Foreword xvii
Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What You’re Not to Read 2
Foolish Assumptions 2
How This Book Is Organized 3
Part I: Getting a Taste of Beer 3
Part II: Taking a Look at Beer Styles — Old, New, and Revived, Too 3
Part III: Buying and Enjoying Beer 4
Part IV: Exploring Beer around the World and at Home 4
Part V: The Part of Tens 5
Part VI: Appendixes 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 6
Part I: Getting a Taste of Beer 7
Chapter 1: Drink Up! Beginning with Beer Basics 9
Introducing Beer’s Building Blocks 10
Surveying Different Styles of Beer 11
Ales versus lagers 12
Hybrid and specialty beers 12
Shopping for and Savoring Beer 13
Buying beer 13
Serving and tasting beer 13
Dining with beer 14
Cooking with beer 14
Taking a Tour of Beers around the Globe 15
North America 15
Europe, Asia, and beyond 16
Brewing Your Own Beer 16
Chapter 2: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous: Beer Ingredients 17
Barley: Cereal for Beer, Not for Breakfast 18
Hops: Flowers for Flavor and Aroma 19
Getting to know top hops 20
Hopping for bitterness, aroma, and more 21
Yeast: A Fungus Is Among Us 21
Water: A Big Influence on Beer 23
Wing of Bat, Eye of Newt: Adjuncts You May Love or Hate 24
Chapter 3: A Little Brew Magic: Understanding How Beer Is Made 25
Kettles, Tuns, and Tanks: Brewing Equipment 26
Ale Alchemy: The Brewing Process 27
Malting 28
Milling 29
Mashing 29
Boiling 30
Fermenting 31
Aging 31
Packaging 32
Cleaning 33
Part II: Taking a Look at Beer Styles — Old, New, and Revived, Too 35
Chapter 4: Getting to Know the Mother Beer Categories: Ales, Lagers, and More 37
Two Big Branches on the Beer Family Tree: Distinguishing Ales and Lagers 37
Yeast makes the beer 38
You can taste the difference, sometimes 38
Old-School Beer: Understanding Ales 40
The “New” Beer on the Block: Getting Familiar with Lagers 41
Mixed Up: Taking Note of Hybrid Beers 42
Warm fermentations with lager yeast 42
Cold fermentations with ale yeast 43
Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Looking at Specialty Beers 43
The Anatomy of Beer Styles: Examining the Traits of Different Beers 44
Defining beer styles with three parameters 45
Using a few tasting terms 46
Crafting great beers 46
Style Is Everything: Listing Common Beer Styles 47
Ales 48
Lagers 54
Hybrid beers 56
Specialty beers 57
Chapter 5: Investigating “Real” Ale 59
Understanding What Makes Ale “Real” 59
Starting the Real Ale Journey in Casks 61
A barrel of fun: Checking out the parts of a cask 61
Sizing up the situation: Pins, firkins, kilderkins, and beyond 62
Refining and Conditioning Real Ale 63
Let me make this perfectly clear: Clarifying with finings 64
From the spile file: Letting real ale breathe 65
Dispensing Real Ale 66
Pulling real ale through a beer engine 66
Using a tap for gravity dispense 68
CAMRA: Campaign for Real Ale 69
Chapter 6: Exploring Barrel-Aged and Wood-Aged Beer 71
Differentiating Between “Barrel-Aged” and “Wood-Aged” 71
Figuring Out Which Wood Is Best 72
Choosing new or used barrels 73
Opting for oak 73
Creating new beer flavors with old barrel flavors 74
Marking Some Milestones in the Aging Process 76
Checking the beer’s oxidation 76
Deciding whether to let the beer sour 77
Blending beers from two or more barrels 80
Chapter 7: Diving In to Extreme Beer 81
What Makes a Beer “Extreme”? 81
Bigger body 82
Bolder flavor 82
Higher alcohol content 83
Monastic Brews: The Original Extreme Beers 85
The origins of Dubbels, Tripels, and Quadrupels 85
The creation of Doppelbock 86
If It’s Imperial, It Rules: Intensifying Beer Styles for a Bigger Punch 87
Beer Wars: My Beer Is More Extreme than Yours 88
Stealing attention away from other brews with zanier names 88
One-upping the competition with wackier packaging 89
The Future of Extreme Beers 90
Chapter 8: Checking Out Organic, Gluten-Free, and Kosher Beer 93
Natural Selection: Organic Beer 93
In the beginning: The rise of organic beer 93
Sorting through organic beer certifications 94
Why go organic? Help the environment — drink a beer! 95
Organic movement: A list of organic beers 96
Some Hope for People with Celiac Disease: Gluten-Free Beer 98
The gluten-free gang: Grains and starches used in gluten-free beer 99
Free of gluten but full of flavor: A list of gluten-free beers 100
Following the Law: Kosher Beer 101
