Sep 10
17
Well, it’s Friday and you know what that means! Time to review another…book? I know, I know, technically this has nothing to do with music. But good beer and good music do go hand in hand don’t they? And we do like to review books here from time to time…
I received Beers of the World as a gift a few years back (thanks sis!) and I have been using it as a reference ever since. It is well laid out, with excellent photos, brewery information, and even features preferred drinking temperatures and food pairings. What I like best about the book is that the reviews of each beer are more informational rather than whether the author, David Kenning, actually liked it or not. This approach serves to form a better understanding of the beer itself, and dispenses with the usual process of deeming a beer good or bad based on personal taste. There are instances where you can tell which way the Kenning is leaning, but somehow he manages to keep it based on facts and not opinion, which can be hard when reviewing something so subjective. Of course, like I said, they aren’t technically reviews.
The beers are arranged by country of origin, starting in Canada and working all the way to Japan. In between there are stops in America, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Germany, and many other fine brewing countries. Each new segment contains a brief history of that country’s brewing history and other fine and fun facts such as the most popular brand and overall population consumption levels. There is also a great intro to brewing history in general in the beginning of the book and even a quick tutorial on how beer is made.
What I often wonder when I flip through is how Kenning came to choose which beers would be featured. There seems to be an awful lot of valuable page space devoted to large scale, mass produced American brews such as Coors, Miller, Budweiser, and even Milwaukee’s Best (or “Beast” as most of us know it). I understand that those companies have a huge history in American brewing but did we really need to hear about so many of them? You would think he would have included America’s oldest brewing company Yuengling but it is sadly absent. I know it would be nearly impossible to include everyone’s favorites but omitting Yuengling, intentional or not, is as bad an omission as Wes Montgomery missing from Ken Burns’ PBS Jazz series (I knew I could work music into this review somehow). There are, however, wonderful inclusions such as Ommegang, Franziskaner, and the always hard to find but truly amazing Het Kappitel.
Still, regardless of omissions, and a few typos here and there, Beers of the World serves as an excellent reference book and entertaining read. It features beers you have had, beers you have heard of, and beers that you never thought existed. The photos are great, the information fantastic, and the overall feel is fun and laid back. In fact, this book was a major inspiration for expanding our brew tasting and continues to inspire us to find that next golden gem in the very exciting world of beers. We can easily recommend this for any beer fan and most certainly for anyone looking to expand their beer horizons.
Very nice!
