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The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution
A full-color, lushly illustrated graphic novel that recounts the many-layered past and present of beer through dynamic pairings of pictures and meticulously researched insight into the history of the world's favorite brew.
Starting from about 7,000 BC, The Comic Book Story of Beer traces beer's influence through world history, encapsulating early man's experiments with fermentation, the rise and fall of Ancient Rome, the (often beer-related) factors that led Europe out of the Dark Ages, the Age of Exploration, the spread of capitalism, the Reformation, and on up to the contemporary explosion of craft brewing. No book has ever told the story of beer in a graphic format as a liberating or emancipating force that improved the life of everyday people. Visually riffing on abstract subjects like pasteurization, "original gravity," and "lagering," artist Aaron McConnell has a flair for cinematic action and demonstrates versatility in depicting characters and episodes from beer's rich history. Hand-drawn in a classic, accessible style, The Comic Book Story of Beer makes a great gift, and will appeal to the most avid comic book geek and those who live for beer.
Starting from about 7,000 BC, The Comic Book Story of Beer traces beer's influence through world history, encapsulating early man's experiments with fermentation, the rise and fall of Ancient Rome, the (often beer-related) factors that led Europe out of the Dark Ages, the Age of Exploration, the spread of capitalism, the Reformation, and on up to the contemporary explosion of craft brewing. No book has ever told the story of beer in a graphic format as a liberating or emancipating force that improved the life of everyday people. Visually riffing on abstract subjects like pasteurization, "original gravity," and "lagering," artist Aaron McConnell has a flair for cinematic action and demonstrates versatility in depicting characters and episodes from beer's rich history. Hand-drawn in a classic, accessible style, The Comic Book Story of Beer makes a great gift, and will appeal to the most avid comic book geek and those who live for beer.
180 pages, Paperback
First published September 22, 2015
71 people are currently reading
823 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hennessey
15 books110 followersCan’t imagine your life without fiction? Can’t imagine your life without nonfiction? Then you’re a lot like me. I often find nothing more entertaining than some scrupulously researched historical account; and no better learning experience than a thoroughly made-up-from-whole-cloth story.
So I read (and write) both — often in deep dives into the fascinating backgrounds of everyday people and everyday things. And I marvel constantly at the many ways how writing efforts in one genre inspire, sharpen, and elevate the quality of work in the other. Whatever knack for storytelling I might be said to have makes my books on history like The U.S. Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation more captivating, engaging, and accessible. And at the same time, I plow the best of the best of my research discoveries into the characters, settings, themes, and scenarios of my narrative material. If you check out my time-travel-turned-inside-out epic, Epochalypse, I hope you’ll agree you would have to look pretty hard for a more fully realized and diverse milieu in the time travel story universe.
I was born to a military family on a U.S. Army base in New England and raised, like many, in a town steeped in American history. This I only came to fully appreciate as an adult when I came boomeranging back to an interest in politics, actual people, and the real world after an extended, hazy interregnum of fantasy novels, gaming, comic books, video games, and anime. When not writing or reading I’m heavily into cycling (preferably for transportation or travel rather than speed), films, hunting for seasonal waterfalls in the nearby California foothills (with or without a pocket full of podcasts), chasing down hard to find craft sodas, or swooning over vintage graphic design in some slightly downtrodden but capacious Midwestern antique mall.
Find out more at jonathanhennessey.com, where you can join an email list for respectfully infrequent and non-invasive updates about new projects and releases.
So I read (and write) both — often in deep dives into the fascinating backgrounds of everyday people and everyday things. And I marvel constantly at the many ways how writing efforts in one genre inspire, sharpen, and elevate the quality of work in the other. Whatever knack for storytelling I might be said to have makes my books on history like The U.S. Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation more captivating, engaging, and accessible. And at the same time, I plow the best of the best of my research discoveries into the characters, settings, themes, and scenarios of my narrative material. If you check out my time-travel-turned-inside-out epic, Epochalypse, I hope you’ll agree you would have to look pretty hard for a more fully realized and diverse milieu in the time travel story universe.