Figuring out what qualifies as kosher 102
Everything’s kosher: A list of kosher beers 103
Part III: Buying and Enjoying Beer 105
Chapter 9: The Better Way to Buy Beer 107
Cans, Bottles, Growlers, and Kegs: Deciding on Your Container of Choice 107
Doing the cancan 108
Opting for bottles 109
Going for growlers 109
Kicking it with kegs 110
Purchase or Perish: Looking for the Freshest Beer 113
Knowing that time isn’t on your side 113
Aging beer like fine wine — but only in a few special cases 114
Staying away from beer left out of the cold 115
Avoiding the light 115
Checking out the store scene before buying 116
Making friends with your local beer retailers 117
Did You Get Burnt? Checking Your Beer at Home 117
Popping your top 117
Battling the oxidation blues 118
Chapter 10: Looking at Label Lunacy and Marketing Mayhem 119
Understanding Labeling Laws 119
Label must-haves 120
The weak, the strong, and the unintelligible: Alcohol content 121
Know-nothing labels: Additives and preservatives 122
The Reinheitsgebot: The German beer purity law 123
Beer Advertising and Marketing 124
Touting nonessential details 124
Invading craft brew territory with stealth micros from megabrewers 126
Getting the lowdown on contract brewing 127
“Guinness Is Good for You”: Nutritional Content 128
Cholesterol and fat free 129
Drink beer, live longer 130
Chapter 11: Serving Beer 133
Choosing a Glass with Class 133
The glass lineup: Basic types of glassware 134
To the next level: Sport drinking tools 138
Let’s get practical: Determining the glasses you really need 140
Pouring It On 141
Knowing the right serving temperature before you pour 141
Deciding whether to tilt or not to tilt 142
Neatness Counts: Cleaning and Storing Glassware 144
Understanding “beer clean” 144
Putting everything away 146
Chapter 12: Making Your Buds Wiser: Tasting and Evaluating Beer 147
Evaluating Beer 1-2-3 (Actually, 1-2-3-4-5) 148
Smell: The Nose Knows 149
Look: You Can’t Judge a Bock by Its Cover 150
Every color in the rainbrew 151
On a clear day 151
A head in the hand 152
Taste: Nuts and Bolts, Malt and Hops 152
Marvelous malt taste 153
Heavenly hops taste 154
Fabulous fermentation 154
Aftertaste: Let it linger 155
Touch: Mouthfeel and Body 156
Reflect: Is the Whole Beer Greater than the Sum of Its Parts? 157
Put Your Tongue to the Test: Recording Your Beer Ratings 158
Rating beer in online forums 159
Maintaining a personal journal 160
Chapter 13: Dining with Beer 161
What a Pair! Making a Match with Beer and Food 161
Guessing at general guidelines 162
Cutting, contrasting, and complementing different flavors 166
Paring down your pairing list 166
Timing Is Everything: Serving Beer for Different Occasions 168
Selecting beers for before and after dinner 168
Serving beer according to the season 169
Chapter 14: Cooking with Beer 171
Using Beer as an Ingredient in Any Dish 171
Knowing when you can (and can’t) use beer in a recipe 172
Choosing the right beer for a recipe 173
Checking Out Great Recipes Featuring Beer as an Ingredient 174
Part IV: Exploring Beer around the World and at Home 187
Chapter 15: Sampling Beer in North America 189
Looking to Beer’s Past in the United States 189
Respecting the elders: Tracing back great U.S brewing traditions 190
Moving on up: The boom in U.S brewing during the 20th century 191
Teaching an old dog new tricks: The rise of small craft brewers 192
Renaissance or revolution? U.S brewing today and tomorrow 194
Howdy, Neighbors! Checking Out the Beer Scene in Canada and Mexico 194
Oh, Canada 195
Down Mexico way 196
Going Where the Beer Is 198
Beer bars 199
Brewpubs 200
Gastropubs 202
Beer dinners 203
Celebrating at North American Beer Festivals 203
Discovering beer festival do’s and don’ts 204
Looking at notable beer festivals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico 206
Exploring North American Beer Museums 207
Chapter 16: Trying Beer in Europe, Asia, and Elsewhere 209
Building Your Own Beer Adventure 210
Exploring Beer in Germany 210
Discovering regional tastes: The north, west, and east 211
Heading south to Bavaria 212
Tapping German shrines, festivals, and museums 214
Looking at Beer in the United Kingdom 216
Biting the bitters in England and Wales 217
Holding strong with Scotland 218
Exploring shrines, festivals, and museums in the United Kingdom 219
Getting a Taste of Ireland 220
Brewing Guinness for the nation 220
