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Russ Phillips, the creator of the CraftCans website now has added a physical version in the form of Canned! Artwork of the Modern American Beer Can.
You get to peruse the “original artwork on 600 different modern beer cans from 40 states.” Breweries included are Sierra Nevada, Ska, Midnight Sun, Maui, New Belgium, Oskar Blues, and more!
If you are a can fan. And/or an art fan. This is the book for you
I am a book fiend. The only thing I consume more of is beer. And two more books are in the publishing pipeline that I think are worthy of reading the first few pages of. (That’s what I always do, to see if the writer has a good style).
First up is….
Probably to be read before any beer intake. This is the from the lab look at this fascinating part of our beverage. And it involves not only neurobiology and psychology but metallurgy as well. That is the part that intrigues me.
Then, we head to Brooklyn for….
The co-founder of Brooklyn Brewery dives into the relatively recent history of America’s microbreweries. You might see some overlap between this and the Audacity of Hops book from last year. But the perspective is different since Hindy is inside the industry, as opposed to being a journalist looking in.
Lastly, I know you might want to spend money on beer and not books so check out from a library (which I also love) a copy of….
…the 2013 edition of the Best Food Writing. Does it have anything about craft beer? No. Sadly. But it does touch on many topics that if you replaced carrots or restaurant and inserted craft beer, the writing might shed light on how we look at beer. What is local? What is slow food? We are all kin and this book will enlighten you.
Even for beer geeks who love minutiae and going down educational rabbit holes can be scared off of learning about other food and drink which have similar learning curves.
Thankfully, Cheese and Beer by Janet Fletcher carries a consistent tone that straddles the line between beer appreciation and snobbery well. By that I mean that some craft beer books seem to either apologize for the price or flavor adjectives and try to dumb down to an extent. Or they might avoid plain language for technical detail.
This book (which I read via the Nook) is straightforward. Here is the beer style. Here are examples of that style from breweries far and wide. Here are three cheeses to pair with it and why. Here are other cheeses you can also try.
The descriptions are great for both the beers and the cheeses. The writing is clear and as opposed to some books the beers selected as exemplars are uniformly solid. The photography is very nice though some of the backdrops seem a bit over used. The reasoning that Fletcher uses as to why each style pairs with individual cheeses makes what could be complicated, understandable.
And it makes you hungry. The recipe using Picandou cheese and salad with a Kolsch is simple but sounds delicious and there are at least four or five cheeses that I want to try now.
The only issue that I take is that the format is a bit repetitive. And that point is highlighted when Fletcher focuses on a single beer and makes even more specific choices. I would have liked to see more specific beer and cheese pairings. Saison DuPont or a coffee stout would have made good choices.
All in all this is a splendid edition to a beer library.
To get a foreword from “Dr.” Bill from Stone for your book requires a little something extra. And that is what Vintage Beer has. Not that the topic alone wouldn’t pique the interest of many a beer geek and snob.
Cellaring beer is a small hobby of mine so count me in to read this book. From what I could find, it is the first of it’s kind on this niche subject of the craft beer world. Go to Amazon and read the “Sneak Peek” and see if you agree.
Brewing in Milwaukee is part of the Images of America series from Arcadia Books. In a nutshell (or mash tun) it is a set of old-time photographs with a little accompanying text before each chapter detailing the history of Brewing in Milwaukee Wisconsin.
Another way to look at it is like an exhibit at a local history museum. As with the Yuengling book that I reviewed earlier. I loved the photographs and I just wish there had been more text or a timeline or something to accompany it. That is probably more a reflection of my greedy nature.
But here is what I took away from this addition to the historical beer canon….
– fire was always a menace to these breweries. No OSHA apparently.
– there was a Weissbier brewery by the name of Gipfel
– beer deliver in winter was perilous
– seems like the beer barons married into the business
– lots of clay bottles used back then
– wish some of these old buildings could have been repurposed, not razed
– Schlitz was 8 city blocks big!
And much more. If you are a fan of beer history this is great stuff about a brewing city that is not talked about much anymore sadly.
Before I review the Beer Lover’s Guide to Southern California available where fine books (about beer) are sold, I have two disclaimers. One general and one specific.
In general, guidebooks have two inherent flaws to them. First, they are quickly out of date and that is especially true of beer guidebooks. Even in slow but gaining speed, Los Angeles, breweries are opening faster than a blogger can visit and write about them let alone a book with a much longer lead time. And second, they invariably leave places out. Either due to space or personal preference. You can’t (as a reviewer) let either problem affect the overall review.