I was born to a military family on a U.S. Army base in New England and raised, like many, in a town steeped in American history. This I only came to fully appreciate as an adult when I came boomeranging back to an interest in politics, actual people, and the real world after an extended, hazy interregnum of fantasy novels, gaming, comic books, video games, and anime. When not writing or reading I’m heavily into cycling (preferably for transportation or travel rather than speed), films, hunting for seasonal waterfalls in the nearby California foothills (with or without a pocket full of podcasts), chasing down hard to find craft sodas, or swooning over vintage graphic design in some slightly downtrodden but capacious Midwestern antique mall.
Find out more at jonathanhennessey.com, where you can join an email list for respectfully infrequent and non-invasive updates about new projects and releases.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
December 27, 2015
Informative, apparently well-researched, passionate, and nicely illustrated. This is everything I could ask for in graphic nonfiction. I have to imagine that this would be an even more exciting read for people who drink beer, especially those who are interested in craft beers. I'm neither, just a history nerd with a special interest in the history of food and beverage. For me, this book was largely an enjoyable read, densely packed with information without going off on too many tangents or including much that struck me as extraneous.
May 23, 2021
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
There’s nothing more I’d want in a graphic NF novel. This book was so heavily detailed that at times it was kind of 😳 and I felt myself wanting to skim a bit in the beginning but towards the middle/end I couldn’t stop reading it. So much information and if your a beer lover like I am it’s so nice to read about all the different types of beers and how they are made. Great facts to throw out next time you’re in the brewery too. Beer trivia-I’m taking home the trophy! 😂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
There’s nothing more I’d want in a graphic NF novel. This book was so heavily detailed that at times it was kind of 😳 and I felt myself wanting to skim a bit in the beginning but towards the middle/end I couldn’t stop reading it. So much information and if your a beer lover like I am it’s so nice to read about all the different types of beers and how they are made. Great facts to throw out next time you’re in the brewery too. Beer trivia-I’m taking home the trophy! 😂
May 19, 2018
Un cómic sorprendente e interesante, destinado a los amantes de la cerveza y a toda la gente que sienta curiosidad por su fabricación. Mezclando humor y varios estilos de dibujo, vamos haciendo un recorrido histórico por la cerveza y su evolución (cómo se cree que surgió, dónde, etc.) hasta nuestros días, pasando por su modo de fabricación y la evolución que este ha tenido. A pesar de la cantidad de datos que se dan en ningún momento se me ha hecho pesado, el hecho de que sea un cómic y que el texto se vea apoyado por viñetas lo hace todo mucho más ameno. Gracias a él puedes entender por fin las diferencias que hay entre los distintos tipos de cerveza, lo que aportan sus diferentes componentes al resultado final, etc. Ha sido una lectura agradale y amena y me parece un libro ideal para regalar.
February 15, 2016
The very existence of this graphic novel fascinates me. With the popularity of craft brews, I can see the general interest in the material, but why a graphic novel? I'm not complaining, just curious. I actually don't drink beer. Something about the basic flavor just puts me off. I've tried quite a few over the years, but never found one from which it was worth taking more than a polite sip or two. I do love comics though, and am especially happy to read one on a topic not normally associated with the medium. Beer is one of those commodities as old as civilization itself. The book gives the full history, from the earliest known archeological evidence right up to the current microbrew revolution. It reads pleasantly enough, and the artwork is well-suited to the task. The book's conclusion drags on a bit, partly due to the creators' decision to do their summary paragraphs in the form of beer labels, a conceit that's just a little too cute for its own good. All in all, not a bad book. I, for one, learned quite a bit about beer that I didn't already know.
September 10, 2020
This review is based on an ARC copy from NetGalley.
Love love love this book!
There's no doubt that craft beer is super popular at the moment, so whether your'e a beer drinker or just interested in pop culture, this book is for you. I know reading a book on the history of one specific thing sounds very dry and tedious, but this book never bored me and never felt like a chore to read. In fact, the illustrations and light tone of the book made it quite a delightful process!
