For this anniversary issue, I decided to set aside the stack of new publications that have arrived, and instead contact the beer writers whose work I regularly read to ask them which books in their own beer libraries they open most often. Some responded with a short list; others wrote at length about the authors... View Article
For those living in or visiting Britain and seeking out bottle-conditioned brews, the Good Bottled Beer Guide is a top resource. In his introduction, author Jeff Evans looks back to 1971, when there were only five bottled “real ales” available in Britain. Now, there are about 600. With the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) a... View Article
Finally, a beer book that doesn’t labor over beer styles and mind-numbing tasting notes. Ken Wells has written a witty, informative, easy-to-read book from the perspective of a non-beer geek. Better yet, he writes with a reporter’s eye for interesting details not just about the subject, but also about things to the right and left... View Article
Brewers, both pro and home, are a passionate, enthusiastic bunch. Homebrewers are notorious experimenteurs and almost feel an entitlement and obligation to do so. Many brewmeisters are in fact former homebrewers and have given much to the modern craft beer scene.
Tim Webb is best known for his book Good Beer Guide to Belgium and Holland, which is widely considered to be the best guide covering all aspects of the Belgian beer scene. With the just released LambicLand, he and co-authors Chris (“Podge”) Pollard (who runs beer tours to Belgium from his native England) and Joris... View Article
Here’s beer’s quandary: when it claims its legitimate place as the most popular adult beverage, it also becomes the most despised and dumbed-down of beverages. When beer embraces all its diversity, it risks taking itself too seriously: it becomes precious and snooty.
Hardcover, $18.95, 128 pp. Heavenly Beers: a Taster’s Guide to Monastery Tradition Ales and Lager is an interesting book, the first I have seen that has attempted to cover all or most of the subject of monastic brewing. The book is informative and goes into intimate detail on some of the breweries covered, though not... View Article
Gary Regan is a prolific writer. In addition to turning out columns for the San Francisco Chronicle, Wine Enthusiast Magazine and Bartender Magazine, he has written a number of noteworthy books, including The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys, The Martini Companion, New Classic Cocktails and The Bartender’s Bible.
For 75 years, we saw the New York stage through Al Hirschfeld’s eyes. His fluid pen-and-ink caricatures captured the essence of a performance with a style that was unmistakable: elegant, stylish, witty but never cruel. In the theatre pages of the New York Times, a Hirschfeld portrait was the mark of theatrical success.
