Best of
Beer

2011

The Oxford Companion to Beer


Garrett Oliver - 2011
    After water and tea, it is the most popular drink in the world, and it is at the center of an over $450 billion industry. With the emergence of craft brewing and homebrewing, beer is experiencing a renaissance that is expanding the reach of the beer culture even further, bringing the art of brewing into homes and widening the interest in beer as an important cultural item.The Oxford Companion to Beer is the first reference work to fully investigate the history and vast scope of beer, from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as "spent grain" and "wort," but give fascinating details about how these and other ingredients affect a beer's taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries on such topics as drinking songs or beer gardens offer vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have shifted through history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries; the legacies they left behind, in the forms of the world's most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book. Collectively the Companion has over 1,100 entries--written by 150 of the world's most prominent beer experts--as well as a foreword by renowned chef Tom Colicchio (star of television's Top Chef), thorough appendices, conversion tables, images throughout, and an index. Flipping through the book, readers will discover everything from why beer was first taxed to how drinkers throughout history have overcome temperance movements and how an "ale conner" determined the quality of a beer in the thirteenth century. (It involved sitting in a puddle of beer.)The Companion is comprehensive, unprecedented, and of great value to anyone who has ever had a curiosity or appetite for beer.

Brewing Better Beer: Master Lesson for Advanced Homeowners


Gordon Strong - 2011
    It shows readers how to make their own great beer that is virtually identical to popular European brands, and provides all of the information needed to successfully emulate the world's best commercial brews for a fraction of the cost. This book is a must-have for both beginners and experienced brewers looking for great new recipes. It begins with an overview of the brewing process, covering the ingredients needed for brewing, essential equipment, basic concepts, techniques and brewing aids. With complete instructions for first-time brewers, readers will get to know their Fuggles from their Bullions and be "sparging the wort" in no time at all. The 107 detailed recipes provided here include teal draught ale, bottled and keg beers, lagers, and stouts. Full instructions are provided for recreating the flavor and quality of the world's great beers—at a fraction of their price. The recipes are based on information provided by commercial brewers who produce some of the most famous beers: Youngers Tartan, Carling Black Label, Carlsberg Special Brew, Guiness, Stella Artois, Lowenbrau, Grolsch, Whitbread Best, Newcastle Amber and Brown Ales and Mackeson. The book has been revised to take account of modern equipment and homebrewing techniques, with recipes adapted for contemporary ingredients and tastes. Brewing British-Style Beers tells readers everything they need to know to economically produce beers of commercial quality, giving them the opportunity to enjoy their favorite beers at an affordable price.

Beer Craft: A Simple Guide to Making Great Beer


William Bostwick - 2011
    This kitchen manual has everything you need to turn your stove into a small-batch, artisanal brewery. Hone your craft by perfecting the basic beer styles, or go wild with specialty techniques like barrel-aging and brewing with fruit. Beer Craft is the ultimate modern homebrewing resource, simple and clear but packed with enough information to satisfy anyone making their first, or four-hundredth, beer.• Master simple stovetop recipes for all your favorite styles, from pale ales and barleywines to fruit and sour beers• Flavor your beer with spices, special grains, and a pantry full of deliciously unexpected extras like coffee, chocolate, and homegrown hops• Create labels and bottle caps for your home brewery, and get inspired by retro designs of beers gone by• Get pro tips on advanced techniques like barrel-aging and wild bacteria from interviews with brewers at Rogue, Sierra Nevada, Stone, and more of today's best craft breweries• Learn facts from beer history, like recipes for ancient bog-myrtle and heather beers, the story of the great London beer flood of 1814, and even brewing advice from Thomas Jefferson

Brooklyn Brew Shop's Beer Making Book: 52 Seasonal Recipes for Small Batches


Erica Shea - 2011
    Erica Shea and Stephen Valand show that with a little space, a few tools, and the same ingredients breweries use, you too can make delicious craft beer right on your stovetop. Greenmarket-inspired and seasonally brewed, these 52 recipes include Everyday IPA and Rose Cheeked & Blonde for spring; Grapefruit Honey Ale and S’More Beer for summer; Apple Crisp Ale and Peanut Butter Porter for fall; Chestnut Brown ale and Gingerbread Ale for winter; and even four gluten-free brews. You’ll also find tips for growing hops, suggestions for food pairings, and recipes for cooking with beer. Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Beer Making Book offers a new approach to artisanal brewing and is a must-own for beer lovers, seasonally minded cooks, and anyone who gets a kick out of saying “I made this!”