I never new beer had such a rich history. This book introduces the many ways that beer has been influenced by, and in turn has influenced, so many cultures around the world. The production and consumption of beer has played a major factor in almost every historical era, and almost every continent on the planet. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in food history, history in general, or pop culture.
Love love love this book!
There's no doubt that craft beer is super popular at the moment, so whether your'e a beer drinker or just interested in pop culture, this book is for you. I know reading a book on the history of one specific thing sounds very dry and tedious, but this book never bored me and never felt like a chore to read. In fact, the illustrations and light tone of the book made it quite a delightful process!
I never new beer had such a rich history. This book introduces the many ways that beer has been influenced by, and in turn has influenced, so many cultures around the world. The production and consumption of beer has played a major factor in almost every historical era, and almost every continent on the planet. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in food history, history in general, or pop culture.
December 14, 2015
This graphic novel is a wonderful love letter to beer. The story is written with the passion that only a true beer lover can have about the subject. This is a very in depth history going from prehistory to today. While I wasn't worried because I'm the kind of guy that likes dry histories, I was pleasantly surprised at how engrossing and readable this graphic novel is. I honestly couldn't put it down. I loved how the author didn't only tell the history of beer in general, but went into the back stories of many different varieties of beer. This is a must read for any beer lover.
January 11, 2016
I went into this one with high hopes, but it left me disappointed for four reasons:
1. It spends far too much time trying to prove to the reader how important beer is. I'd rather have more information and less of a sales pitch!
2. The first section about early beer is mostly mythology along with stories that even the book admits are probably false! Why even have this in the book if you know it's probably not true?
3. It feels like it's lacking in information. I'm not a beer historian, but if beer was so important to mankind in general, shouldn't there have been beer in parts of the world other than Europe or America? The book focuses solely on those locations, which seems too European-centric.
4. The artwork can be rather weak at times.
1. It spends far too much time trying to prove to the reader how important beer is. I'd rather have more information and less of a sales pitch!
2. The first section about early beer is mostly mythology along with stories that even the book admits are probably false! Why even have this in the book if you know it's probably not true?
3. It feels like it's lacking in information. I'm not a beer historian, but if beer was so important to mankind in general, shouldn't there have been beer in parts of the world other than Europe or America? The book focuses solely on those locations, which seems too European-centric.
4. The artwork can be rather weak at times.
January 25, 2020
Someone sent this to me at the time I marked my fourth decennial, but didn't pop a card or return address in there, so they remain safely anonymous whereas I remain fucking forty. So, thanks, yo, whoever you are!
As I don't know anything about brewing, I can't comment on the presentation of the production process or the history of different varieties (lambics, doppel, porter, &c.). Cool, though, that beer does in fact have a history. (I imagine there must be an Althusser of brewing out there who has said that 'Beer has no history," however.)
Amusing, the presentation of the ancient history of beer, wherein, say, the bloodlust of Sakhmat is assuaged only because the Egyptians offered her a cold one. To think mathematically about that, it must mean that beer may substitute in for blood, which makes all'y'all beer drinkers (I'm more of a wine drinker) basically equivalent to vampires. Hemophages. Gross!
As I don't know anything about brewing, I can't comment on the presentation of the production process or the history of different varieties (lambics, doppel, porter, &c.). Cool, though, that beer does in fact have a history. (I imagine there must be an Althusser of brewing out there who has said that 'Beer has no history," however.)
Amusing, the presentation of the ancient history of beer, wherein, say, the bloodlust of Sakhmat is assuaged only because the Egyptians offered her a cold one. To think mathematically about that, it must mean that beer may substitute in for blood, which makes all'y'all beer drinkers (I'm more of a wine drinker) basically equivalent to vampires. Hemophages. Gross!
October 3, 2015
A VERY detailed history of beer. At times it was a little slow, but overall a good read. I learned a lot and the illustrations were superb.
