TASTING NOTES By Pete Brown
You’ll have read Pete’s brilliant essay about Tasting Notes in the first edition of The Taproom, but the book is now out, and gaining momentum – more than 1,000 people turned up to hear him talk about pairing beer and music at this year's Green Man Festival. Pete writes in a way that is effortless to read. There's always a wry wink around the next sentence, and he is so entertaining that he could write the history of dishwashers and you'd still be talking about it to your friends. It is so entertaining, educational and packed with enthusiasm that you can't resist joining in. And now you can be sure what beer to pair with Jimi Hendrix or Underworld.
FILTHY QUEENS by Dr Christina Wade
‘Communing with ghosts’ is the alluring name of Dr Christina Wade’s introductory chapter to Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland. It’s an intriguing Venn diagram of subjects: Irish pubs, beer, religion, wakes and zombies – yep, zombies. Stories all told with the same panache as you’d be party to in the Brazen Head in Dublin. Even the names of the chapters are entertaining: 'My Drinking Horn is Better than Your Drinking Horn' and, winner of overall best chapter title ever, 'Cannibalism, Human Sacrifice and Other Things to Pair with Ale.' You’re going to learn a lot about beer this winter.
A PUB FOR ALL SEASONS By Adrian Tierney-Jones
Open any page of this book and you’ll find beauty. Adrian TierneyJones is a world-class writer, one of the best. Read his prose and you’ll find yourself rolling through emotions, mostly lovely ones. This book, subtitled A Yearlong Journey in Search of the Perfect British Local, is an ode to our favourite institution. Looking for mellow pubs in autumn, cosy spots in winter and lively gardens in summer, Adrian shows us the best of British pubs. It’s a rich narrative, so evocative that you’ll look at your local in a new way – with a smile, a nod, and a deep contentment. Read Adrian’s essay on beer judging on page 22.
THE MEANING OF BEER by Jonny Garrett
Subtitled ‘An Alternative History of the World’, this book by award-winning beer writer and host of YouTube's Craft Beer Channel Jonny Garrett posits that beer may just be the most important innovation, well, ever. In this jaunty history, he explains how beer has shaped everything from architecture to advertising, religion to bioengineering. Did you know what the fridge was first invented for? Yep, chilling beer, not food. Hitler’s path to power was nurtured in the beer halls of Munich, and bacteria were discovered while investigating sour beer. So he may have a point. Either way, this is a lively account of beer’s substantial place in shaping our world. It's an enlightening read.
DESI PUBS by David Jesudason
This is one of those books that you flick through and think: ‘Of course we need this.’ Desi Pubs, by award-winning, British-Asian author David Jesudason, travels Britain to find the best pubs run by British-Indian landlords who have put their own stamp on the pub. The history of the desi pub is fascinating in itself, with many first established in the 1960s as a reaction against rife racism. They are now a celebration of multiculturalism beloved by all cultures, for the welcome, the food and the beer. ‘Desi pubs show us what we can achieve when we take on prejudice and fuse the best of two cultures,’ David writes.
Also Discover : A postcard from Australia, Brewery spotlight : Leffe and Tales from the community : Heart of the Hoose