Brewed Awakening: Behind the Beers and Brewers Leading the World's Craft Brewing Revolution


Joshua M. Bernstein - 2011
    Why not beer? Funky, young, and smart, this is the ultimate beer geek's companion, covering everything from the homebrew renaissance to nanobreweries to many of America's preeminent beer events and festivals. There's a revolution brewing among craft beer makers: They're reviving long-forgotten recipes, dosing brews with wild yeasts to create new flavors, and using organic grains and hops to forge a delicious new frontier of beer. And no one's better equipped to tell us what's happening than Joshua M. Bernstein, former Gourmet.com writer and one of the world's foremost beer experts.  He covers all of today's top trends, including high-alcohol, bourbon barrel-aged, cask-conditioned, and even gluten-free beers. Designed to look just like Joshua's notebook and featuring labels and photos, this extreme guide is a one-stop shop for cutting-edge beer technology, taste, and information.

Brewing Better Beer: Master Lesson for Advanced Homebrewers


Gordon Strong - 2011
    

All Belgian Beers / Les Bières Belges / Alle Belgische Bieren


Jaak Van Damme - 2011
    Countless tourists collect crown caps, beer mats, glasses and bottles, taking a little piece of Belgian pride back home. Worldwide, beer lovers come together to swap tips and tasting notes. All Belgian Beers offers an alphabetical overview of the beers brewed by recognised Belgian brewers, for their own assortment or for other beer companies. The catalogue features both beers from industrial companies, smaller craft breweries, microbreweries and home breweries, as long as they are bottled and sold outside the brewery or local pub. Own-label beers for supermarkets, private- label beers or occasional beers have deliberately not been included. Never before has such an extensive selection been written about as in this reference book, which will undoubtedly become a personal beer bible, an indispensable guide to this tremendously diverse part of Belgian cultural heritage.

Good Beer Guide 2012: The Complete Guide to the UK's Best Pubs


Roger Protz - 2011
    Completely independent, with no entry fees for listings, it is revised and updated yearly by CAMRA's 110,000 members. Along with pub reviews and information, the guide has a unique Breweries Section which lists over 600 breweries—micro, regional, and national—that produce real ale in the UK, and the beers they brew. Pub entries give details of the beers served, food, pub history, architecture, transportation links, beer gardens, accommodation, disabled access, and facilities for families. Tasting notes for the beers, compiled by CAMRA-trained tasting teams, are also included. A full-color, 36-page features section at the front contains informative and interesting articles relating to beer, pubs, and brewing.

Brewing in Baltimore


Maureen O'Prey - 2011
    Perhaps "Beer Town" would have been more appropriate. Several pivotal events in Maryland's history involved the brewing industry. Baltimore brewers were vital to building the fledgling town into the bustling city it is today. These brewers established some of the earliest churches in Baltimore. Eagle Brewery's Harry Von der Horst helped build the Orioles into a pennant-winning team in the 1890s. Mary Pickersgill sewed the stars upon the Star Spangled Banner on the floor of Brown's Brewery during the War of 1812.

Mountain Brew: A Guide to Colorado's Breweries


Ed Sealover - 2011
    From Coors, America s largest single-site brewery, to Three Barrel Brewing Company, found in the back of an insurance office, each and every one holds a unique place in the state s brewing scene. For two years, author Ed Sealover traveled the state, speaking to more than one hundred brewers and learning what makes each place special, detailing their histories, quirks and signature beers. With profiles of breweries ranging from the world-renowned New Belgium Brewing Company to the Silverton Brewery, whose location is so isolated that its taproom shuts down six months out of the year, Mountain Brew: A Guide to Colorado s Breweries is a perfect companion for beer geeks and thirsty travelers."

The Good Pub Guide 2012


Alisdair Aird - 2011
    Its comprehensive yearly updates and countless reader reports ensure that only the very best pubs make the grade.Here you will find classic country pubs, town-centre inns, riverside retreats, gastropubs, historic gems and exciting newcomers, plus pubs specialising in wine, malt whisky, or own-brew beer. Find out the top pubs in each county for beer, dining and accommodation, and discover the winners of the coveted titles of Pub of the Year and Landlord of the Year. Packed with information, The Good Pub Guide 2012 is a fund of honest, entertaining and indispensable information.