June 25, 2016
Many thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for a digital Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my review.
Don't let the fun comics format lull you into thinking this is simply a light romp about drinking beer. Sure, that may be where it starts, but it is so much more. This is a history book, complete with footnotes and references (a few are in the book, but the full list of chapter notes can be found on their website) and an index! Not only will you be entertained, you will be educated. This is a history class you wish you had in college. Like a good brewery tour, you will learn about the process of making beer, though an even more detailed account. But that's only the beginning.
My favorite way to study history is take a topic and follow it over time and throughout a geographic area, noting its cultural, religious, and economic impact. Beer makes a good such focal point because it has been around (in one form or another) for millennia, and is drunk the world over. (Also, I'm a big fan, and can be rather beer-snobish.) "Around the globe, people consume more beer than coffee, wine, and even Coca-cola."
Yet, the industry as we know it today, is vastly different than it has been over time. "For nearly all of human history, brewing and serving beer has been an almost exclusively female enterprise!" In ancient Summaria, the goddess of beer, Ninkasi, was worshiped for bringing this sweet nectar to the people. Only a few centuries ago, "Beer made a decided emergence from the kitchen. Brewing became a male business that generated manly profits. In large part, women were squeezed out. Ninkasi would have wept. The death knell had sounded for the millennia-old tradition of Alewives and Brewsters."
The basic ingredients of beer today have been the same for centuries, but the addition of hops was no less than revolutionary. The preservative qualities meant that consumption did not need to happen within a week or so, but the drink could be stored for longer times, and therefore shipped beyond the immediate brewing area. A current beer trend is to play with the flavors, varieties, and intensity ("an arms race with hops"), but hops is frequently an acquired taste. In fact, "for most of beer's history, adding hops would have been about as common and acceptable as using, say, asparagus, as a flavoring." (For those with allergies, beer without hops can be found, though you may need to do some searching.)
The second half of the book focuses on the US. Even the pilgrims were fans of beer, but the country (officially) went dry during prohibition. During that time, alcohol manufacturers had to find other products to produce ("some breweries turned to making ice cream”), but the smaller companies weren’t able to last. After prohibition was repealed -- during your next argument over who may claim the Greatest President title, keep in mind that "newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt proposed to immediately reauthorize the manufacture and sale of beer” -- the largest surviving breweries got even bigger, and began to compete within a narrow flavor profile. “The desires of American drinkers led them to the same sort of product: inoffensive, mass-produced blonde, light-bodied, 'drinkable' lagers with little or no cumulative bitterness.” American Lagers are often snubbed by today’s craft beer drinkers, yet “remains the most widely consumed beers brewed in the world.” It may be no coincidence that it pairs well with "hot dogs, peanuts, and cracker jacks.” (And, perhaps, apple pie?)
Despite this being the vast majority of beer consumed today, there have always been those on the fringes who seek something different, something unusual. Even during the mid-1400s -- when Bavarian purity laws began to require that beer could be made with nothing other than water, barley, hops (and yeast) -- there were “home brewers [who] experimented with a variety of ingredients." Today’s craft beer movement was born “in reaction to American Lager's ubiquity,” and has exponentially increased the number of producers. Post prohibition, but before home brewing was again legal in the US, “American breweries fell to an all-time low of just 44 breweries." Just 36 years later, “there are over 3,200 breweries in the U.S. And more than 2,000 are reported to be in planning!” Craft-beer drinkers may be in the minority, but, along with modern home brewers, we are driving an expansion of the market. “Brewers discovered that some American drinkers were willing to pay top dollar for handmade, flavorful, premium beer,” a fact which has led to us creating “a wider diversity of beers than any other nation in the world.”
Since I working in a library where there is an amazing collection of reading material available at no charge (not counting late fees), I rarely buy books. But I enjoyed this book so much, it is one of my exceptions for this year. I picked up my own copy at a local bookstore so I could bring it to show off at Bier Klasse and loan to friends. (I may even buy copies as gifts.)
