A handy guide to the brew scene offers description, and ratings for more than 1500 beers and offers advice on choosing the right beer to complement a meal and selecting a new beer in a supermarket, restaurant, or bar. 50,000 first printing.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Michael James Jackson (27 March 1942 – 30 August 2007) was an English writer and journalist. He was the author of many influential books about beer and whisky. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...
(The newer edition is called Michael Jackson's Little Book of Beer)
Most beer drinkers that I know, if they are also readers, acknowledge that Michael Jackson’s writings on beer are some of the best. As the beer revival came into full-flower, Jackson was helping to lead the “real beer” movement. Craft beer and “gastro-pubs” are now a feature in many places.
This pocket guide is indeed minature and can actually fit in most pockets. If you want to know something about the beers of many brewing countries it can give you the right start. If you want to know about styles of beer, it has enough to put yourself on a firm foundation. If you want to know how beer is brewed, Jackson leads you through the process. If you are curious about the terms of brewing from “cask conditioned” to differences between beers and ales, this will do nicely.
If you want something about the recent proliferation of styles of product, you need to go elsewhere than this edition, but otherwise this will suffice.
This book makes me thirsty. However, its structure is a bit awkward. The encyclopedic format is occasionally frustrating when attempting to locate new and tasty beers.
This was one of the first books I read from Michael, and it really kicked in my interest in reading about beer. I've read many of Michael's books, I wish he were still around.