whole area was well trodden Washington ground.

…and you can finish with the classic Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewing.

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A Book & A Beer – Inside the Apple

It has become a habit for me to bring a history book or a historical novel when I travel on vacation.  So when I celebrated my wedding anniversary in New York, I Kindle’d up, Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City.  The history / walking tour book of Manhattan is by Michelle and James Nevius.
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The book covers a lot of historical ground. Literally. You go from street to street and building to building through the Isle of Manhattan learning about Peter Stuyvesant, Alexander Hamilton and even a bit on Lady Liberty.

The book comes in bite sized chapters that focus in on an area and an era. So you can easily and quickly read a chapter on the subway while heading towards it. Or read it as you are walking through Central Park, like we did. Learning that they had to kick my wife’s kind (the Irish) out of what would become the most iconic park in the country.

The other part of the book are turn by turn tours of areas covered in the history section of the book.

The writing is crisp and clear and imparts loads of knowledge. Did you know the term “The Great White Way” was coined after a snowstorm and only took on more meaning later.

To read this book whilst in Los Angeles, I would first suggest decamping to one of the new Shake Shacks in town and ordering up a burger and a Brooklyn Brewery beer.

Then mix-six some SixPoint Ales and look at the clever Statue hidden in the grocery scan.

As a nod to the nickname, I might also find a hard cider, maybe something from Reverend Nat’s like his Winter Abbey Cider.

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A Beer & A Book – Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

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Sequels are tough things for writers. The initial thrill has worn off. You take characters in new directions and have them interact with new people in new ways. Any of which could turn off the fans who, in many instances, love that book and want that book again.

Toss in a movie that the writer did not like and which took the story off book and you have a host of hoops to jump through.

But then you are Stephen King, so does any of that matter?

I think so in a few instances. IT, The Stand, Four Seasons, The Shining. Which brings us to Doctor Sleep. Wherein, King catches us up with Danny Torrance who was terrorized in the Overlook Hotel by malevolent ghosts and only saved because he had a special gift, the Shining.

This new book gives us a more cardboard set of villains in the True. RV riding, kind-of vampires who live off the energy of people as they die. With people who have the Shining being a gourmet meal. Now Danny, newly sober and with many ghosts of his own making in his closet, has to become the mentor to a young girl who Shines even brighter than he ever did.

I enjoyed the parts where King filled in what happened to Danny after the evil hotel burned to the ground. Someone who has to deal with that trauma, plus hear the thoughts of his mother and others, plus have a tendency to alcohol abuse is a bad trifecta to have in your life. The way that Danny and his protégé communicate is well handled as well but once the plot heads to showdown town, it heads to quickly to clean and happy endings for all.

Since the action of the piece takes place in New Hampshire and Colorado, I have selected a hard to get and easier to get beer from each locale as my choices for beer while being King’s “Constant Reader”:

Colorado
Hard to Find – Black Shirt Brewing and Electric Currantcy. A wild ale from those in Black Shirts that is sour like the True or Castle Rock Brewing and their Red Irish Hart which plays into a character in the book and the oft used location of many a King frightfest.

Easier to Find – Crooked Stave and any of their Nightmare on Brett versions or Great Divide’s Rumble IPA for the climatic fight scenes.

New Hampshire
Hard to Find – Oddball Ales has a Postmortem IPA that would give a creepy vibe.

Easier to Find – Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA has a name that fits the positive ending of the book.

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Locavore

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The latest release from the Brewers Publications imprint is Brewing Local: American-Grown Beer. Written by long-time beer writer Stan Hieronymus, “introduces brewers and drinkers to the ways herbs, flowers, plants, trees, nuts and shrubs flavor distinctive beers.”
This latest book seems a perfect companion to his 2005 book, Brew Like a Monk. Part history of locally sourced brewing ingredients and part technical brewing book this book could be slotted into the history shelf of your beer book collection or in the brewing technique section.

Plus you will probably get an in depth education on agriculture as well if his last book on hops is any indication.

Brewing Local is certainly going on my Christmas book list.

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A Book & A Beer – Hamilton – The Revolution

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Hamilton – The Revolutionis half annotated lyrics and half the backstory to how the musical went from White House performance to mixtape to phenomenon. And I don’t say phenomenon lightly. Even Dick Cheney, ex-Vice President apparently likes it. This despite it being so closely associated with President Obama.

This is a heavy and handsome book that is well designed. You can put on the soundtrack and hear the words being sung or you can read after listening to the amazing soundtrack. If you only get one take-away from this book, it’s that the passion from Everyone involved was amazing. To create a really old-school constructed musical using both history and hip-hop is a strange and daunting task.