Read this book with your favorite brew (perhaps one mentioned in the story), and with your next beer, raise your glass to Ninkasi!
The Beers (etc):
p 2 - PBR - can
p 9 - Bass - bottle
p 11 - Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu - bottle
p 46 - La Lorraine - mug
p 60 - Classic examples of Lambics: Boon Oude Gueuze; Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus; Drie Fonteinen Kriek; Allagash Resurgam p 61 - several - bottles
p 65 - Classic examples of Trappist Dubbels: Wesmalle Dubbel; Chimay Premiere (red label); La Trappe Dubbel; Ommegang Abbey Ale; Sierra Nevada Oliva Abbey Dubbbel
p 83 - Classic examples of Bocks: Einbecker Ur-Bock Dunkel; Spaten Optimator; Eku 28; Tommyknocker Butt Head Bock
p 88 - Fraunce's Tavern Extra Lager Beer - sign
p 94 - Classic examples of Porters: Fuller's London Porter; Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter; Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald; Anchor Porter
p 96 - Guinness - brewery
p 97 - Classic examples of India Pale Ales: Meantime India Pale Ale; Bell's Two Hearted Ale; Stone IPA; Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale
p 108 - Classic examples of Pilsners: Pilsner Urquell; Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar in the US); Victory Prima Pils; Bitburger Pils - classic example of a Pilsner; Brooklyn Pilsner
p 109 - Michelob, Labatt Blue, Heineken, Sapporo, Corona
p 112 - Budweiser - bottles
p 115 - Carlsberg Brewery
p 123 - Jacob Ruppert Knickerbocker - bottle
p 128 - Schlitz; John Haucks Beers; Pabst blue Ribbon
p 129 - Krueger's Finest Beer - can
p 132 - Groves & Whitnall, Barclay Perkins, Whitbread, Watneys - breweries
p 133 - Hamm's - ad
p 134 - Gabliner's Beer - can
p 134 - Lite Beer from Miller - bottle
p 135 - Classic examples of American Lagers: Budweiser, Miller, Coors
p 136 - Heineken - ad
p 137 - Anchor Steam - pint
p 138 - Watney's Party Seven bitter - party can
p 139 - Kruger's Bar
p 141 - CAMRA: CAMpaign for Real Ale
p 142 - Anchor - Christmas ale, hoppy ale, barley wine, porter
p 143 - several - bottles
p 144 - New Albion - label
p 146 - Classic examples of American Pale Ales: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale; Dale's Pale Ale
p 154 - Bert Grant's Brewery Pub; The Hopland Brewery
p 155 - Pitsburgh Brewing Co. - bottlecap
p 156 - Samuel Adams Boston Lager - bottle
p 157 - Classic examples of Belgian Wits: Hoegaarden Wit; Allagash White; Blue Moon Belgian White
Don't let the fun comics format lull you into thinking this is simply a light romp about drinking beer. Sure, that may be where it starts, but it is so much more. This is a history book, complete with footnotes and references (a few are in the book, but the full list of chapter notes can be found on their website) and an index! Not only will you be entertained, you will be educated. This is a history class you wish you had in college. Like a good brewery tour, you will learn about the process of making beer, though an even more detailed account. But that's only the beginning.
My favorite way to study history is take a topic and follow it over time and throughout a geographic area, noting its cultural, religious, and economic impact. Beer makes a good such focal point because it has been around (in one form or another) for millennia, and is drunk the world over. (Also, I'm a big fan, and can be rather beer-snobish.) "Around the globe, people consume more beer than coffee, wine, and even Coca-cola."
Yet, the industry as we know it today, is vastly different than it has been over time. "For nearly all of human history, brewing and serving beer has been an almost exclusively female enterprise!" In ancient Summaria, the goddess of beer, Ninkasi, was worshiped for bringing this sweet nectar to the people. Only a few centuries ago, "Beer made a decided emergence from the kitchen. Brewing became a male business that generated manly profits. In large part, women were squeezed out. Ninkasi would have wept. The death knell had sounded for the millennia-old tradition of Alewives and Brewsters."
