Beer Books – Page 27 – Beer Search Party

May 16, 2015August 31, 2018

Book Review – Canned! by Russ Phillips

Canned! Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can really illustrates what a good label and branding can do for a craft beer.

Just go to page 153 to see it. There you will find the first iteration of Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues. Barely recognizable from what is on shelves today except for the color scheme of blue and red.

That is the strength and weakness of this book. Canning is still young enough to not have a ton of design changes. But those changes that are there chart the growth of craft beer.

Comparing one brewery and their design to another is cool but too many designs are too jokey or too cluttered or the biggest cardinal sin to me, don’t highlight the brewery name enough.

My personal favorites from the book are below:

I wish the Santa Fe Brewing name was bigger and the design is more poster-like but these labels are artfully arranged while utilizing common iconic colors and images.

Hilliard's is so retro and Mad Men and so different from the other designs out there. They just pop but they feel textured as well. — Upslope is so simple and classy. Relying on colors to indicate the beer style but without looking too spare. The Pumpkin Ale can is my favorite.

Upslope is so simple and classy. Relying on colors to indicate the beer style but without looking too spare. The Pumpkin Ale can is my favorite. — Hilliard’s is so retro and Mad Men and so different from the other designs out there. They just pop but they feel textured as well.

I almost wish that this was a glossy magazine that appeared quarterly rather than a one-time book. By the time this book was in my hands, more cans and different label designs have been out in the world.

May 16, 2015August 31, 2018

Book Review – The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer by Ashley Routson

I guess that I was expecting more. More of the distinctive voice of the Beer Wench (aka Ashley Routson) in her Guide to Beer.

As it stands, her book certainly is fine. Interesting recipes for using beer with food. Interesting ideas for beer and food pairings and a thankfully not overlong section on beer styles.

But the verve and wit and yes, attitude that I was waiting for never showed up on the page. Which is sad because that is what would have propelled this book. I could get all the information in Routson’s guide elsewhere. Be it Tasting Beer or The Brewmaster’s Table most specifically. Those two books went into much more detail without having the slow pace of this book. A more polarizing tone would have worked for me because it would have added to the pacing and anticipation.

What I was hoping to get was more on the female side of the beer world. Maybe a little backstory on her journey into the world of beer. More on blogging and social media and her thoughts on how they work or don’t work when it comes to the business of craft beer.

Sidebars that chart her favorite beers or mini-biographies of female brewers active now would have been great too. In fact I would have been happier if her book wasn’t aimed at me, the white American male at all.

For example, instead of yet another author tackling the very well covered topic on how beer is made, how about using her nom de beer, Saison de Wench as an example of how that particular beer was made by organic brewer Bison to elucidate the process instead. Use her experience to shine light from a new direction. Another tack that could have been taken would be to explore the world of beer cocktails in more depth. I have to believe that Routson has the ideas to have made that chapter much bigger.

Ultimately, the book is OK. A reader learns about beer for sure. But The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer won’t supplant earlier efforts by other authors on the core subjects and doesn’t add measurably to more specific craft beer subjects because her personality has only lightly touched on the pages.

April 6, 2015August 31, 2018

Pasteur in Pasadena

Continuing a day of Pasadena-centric posts, we head out to the Huntington. A fabulous museum and garden that has recently added some special documents of beer importance.
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At the intersection of beer-science-history, sits Louis Pasteur. Pasteurization came from his study of fermentation and the museum has recently purchased “eight leaves of Pasteur’s lab notes on beer brewing from the 1870s”

These notes led to the advancement of beer quality by simply heating to at least 122 degrees to kill off the bad microbes that were making beer of that age spoiled and rotten.

I also found this quote from the Huntington website to show how far craft beer has made inroads. “These notes provide a key window into a particular area in the history of science, but my sense is that these may well be of interest to researchers who more and more are investigating the history of food and drink, as well as hand-crafted beer.”

March 11, 2015August 31, 2018

What are You Drinking?