Specifically, I know and am friends with the author, Kristofor Barnes. So obviously, I will be a little more inclined to like the book. Especially since my blog is mentioned twice! That being said, as with anything that I review, I will pull no punches. If I don’t like something, I will point it out. No sugarcoating here.
That out of the way, here is my review…..
This guidebook is hefty. In both weight and in area covered. I am still in disbelief that the author visited sooo many breweries, not to mention the brewpubs and bars. It covers from north to south from Buellton all the way to San Diego. You certainly get your money’s worth in information as well. From the current brewers names to beers brewed to the vibe of each place. The layout is well done for the most part and easy to read which is a plus.
And not matter how well beer traveled you are. This book will have many, many, many places that you haven’t visited or tasted a single beer from. For me the San Diego sections were the most helpful because it is the area that I have visited the least. Now I feel like I have the intel needed to make my next trip south more successful.
But the two high points for me are the photography and the beer pick. Beer photography can get monotonous (just look at the wacky angles I use on this blog). But the photos here are crisp and visually interesting and with a nice variety of backdrops to them. More importantly the beer pick for each brewery are well chosen. In fact it is what I read first before going back to read from the beginning. Barnes hits on the flagships and IPA’s but he also spreads the love all the way around style-wise effortlessly. Some books can seem to be stretching to include a beer for the sake of variety but that isn’t the case here.
On the downside, there are a couple of odd chapter choices. Separating Lancaster out seems a bit odd for two breweries. And I am still puzzling over how the Glendale Tap is in one chapter and Golden Road and Eagle Rock in another even though all three are literally on the same boulevard. Also map related, I am still on the fence about the map accompanying each chapter. The orientation forces you to turn the book around like a manual iPad. I also think that most people will use their GPS on their smartphones for finding the beer and not a map in a book even if they have the book in the car. I would have gone with a map of the full area from north to south in the background and the specific area in the foreground with the logos of the chosen few instead of numbers and a key.
There also seemed duplication of effort as well. We are treated to handy and helpful reviews of, for instance, Downtown LA. All good. Loved the choices and descriptions. Then there was a Walking Tour section that basically retread the same ground. It would have been better to just give the walking directions with other additions of places that get summary attention as opposed to fuller coverage. I would rather see other underappreciated places like Melody Lounge or Bottle Rock mentioned then a second whack at Far Bar. No matter how much I like it.
The writing really shows that Barnes wears his heart and enthusiasm on his sleeve. That is both a major plus and a minor negative. You can tell that he loves the people, the places and the beers which is still what this craft beer movement needs in places like LA but a critical touch in San Diego is probably warranted to steer the beer traveler to the best of the best. You do have to read between the lines to see if one place is better than another. But I do prefer that to snarky or snobby.
Overall, I do think this is a must buy book. There is just too much good information in this Beer Lover’s Guide to pass up. And it is in one handy spot for easy reference.
But here is the “kicker”, Gingold needs a successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com to make the book a reality. Make a donation and we can all see our beloved Cali brewers memorialized in book form.
Books on craft beer don’t have to be guidebooks or best beer books (though I like both). I want to see more history and food pairing books personally.
But another form is needed and now there are two books on my E-device that start to fill the need that should be encouraged by other people buying them.
1.Evan Rail Why Beer Matters Kindle Single.
2. Alan McLeod and Max Bahnson (aka Pivni Filosof). The Unbearable Nonsense of Craft Beer
And you can get both for a whopping $6.
(Thanks to the Beervana blog for pointing me to these books)
My friend Tomm Carroll has sampled the beer scene in Japan and I am jealous. But reading this book might bring me closer. More likely, closer than I will ever be to Japanese craft beer.
Craft Beer in Japan by Mark Meli details the breweries, the bars and the ji-biru. Along the way Meli has tasted over 1,700 and he has found out tid-bits of the beer culture in Japan as well. Making it more than just a quickie guidebook. Right now it appears to be only Kindle version but all the better for those on the road.
You may have noticed this line / brand of historical books in bookstores. They usually document local history. This Yuengling book is the first that I have seen devoted to a brewery.
Firstly, this is a picture book. Lots of great photographs and ad reproductions. Not a history per se. I was most struck by the roadside billboards. Both the early ones and then more current ones where their signage is next to that of the “national” brands.
You also get a little history of the clan behind the beer. Though I could have used more backstory in that department.
Other additions that would have proved useful to me would have been a timeline of the brewery and a floor plan. Maybe comparing different iterations of the brewery layout through the years.
Minor quibbles aside, if you like beer history and rooting for an underdog then this book is for you.
D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., is on sale for $21.99 from Arcadia Publishing and is available at local retailers, online or through Arcadia Publishing HERE.