The basic ingredients of beer today have been the same for centuries, but the addition of hops was no less than revolutionary. The preservative qualities meant that consumption did not need to happen within a week or so, but the drink could be stored for longer times, and therefore shipped beyond the immediate brewing area. A current beer trend is to play with the flavors, varieties, and intensity ("an arms race with hops"), but hops is frequently an acquired taste. In fact, "for most of beer's history, adding hops would have been about as common and acceptable as using, say, asparagus, as a flavoring." (For those with allergies, beer without hops can be found, though you may need to do some searching.)
The second half of the book focuses on the US. Even the pilgrims were fans of beer, but the country (officially) went dry during prohibition. During that time, alcohol manufacturers had to find other products to produce ("some breweries turned to making ice cream”), but the smaller companies weren’t able to last. After prohibition was repealed -- during your next argument over who may claim the Greatest President title, keep in mind that "newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt proposed to immediately reauthorize the manufacture and sale of beer” -- the largest surviving breweries got even bigger, and began to compete within a narrow flavor profile. “The desires of American drinkers led them to the same sort of product: inoffensive, mass-produced blonde, light-bodied, 'drinkable' lagers with little or no cumulative bitterness.” American Lagers are often snubbed by today’s craft beer drinkers, yet “remains the most widely consumed beers brewed in the world.” It may be no coincidence that it pairs well with "hot dogs, peanuts, and cracker jacks.” (And, perhaps, apple pie?)
Despite this being the vast majority of beer consumed today, there have always been those on the fringes who seek something different, something unusual. Even during the mid-1400s -- when Bavarian purity laws began to require that beer could be made with nothing other than water, barley, hops (and yeast) -- there were “home brewers [who] experimented with a variety of ingredients." Today’s craft beer movement was born “in reaction to American Lager's ubiquity,” and has exponentially increased the number of producers. Post prohibition, but before home brewing was again legal in the US, “American breweries fell to an all-time low of just 44 breweries." Just 36 years later, “there are over 3,200 breweries in the U.S. And more than 2,000 are reported to be in planning!” Craft-beer drinkers may be in the minority, but, along with modern home brewers, we are driving an expansion of the market. “Brewers discovered that some American drinkers were willing to pay top dollar for handmade, flavorful, premium beer,” a fact which has led to us creating “a wider diversity of beers than any other nation in the world.”
Since I working in a library where there is an amazing collection of reading material available at no charge (not counting late fees), I rarely buy books. But I enjoyed this book so much, it is one of my exceptions for this year. I picked up my own copy at a local bookstore so I could bring it to show off at Bier Klasse and loan to friends. (I may even buy copies as gifts.)
Read this book with your favorite brew (perhaps one mentioned in the story), and with your next beer, raise your glass to Ninkasi!