Going beyond traditional Dry Stout 221
Checking in to Irish breweries and pubs 221
Sipping Beer in Belgium 222
Trekking for secular brews 222
Marketing Trappist beers and Abbeys 223
Finding the best Belgian shrines, festivals, and museums 223
Checking Out Beer in the Czech Republic 225
Visiting the birthplace of Pilsner 225
Trying other Czech beers 226
Exploring historical Czech beer establishments 226
Finding Noteworthy Beers in Other Corners of the World 227
Austria 227
Denmark 227
The Netherlands 227
Norway 228
Australia and New Zealand 228
Japan 229
Thailand 229
Chapter 17: Embarking on Beer Travel and Tours 231
Keeping a Few Beer-Trekking Tips in Mind before You Leave Home 231
Working Beer into Your Vacation Adventures 233
All together now: Going with tour groups 233
Malty meandering: Unplanned beer adventures 236
Hop Pillows for Everyone! Lodging Near and in Breweries 237
Beer, bed, and breakfast 237
Steep ’n’ sleep, mash ’n’ crash: Spending the night at a brewery 238
Taking a Look at Brewery Tours 240
Touring breweries on your own 241
Trying group bus tours 242
Pedaling your way to Pilsners and Porters: Bike tours 243
Chapter 18: Brewing Beer at Home 247
Getting Started with Homebrewing 248
Supply shopping 249
Pots, buckets, brushes, and such 249
Brew ingredients 253
Department of Sanitation: Keeping Clean During the Brewing Process 256
The importance of sterilizing and sanitizing 256
Soaps for suds 257
General cleaning practices 258
Following Step-by-Step Homebrewing Instructions 258
Ready, set, brew! 259
Fabulous fermentation 262
Bottle it up! 264
Keeping records 268
Stepping Your Brewing Up a Notch 269
New toys: Equipment upgrades 270
Specialty grains 272
Secondary fermentation and the art of siphoning 274
Part V: The Part of Tens 277
Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Grow Your Appreciation of Beer 279
Drink Beer with a Purpose 279
Post Beer Reviews Online 280
Maintain a Beer Blog 280
Write a Great Book about Beer 281
Become Beer Educated and Beer Certified 281
Brew Beer at Home 283
Become a Certified Beer Judge 283
Collect Beer-Related Stuff 284
Associate with Others Who Share Your Passion for Beer 284
Go Pro — Brewer, That Is 285
Chapter 20: The Ten Best Beer Cities in the World (And a Few Extras) 287
Munich, Germany 287
Bamberg, Germany 288
Bruges, Belgium 289
Prague, Czech Republic 289
London, England 290
Portland, Oregon, United States 291
Seattle, Washington, United States 291
Denver, Colorado, United States 292
San Francisco, California, United States 293
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States 293
A Few More Great Beer Cities to Consider 294
Chapter 21: The Ten Best Beer Festivals in the World 295
Great American Beer Festival, Denver, Colorado, United States 296
Great Taste of the Midwest, Madison, Wisconsin, United States 296
Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland, Oregon, United States 297
SAVOR, Washington, D.C., United States 297
American Craft Beer Fest, Boston, Massachusetts, United States 298
Mondial de la Bière, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 299
Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany 299
Great British Beer Festival, London, England 300
Zythos Bier Festival, Belgium 300
Poperinge Hop and Beer Festival, Poperinge, Belgium 300
Part VI: Appendixes 301
Appendix A: A Quick Guide to Beer Styles and Stats 303
A Sampling of Beer Styles 303
Gravity and Alcohol Content of Various Beer Styles 308
Ales 309
Lagers 312
Hybrid beers and specialty beers 313
Appendix B: A Short History of Beer (For the True Beer Nut) 315
Beer at the Dawn of Civilization and throughout World History 315
Beer History in the United States 318
Colonial times through the 1800s 318
The Volstead Act 320
Post-Prohibition blues 321
The Contemporary Beer Renaissance in the United States 323
Index 325
Marty Nachel is a beer educator, an award-winning homebrewer, a BJCP Certified Beer Judge, on the panel of professional beer judges at the Great American Beer Festival, and a former beer evaluator at the Beverage Testing Institute. He is also the founder and administrator of the Ale-Conner Beer Certification Program. Steve Ettlinger is the author of seven books, most of which are about food and food-related subjects. His most recent is Twinkie, Deconstructed.
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