Beer Books

JWalter · Post by **JWalter** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:29 pm

Blankboy wrote:300 Beers to Try Before You Die

Wouldn't it be depressing if you read the book and you'd tried them all already... Sh*te, I guess I can die now... Bummer...

Al of Kingston · Post by **Al of Kingston** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 10:47 pm

I have a half-written essay about my books in a half-started periodical called The Journal of Culture and Brewing. One thing I was trying to get to was the idea that homebrewing books are really indispensable for getting into beer, as is homebrewing I suppose. I also like Beer: The Story of the Pint and Man Walks Into a Pub.

One book I have to add to it is Travels With Barley which I just read. While it is a little folksy and light, it is also well written and somewhat expansive about the state of beer in the present day US.[/url]

Uncle Bobby · Post by **Uncle Bobby** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:36 am

Uncle Bobby wrote:
Old Faithful wrote:I can't understand why Coors/Molson and Molson before that won't resurrect the beers Molson sold in the 1920's like true Porters, Stouts, IPA's and Brown Ales, at least to promote interest in their product and heritage.
Gary,

I once had a book of historical beer recipes written by a crazy old English guy who went so far as to malt his own grain. He said that many of his recipes had been gleaned from the major breweries, many of which had archives of recipes dating back hundreds of years.

The recipes existed only in the recipe books of these breweries -- none of them were ever produced any more. For some reason they had allowed this fellow to reproduce them in his book.

Here's a link to the article I had read originally... in 1992 while I still lived in London. (Who says beer kills brain cells?!) Turns out the article was by Michael Jackson (should've guessed), and he has now posted it to his website.

http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000070.html

It looked intially like the book might still be available. (I had wanted to order a copy for my buddy so that I can get mine back!) Unfortunately, CAMRA, the current distributor has told me that the book is presently out of print.

I am quoting myself (always a sad sign) from an earlier string on old beer brands and types. The title of the book is "Old British Beers and How to Make Them" by Dr. John Harrison and includes medaeval recipes for beers "hopped" with rosemary.

Wheatsheaf · Post by **Wheatsheaf** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 12:13 pm

Some of my picks:

Tim Webb's "Good Beer Guide to Belgium" is essential reading for anyone interested in Belgian beer.

"Farmhouse Ales" by Phil Markowski, "Wild Brews" by Jeff Sparrow, and "Brew Like a Monk" by Stan Hieronymus aren't for the casual reader, but all are fantastic.

It's nice to have something like Carl Forget's "Dictionary of Beer and Brewing" on hand.

Anything by Michael Jackson, of course, including lesser-known books like "The English Pub" and "The Great Beers of Belgium" (which is scarce on this side of the Atlantic, but I'm hoping that the recently-published 5th edition will be available from Amazon). Oh, and everyone's seen "The Beer Hunter" TV series, right?

"Beer Glorious Beer" is an excellent collection of essays on British brewing--past and present--edited by Roger Protz and Barrie Pepper.

Berliner Weisse · Post by **Berliner Weisse** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:29 pm

My most recent purchase was "The Brewmaster's Table' by Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewing Co.. So far not a bad read, when time allows.

B.W.

Mississauga Matt · Post by **Mississauga Matt** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:54 pm

The first beer book I ever read was Ian Bowering’s In Search of the Perfect Brew. A pretty good read, but I soon soured on Bowering because of what I perceived as his weak writing skills and some ideas of his with which I couldn't agree.

I really devoured Jamie MacKinnon’s The Ontario Beer Guide when it first came out. It’s quaint to look at now, but at the time it was leading edge. In that book MacKinnon wrote well with a great deal of passion and lots of humour – to my mind, his aforementioned Great Lakes Beer Guide is leaden in comparison.

Michael Jackson is king. His Beer Companion is my bible for beer. His Ultimate Beer and Great Beer Guide are just beautiful to look at, if admittedly a bit limited in written content.

The thing about Michael Jackson for me is that he is a great writer – not just a great beer writer. I have never forgotten this little bit in one of his pocket guides regarding Theakston’s Old Peculier:

In bottled form, it is as satisfying as a chaste kiss. If chilled, so is the kiss.

That’s great stuff.

midlife crisis · Post by **midlife crisis** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:36 pm

In that book MacKinnon wrote well with a great deal of passion and lots of humour – to my mind, his aforementioned Great Lakes Beer Guide is leaden in comparison.

Fair enough - it may be the Ontario Guide I was remembering fondly - read both several years ago now.

Cagiva650 · Post by **Cagiva650** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:34 pm

Micheal Jackson's "Beer Companion" is the book that started my interest in better beers, and got me dreaming of going to Belgium, England, Germany etc.

Al of Kingston · Post by **Al of Kingston** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:06 pm

I just picked up a book called Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Richard W. Unger (U. Penn pub.) at the Worlds Biggest Bookstore (or whatever it is called) in Toronto and noticed there was another copy there. These books have such limited runs I thought someone might like the heads up. Pricey at 75 bucks but it is an academic text, hardcover 2004, and I expect it to be chcok full of facts that I will only be able to discuss with whoever picks up the other copy.

antirealist · Post by **antirealist** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 2:59 pm

Al the beerblogger wrote:I just picked up a book called Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Richard W. Unger (U. Penn pub.).

Oddly enough...

jmcnally · Post by **jmcnally** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:48 am

I was just about to post asking about a good "encyclopedia" and remembered to search first. Thanks, all. Now I'm giving the thread a bump. If anyone has anything else/new to add, please...

lagerale · Post by **lagerale** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:20 pm

Theres a book (The Essential Reference of Domestic Brewers and Their Bottled Brands, 2nd Edition) that Stephen Beaumont recently recommended under the Bright Beer section of his website. It sounds interesting from a beer geek perspective and likely has tons of interesting tidbits....

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sun May 28, 2006 4:31 pm

A tip for those looking for beer book bargains: There's a book clearance place on Yonge a block or so north of Volo that has a few beer books available.

I picked up "Lager Heads", the book about the battles between Molson and Labatt that Gary mentioned earlier in the thread. I also saw a couple of Beaumont's books, several copies of Jamie MacKinnon's "Great Lakes Beer Guide" (published in 1997, so it's not that timely, but still interesting), and one or two others. There were also a good number of books about wine and spirits.