The Beers (etc):
p 2 - PBR - can
p 9 - Bass - bottle
p 11 - Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu - bottle
p 46 - La Lorraine - mug
p 60 - Classic examples of Lambics: Boon Oude Gueuze; Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus; Drie Fonteinen Kriek; Allagash Resurgam p 61 - several - bottles
p 65 - Classic examples of Trappist Dubbels: Wesmalle Dubbel; Chimay Premiere (red label); La Trappe Dubbel; Ommegang Abbey Ale; Sierra Nevada Oliva Abbey Dubbbel
p 83 - Classic examples of Bocks: Einbecker Ur-Bock Dunkel; Spaten Optimator; Eku 28; Tommyknocker Butt Head Bock
p 88 - Fraunce's Tavern Extra Lager Beer - sign
p 94 - Classic examples of Porters: Fuller's London Porter; Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter; Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald; Anchor Porter
p 96 - Guinness - brewery
p 97 - Classic examples of India Pale Ales: Meantime India Pale Ale; Bell's Two Hearted Ale; Stone IPA; Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale
p 108 - Classic examples of Pilsners: Pilsner Urquell; Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar in the US); Victory Prima Pils; Bitburger Pils - classic example of a Pilsner; Brooklyn Pilsner
p 109 - Michelob, Labatt Blue, Heineken, Sapporo, Corona
p 112 - Budweiser - bottles
p 115 - Carlsberg Brewery
p 123 - Jacob Ruppert Knickerbocker - bottle
p 128 - Schlitz; John Haucks Beers; Pabst blue Ribbon
p 129 - Krueger's Finest Beer - can
p 132 - Groves & Whitnall, Barclay Perkins, Whitbread, Watneys - breweries
p 133 - Hamm's - ad
p 134 - Gabliner's Beer - can
p 134 - Lite Beer from Miller - bottle
p 135 - Classic examples of American Lagers: Budweiser, Miller, Coors
p 136 - Heineken - ad
p 137 - Anchor Steam - pint
p 138 - Watney's Party Seven bitter - party can
p 139 - Kruger's Bar
p 141 - CAMRA: CAMpaign for Real Ale
p 142 - Anchor - Christmas ale, hoppy ale, barley wine, porter
p 143 - several - bottles
p 144 - New Albion - label
p 146 - Classic examples of American Pale Ales: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale; Dale's Pale Ale
p 154 - Bert Grant's Brewery Pub; The Hopland Brewery
p 155 - Pitsburgh Brewing Co. - bottlecap
p 156 - Samuel Adams Boston Lager - bottle
p 157 - Classic examples of Belgian Wits: Hoegaarden Wit; Allagash White; Blue Moon Belgian White
Read
September 27, 2024Wow. This was a very informative book. To honor the subject of this book, I'd crack a cold one every time I'd crack this book open. The format of graphic novel enhanced the storytelling; I don't always think a book needs to be a graphic novel, but the illustration of a story certainly brings a poetic -- and at times, dramatic -- angle. I did not see the poetic punch coming until the very end, but it landed, nonetheless. Would you believe me if I admitted that I cried reading a book about beer? Probably, since we're friends on GoodReads and it isn't below me to cry (despite my insistence that "I don't often cry") and so you know I read weird shit like a comic book about beer or a history book about color. Anyway. Totally great book.
August 24, 2025
Strip-priča o pivu privukla me u knjižnici svojom naslovnicom i činjenicom da je ne-fikcijski strip, a to je vrsta stripa koju sam dosad imala malo prilike čitati. Stoga uzeh ovaj o pivu jer mi je tema zanimljiva, a i volim tu i tamo popiti dobro pivo. Vise sam fan tamnog piva i kao pravi millenial, volim isprobavati razna craft piva. O tome je ovdje bila i riječ - o dugoj povijesti piva i njegovim raznim vrstama. I tu leži (moj) problem. Mitološki počeci i nedovoljno istražena povijest, skakanje posvuda i preskakanje nekih važnih stvari i vrlo poznatih europskih piva u svrhu uzdizanja američkih izgledalo mi je više kao sales pitch neke pivovare, nego stvarna posvećenost temi koja je, istina, dosta široka, ali ne i nesavladiva. Čak se mogla razlomiti i u više tomova.
S druge strane, ilustracije su dobre i na zabavan i zanimljiv način prikazuju određene segmente pivarstva, načina varenja i samih vrsta piva i njihovih sličnosti i razlika pa sam neke stvari i naučila.
Sve u svemu, mislim da je strip bio odličan izbor medija za ovakvu vrstu teme iako je nedovoljno razrađena.
S druge strane, ilustracije su dobre i na zabavan i zanimljiv način prikazuju određene segmente pivarstva, načina varenja i samih vrsta piva i njihovih sličnosti i razlika pa sam neke stvari i naučila.
Sve u svemu, mislim da je strip bio odličan izbor medija za ovakvu vrstu teme iako je nedovoljno razrađena.
August 11, 2019
Beautifully drawn and entertaining. At times it took some strange asides that I did not entirely follow. Otherwise, very educational.
