Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
I have heard of beer floats and beer slushies but straight up Alcohol Ice Cream?
The second surprise is that most of the flavors from Proof start with moonshine! Then bourbon and rum. I have to assume that gin and tequila and wine will be represented down the line.
Adam Rogers has pulled off a pretty good feat. Making science not seem so science-y. Plus he introduced me to quite a few historical characters involved one way or another with making wine, spirits and our favorite beer.
Proof follows the ABV trail from the yeast to the hangover in linear fashion with many fascinating stops in between.
Some of the chapters mesh together better than others. Yeast is one. The characters and the science and the history meld together to get one point across. The same for the chapters on the effect of alcohol on the human body (and mind).
Others suffer from being a bit muddled mixed with trying to cover too much ground. I felt the fermentation chapter typified that issue. I would have liked more on the science of it even if it did ever into repeating some of the earlier information.
That being said, the problem was more of too much of a good thing and not too little. And you will probably not look at hangovers the same way after reading how Rogers gently debunks cures ad remedies, old and new. It was my second favorite part of the book after yeast.
The one take-away from the book that has stayed with me the longest is the idea of a “confused culture”. One that indulges in alcohol but also prohibits it or rails against it. We Americans have taken that term to a whole new level and not only with alcohol. Sex, celebrity and food all spring to mind.
Maybe if we all understood how ABV affects us, we would be better equipped to deal with its aftermath.
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.