Tag: beer book

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Cities & Beer

Every twice in awhile, I will see an academic beer book pop up and even though the writing style can be, to say nicely, a little dry, some interesting factoids can be found.

Such is the case for Craft Breweries and Cities by Julie Wartell and Vince Vasquez.  Here is a bit about the scholarly work….

“This book brings together a diverse collection of case studies, perspectives, and research to explore how craft breweries have interacted with cities and neighborhoods in meaningful ways.

It provides a deeper understanding of the important issues facing neighborhoods, city government, and breweries, such as economic development, race and equity, crime, and sustainability. It demonstrates how craft breweries are meaningful contributors and participants in addressing these critical challenges.”

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Tasty

Taste is subjective but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve our tasting ability and one way to do that is to educate yourself with book learning from someone who can guide the way.

That person is Mandy Naglich. And she has an impressive CV.  Advanced Cicerone, check. Certified Taster, check. Certified Cider Professional, check. Completed all levels of WSET Spirits, check.

Also a journalist with credits for Vice, Taste of Home, VinePair, and Wine Enthusiast. 

Oh, and a book about tasting too. With the simple title, How to Taste. It is pre-order now and it is on my reading list.

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Hidden Beers of Belgium

I know that Belgian beers and sour beers are at low ebb now but my gut tells me that is a passing phase.  

That means now is the time to research and the upcoming book, Hidden Beers of Belgium.  The book is still being written but mark it down in your future to read list.

This is the elevator pitch of the book, “Not only is this a useful guide to unheralded Belgian beers, but you’ll learn about the remarkable places these beers are produced and uncover the stories of the inspiring people who make them.”

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Daddy Likes Beer

When I was younger, I did my share of babysitting and that was more than enough for me. So I don’t fit the group that Mike Lukaszewicz is writing for in his children’s book, Daddy Likes Beer.

Maybe he will write a sequel about Uncles.

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The London Pub

If you do not have plans to sit with a mild in an English pub this holiday season, then I have the next best thing, a photo album / love letter to the old London pub.

Per the publisher, “This collection of glorious vintage photographs is a celebration of London’s best boozers and the people who brought them to life. Without its pubs, London just wouldn’t be London. They are the heart (and liver) of this great city.”

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For the Defense

This is a very thorough dismantling of a word through the lens of marketing, economics, history, philosophy and even social media. And I dug every moment because it did not play favorites or set- up straw men to easily knock down. This is rigorous and since I recently watched Hamilton, it made me think of the Federalist papers a bit.

Brown starts with using a (5) part definition of a craft brewery written by Dan Shelton of Shelton Brothers. Those qualifications were ingredients, methods and equipment, spirit, control and ownership structure. Which is probably too much to have to apply to each and every brewery. By the end, Brown has whittled and refined it into (4) comprised of skill/creativity, quality, autonomy and motivation. Bigger ideas but also simpler to understand in my opinion. With only motivation being somewhat opaque.

Some other cool ideas that I ran across:

Skilled craftspeople are considered less than a typical pencil pusher.

Workers should also spend time thinking and thinkers spend more time working.

Craft is a moving target

The concept of under erasure. Where a word is inaccurate in explaining or describing an idea but is also necessary so it is shown but crossed out.

If you haven’t noticed, I highly recommend buying this. Worth every penny.

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Bohemian Forest

With LABW11 in the rear view, time to re-broaden our horizons and look all around the beer world and I have a book choice for you that will help with that, The Brewery in the Bohemian Forest by Evan Rail.

When the ancient brewery in the Czech forest town of Kout na Šumavě reopens, rumors start to circulate about a mysterious brewing book found hidden in the crumbling brewhouse walls. The beer from Kout is so strangely delicious that many who taste it think that it has to be made using secrets — or even magic — from the old brewing log. Enchanted by the taste of Kout lager, Evan Rail makes several journeys out to the brewery, even bringing Anthony Bourdain to film a segment on Kout for the TV show “No Reservations.” But the world of Czech beer is full of secrets… and some secrets definitely do not want to be revealed.

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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.