Beer Tasting Quick Reference Guide: How to Choose and Taste Beer Like a Brewer

by Jeff Alworth

Here's a fun guide to discover the nuances of artisan beers from lagers and ales to porters and stouts. Tasting profiles from the booklet get the ball rolling—they break down beer into style categories and include information on each variety's background, flavors, aromas, and unique character.

Genres: Beer, Nonfiction

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2012

Reviews

[Carlos Venegas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a concise introduction to beer styles and how to drink beer.

[Amy Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great review of beer

I like this book for general information. As someone who has been a bar tender in a brewery for 5+ years, it was lacking a bit of depth, for a beginner on the other hand, I think this book is amazing. It touches many topics and goes over them briefly, the beer style information was my favorite part. Definitely worth my time.

[Paul Deveaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book is a good primer on beer. I would recommend it as a first book on beer but definitely not your last. It is very basic and covers the most common types of beer. I wished it was more comprehensive as the approach the author takes on describing the various beers is valuable.

[Joe Bonner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to going to beer school. Thank you.

[Filip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since I got drunk on really bad wine at Martinje 2008. (every other combination involving wine also included in that night's mix), I became a beer man. The trauma weakened its grip on me over the years, but you would always find me drinking anything else but wine (and tequila. the trauma of 2011.).

Fast forward to 2014, when I tried more different kinds of beer than all of the years combined, this time thanks to Marko and the growing home-brew scene in Croatia. There is a small revolution going on that's meant to show you the light at the end of a tunnel filled with crappy mainstream lagers. Yes, I am riding the Nova Runda/Zmajska Pivovara/Vunetovo hype train, snatching all the belgians, IPA's, APA's, stouts, porters, hefeweizens I can find, and the list goes on and on.

Back to the book.

True to the name of "quick reference guide", this is probably the best first book one can read about beer - it's bite sized, concise, and doesn't bore you. Personally, I completed it in one sitting. It has a good overview of categories, some tasting/aging tips, but the size is both a blessing and a curse. I know that the book was written for the American market and some beer brands are more or less accessible throughout the globe, but I would really like to have some prime examples of every style. Also, if the tasting criteria is already mentioned in the book, I would like to have a real world example of the process. Example - let's try a weizen and write down what you taste. Uncover to see if you were close (e.g. bananas).

All in all, if you're even remotely interested in beer, just browse through this book. See the different styles and tastes available. Go and try something new for you. And say "what the hell was I waiting for?!" :D

[João Caribé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sensacional, um guia objetivo e divertido para o apreciador de cervejas, eu encontrei neste livro o que procurava, suporte teórico para descrever minha paixão pela degustação deste néctar dos deuses.

[Becky Rosenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

short, but helpful guide covering different styles.

[Julia Briley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and interesting read

This short guide is packed with essential information for every beer drinker. Quick and easy to read, this is a great crash course in beer basics.

[Dax · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly a "quick" reference guide. I think this is a good starting point to let you know the basics and get you excited to learn more. If not at least to go out there and try more!

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but just a taste

Useful but only the most basic of introductions to beer tasting. I will need to dig deeper for more information.