Readers of the blog know that I am both a big beer book fan and a big Pete Brown fan. And now he has a story to tell and he has chosen to use Unbound which is basically a book Kickstarter and the premise is simple…

“Beer is traditionally made from four natural ingredients: malted barley, hops, yeast and water, and each of these has an incredible story to tell.”

I am looking forward to this coming out. A layman’s take on the ingredients and the people behind them should have contain some golden nuggets of beer information.

January 22, 2015August 31, 2018

Book Review – Tasting Whiskey

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My thought while reading this fine book was that I wished I had bought the physical version instead of the e-book. Because Tasting Whiskey by Lew Bryson is a great resource and a great read.

From the start and the simple explanation of why it can be spelled “whisky” and/or “whiskey” to the theory of The Wall, I knew that I would be taking a lot of screenshots of pages.

And that was the start of my learning. Next up was “reflux” and how that affects the spirit. Then the differences between the major styles of Canadian, Scotch, Bourbon, Japanese, Irish and craft distillers. With helpful charts to show the whiskey curious which bottle might be best to for their particular taste.

There is a smattering of history, distillation science and myths. Talk of the Angel’s Share along with recipes and whiskey auctions. The pace doesn’t lag in any of these sections.

But the best part of the book is the tone. Intelligent but down to earth. Helpful and not elitist. Definitely geek and not snob. The overall message is simply to try whiskey and have fun doing so. A tone that I wish I could master.

I could pull quote after quote to illustrate my point but it is probably best that you get your own copy and dog ear the pages that are most relevant to you.

Whether you are a whiskey aficionado or a novice. This book will make you look at the drink with more world wisdom than before.

January 17, 2015August 31, 2018

Take a Sip

Screen Shot 2015-01-10 at 10.20.01 AM A new beverage magazine is on the way! Sip California. They will be covering “3,600 wineries, hundreds of craft breweries, distilleries on the rise, hard cider expansion, epicurean travel accommodations, bustling bar scenes and culinary artisans of the region, Sip California will showcase the stories behind everything you love to sip—all in one place.”

Hopefully it will be as balanced as my go-to favorite magazine in this genre, Imbibe. Second hopefully is that it will be distributed so the average person can find it.

I am optimistic though because they have San Diego beer writer Brandon Hernández on board which is a good sign. He is sharp and talented.

January 13, 2015August 31, 2018

Original Gravity – the Magazine

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This is the stylized British tabloid sized beer paper that will come in handy for anyone that either lives over there or is planning a visit or just wants to keep up on the current trends of British Craft beer. And let’s face it, most American no F*^% All about what is going on with British beer. I was sold when I saw the recommendation for the Brew Brittania book. Plus they have a music and beer piece from the esteemed Pete Brown.

Check out the internet issue HERE. You will be glad you di.

January 4, 2015August 31, 2018

Book Review – So You Want to Start a Brewery?

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Hope you like books! ‘Cause there will be few more coming down the pike due to the Christmas, what to get Sean rush. I will hold back and not review any non-related beer books though. No, The Martian or Midnight in Siberia or Beautiful Chaos for you lot.

Next up is the story of how Lagunitas Brewing came to be in So You Want to Start a Brewery? by Tony Magee. This story meanders a bit. But once you are a few pages in, you realize that is by design. The Lagunitas Story is a winding digression of a brewery story. And akin to the Sierra Nevada history, the fact that they are alive and brewing is a near miracle.

I was seriously amazed by the shoestring budget and the financial hurdles that Magee endured to bring the brewery to Petaluma and Chicago. You learn the backstory on how Brown Shugga’ came to be in a late night mistake fix. The Undercover Weed investigation proceedings. And more importantly you learn a bit about the culture that is imbued into the brand. From the design of the labels to the taste of the beers.

This book is a bit on the tell-all side which I expected form an outsized figure like Magee who has been known to call out people on social media. But as the book goes along, you can’t help but side with him. I expect someone could write a companion volume that focuses on the negative aspects which would be just as truthful.