For me, the power of the correctly chosen word is what gets me the most. Even a quickly said word is pondered to see if it doesn’t tip a secret too soon or is too esoteric. Just great stuff.

Beer wise, I have a multitude of options. Since Alexander Hamilton was an adopted New Yorker, I have to go with a New York Beer first, maybe even something sold at the famed Fraunces Tavern, something from Grimm Artisanal Ales like Purple Prose to match his writing chops. Ommegang and their Great Beyond evokes where one might go after a duel and both are as bitter as Burr and other Founding Fathers. You can also go with the traditional Sam Adams Boston Lager since the patriot and brewer is name checked in the show. Another hoppy choice would be from Alpine here in San Diego, Duet is perfect for a musical n

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Oregon Hop History

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Odd to see a tale of Oregon hops published by the UC Press of California but if that is what it takes to get to the root of the mighty bitter bine in Oregon, then so be it.

Here is the book blurb and it has me excited to read what author Peter Kopp has dug up, “The contents of your pint glass have a much richer history than you could have imagined. Through the story of the hop, Hoptopia connects twenty-first century beer drinkers to lands and histories that have been forgotten in an era of industrial food production. The craft beer revolution of the late twentieth century is a remarkable global history that converged in the agricultural landscapes of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The common hop, a plant native to Eurasia, arrived to the Pacific Northwest only in the nineteenth century, but has thrived within the region’s environmental conditions so much that by the first half of the twentieth century, the Willamette Valley claimed the title “Hop Center of the World.” Hoptopia integrates an interdisciplinary history of environment, culture, economy, labor, and science through the story of the most indispensible ingredient in beer.’

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Cooking with Hops

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Most craft beer cookbooks either fall into the camp of A) what to pair with beer or B) cooking with beer. But what about using the ingredients of beer in cooking, specifically hops?

That is the task undertaken by the Kickstarter funded book: Hedonistic Hops – The Hopeheads Guide to Kitchen Badassery by Marie Porter with photographs (and some commentary) from Michael Porter.

This book walks you through from growing your own hops all the way to harvesting and then the recipes that they can be used in. Of course, you can always buy hops and use those and the Porters are nimble enough to make recipes that can be used with fresh hops, pellets and even the shoots and leaves too.

The tone is genial sometimes verging on the hokey. I am still wondering about the choice of “badassery” for the sub-title but overall it is like talking to the somewhat goofy aunt or the dad with bad jokes while they are cooking. It is a welcoming tone throughout and the instructions and hop information is laid out in a way to re-focus on cooking and not brewing.

The main chunk of the book is devoted to recipes. Starting with appetizers and sides, then proceeding to Main Dishes, condiments, desserts before finishing at beverages.

For me, the section on condiments and sauces was the most intriguing. Creating a BBQ glaze or hoppy butter seems to be something that can be used in many different meal preparations and I think is under represented in cookbooks. Same goes for the beverages section. Making hop accented ice tea or lemonade are cool and quick ideas that adds something extra to a dinner.

If you cannot get enough hops and like brownies with green flecks in them, this might be the cookbook for you.

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A Book and A Beer – City of the Lost

There is a certain type of book that falls into the “airplane” read category. The swiftly paced thriller or mystery that you can finish in a plane ride or layover and forget about the next day. City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong falls into that category.
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I picked it up due to an intriguing premise. A rustic community, off the radar, houses criminals and those trying to escape their past. Some inhabitants pay a premium, others are pro bono but it is a working community and those with skills in high demand are desired. Doctors, cooks and carpenters.

But then people go missing and a detective is needed. Enter the heroine of the piece. A tough but sexy. Damaged but sexy. Determined but sexy. Casey Butler. She buys a friend in need of escape from an abusive relationship a golden ticket. She gets six months to solve the case.

More people die. She falls for the gruff sheriff. Adventures ensue.

Two issues caused me to lose interest:
1. It takes way too long to get the protagonist to the outpost. Too many pages are chewed up with backstory which leads to problem…
2. The villain is apprehended basically on the last page and it’s no great reveal. It’s your basic mystery where anyone could be the killer. No real set-up that leads you to guess. You just have a list of characters who have appeared enough to be possible killers.

To drink, I would recommend the upcoming New Belgium Cookie Dough beer that the Colorado brewery developed with ice creamer Ben & Jerry’s. Cookies are part of the character of the “town” of Rockton as is tequila, which leads to the second beer choice, also from Colorado. Avery Brewing has aged a few beers in tequila barrels, but the latest is Expletus, which has cherries added as well.

Or you could pick up a Canadian craft beer and make believe that you are in your own witness protection program.