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Certain spirits have a spicy history but none come spicier than absinthe which so scared Parisians that they banned it and then were followed by practically every other country.
And now the drinks writer Evan Rail has detailed another chapter in the sordid history of the green fairy with The Absinthe Forger, “An astonishing true crime story about an eccentric grifter who blew up the lucrative black market for vintage bottles of the legendary drink of artistic renegades, absinthe . . .”
This was a fun ride of a book. I certainly wish that it were longer but as a fan of novellas, this story was complete. It ends sad and there is a never solved mystery of a recipe never seen and in between is Czech beer history a plenty to make you want to visit both Prague and Pilsen.
Basically an old defunct brewery is brought back to life and starts producing excellently reviewed beer but too soon it falls apart with the brewmaster retiring and the owner dying.
I heartily recommend this book. You will probably read it in one sitting.
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.
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)