What surprised me was the ending of the book. Not the Chicago brewery epilogue but Magee’s take on where he has been and what he has learned. In particular, this chunk has still stuck with me:

So, after all the time and all the histrionics, what is the net result? What are we, where are we going, and what do we mean? Those are the questions every twenty- one- year- old asks himself. Twenty- one happens to be the brewery’s current age— a time of necessary choices and uncertain paths. For my part, I hold this question as central to the reeling in and rolling forward of this company. We don’t want to be just “whatever we are” in the future, because I think we have become something interesting now and are worthy of a good life as a brand among brands in a world that we helped to create. The answers to these questions are important for us to know going forward, so that we can play out our strengths. It’s a delicate thing to write about, the future.

January 4, 2015August 31, 2018

Fictional

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Fiction Beer Company is not made up. It is non-fiction by definition. Founded by a book fan and a beer fan their tag line is “Crafting liquid literature”. And I love the branding via book styles:

The Classics:
“Like a good book you read over and over, our classics are beers you may be familiar with such as an IPA, Wit, or a Scotch Ale. Just because they are classics doesn’t mean they have to be boring; our brewers utilize their creative license to alter the same old stories to create a new experience.”

Mystery & Adventure:
“Think of a page-turner. Something to keep your attention, keep you guessing and keep you wondering what is coming next. Interesting flavors, varying styles, seasonal elements, all coming together to keep you drinking.”

Fantasy & Science-Fiction:
“Imagination is the only limit here. As an author might dream up a far-away world full of magic and outlandish creatures, these beers are conjured using a variety of techniques and ingredients to create a complex elixir for those who wish to try something out of this world. Sour, barrel aged and brett beers are just the beginning …”

Choose your own Adventure:
“Beer flights. Choose what you want to drink and in what order. We may suggest an optimal path of consumption; however, we leave it up to you—choose wisely.”

Makes me want to grab a good book and sit down with a pint. But what to pair with a romance?

January 3, 2015August 31, 2018

Book Review – Brew Brittania

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One of the first beer book purchases of Christmas was this British book from Boak & Bailey. Two names that should geek out beer bloggers. Brew Brittania is a revelation to someone like me, who knows next to nothing about the British version of the craft beer “re-birth”. And I apologize in advance for the repetitive comparisons to us and them.

Many know about the American beer revolution and the stories of New Albion, Cartwright and Anchor but what about other countries? British beer had the same downward trajectory that American beer had. A trending toward monopoly. A trending toward lager. And they pulled out of that nosedive like we did.

This book covers the post-war British scene and rolls forward to current time. And it does so clearly and confidently. You learn about who started what breweries and organizations and the major players and charts how the current scene came about. It is a history book that also has a clear line of opinion through it. Which is a mixture that I truly like. And it treads that line very well in respect to the one organization that British beer has that the U.S. certainly did not. CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.

If you think beer bloggers have become a bit divided here, CAMRA has us trumped in causing factions. But without them, I do not know where British Craft brewing would be. And that is the fair point that is delved into in the book. You see the whole arc of the organization and how it has to come to a bit of crossroads now. You will have more respect for CAMRA but will probably be more worried about what they will do next.

You also learn about how Martin Dickie went from Thornbidge to BrewDog. There is also a solid appraisal of BrewDog in the pages that shows why they PR tweak people and some of their mis-steps in that regard. All the stuff before they started touring America for TV.

British beer lingo is on display too. Cuckoos being my favorite. Brewers who use another breweries system in off hours. Or Loopy Juice, a term for what I gather is sub-par homebrew.

At the end, I have so many places that I want to visit now. Magic Rock, The Euston Tap, Barley Mow and Wild Beer in particular. But what the strong suit for me was the timeline in the book. I will be referencing when Cascade hops hopped the pond, the rise of Michael Jackson and many other turning points from this book.

Brew Brittania is a tremendous read that really illuminates a slice of beer history. And it truly answers the question posited in its early page, ” How did beer get so hip?”