January 1, 2021
Informative, crisp art, covers a lot of history but doesn't feel too rushed. Also learned about the badass Carry A. Nation of the Temperance Movement, with the self-proclaimed nickname of the "Saloon Smasher" who "earned notoriety by carving a path of destruction across 1890s Kansas": " I opened the bungs of the beer kegs, and open the faucets of the barrels, and then the beer flew in every direction and I was completely saturated.
Give that lady a Netflix mini-series!
I did think it was a bit odd to draw all of the microbiological organisms as robots, considering they're alive. A stylistic choice I would not have made, but I guess they wanted to "show off the power of microbiology" and that was what the artist thought would work well.
Give that lady a Netflix mini-series!
I did think it was a bit odd to draw all of the microbiological organisms as robots, considering they're alive. A stylistic choice I would not have made, but I guess they wanted to "show off the power of microbiology" and that was what the artist thought would work well.
January 12, 2016
Delightfully refreshing, with a charming and strong finish, this Comic Book Story of Beer ranks high with all of our tasters...
...and you can see where I'm going with this. Seriously, though: packed with solid, documented history (and clearly marking simple assertions and conjecture when they occur) and lushly illustrated, this is one of the more fun histories of anything you will likely ever read.
...and you can see where I'm going with this. Seriously, though: packed with solid, documented history (and clearly marking simple assertions and conjecture when they occur) and lushly illustrated, this is one of the more fun histories of anything you will likely ever read.
April 24, 2018
If you're interested in beer, this is great. You'll learn a lot without feeling like you're studying. However, if you're looking for a good story ... this will not scratch your itch. The comic style is nice but feels very chaotic because it wants to stay true to the subject matter. Recommended for every aspiring beek geek, but not so much for the comic lovers among us.
January 1, 2022
I thought I knew all about beer but this put it in context of world history which was pretty cool.
April 12, 2025
I’ve been reading a lot of informational comics lately. While reading Jonathan Hennessey’s The Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, I checked out what else he had written. I immediately ordered The Comic Book Story of Beer from my local library.
Like the Constitution book, the beer book is very cleverly illustrated. Aaron McConnell doesn’t merely depict yeast organisms but depicts them as little robotic-dinosaur looking creatures. When Hennessey says that the hop was looked down upon and in the farm league, McConnell depicts a hop in a baseball uniform sitting on the bench. This bit of humor in the art keeps this somewhat dense read a bit more light.
Overall, I think the writing was good but definitely had some major flaws. Hennessey makes a lot of generalizations (did he really just imply that Christians looked down on the “barbarians” because they drank beer instead of wine?) and a few bizarre leaps of logic (did he really just say that the reason modern beer companies use buxom beauties in their ads is because in ancient mythologies beer was usually associated with goddesses?).
But, that being said, there is a lot of good information presented here (which I mostly knew from other sources). I particularly enjoyed the single pages that outlined a beer style. And I learned a few new things! I had no idea that “bridal” comes from “bride ale” (a fact checked this because it seemed unbelievable). I didn’t know that (by legend, at least) the lidded beer stein was started during the Black Plague.
So overall, it’s a very didactic read with some weak spots but great art work.
Like the Constitution book, the beer book is very cleverly illustrated. Aaron McConnell doesn’t merely depict yeast organisms but depicts them as little robotic-dinosaur looking creatures. When Hennessey says that the hop was looked down upon and in the farm league, McConnell depicts a hop in a baseball uniform sitting on the bench. This bit of humor in the art keeps this somewhat dense read a bit more light.
Overall, I think the writing was good but definitely had some major flaws. Hennessey makes a lot of generalizations (did he really just imply that Christians looked down on the “barbarians” because they drank beer instead of wine?) and a few bizarre leaps of logic (did he really just say that the reason modern beer companies use buxom beauties in their ads is because in ancient mythologies beer was usually associated with goddesses?).
But, that being said, there is a lot of good information presented here (which I mostly knew from other sources). I particularly enjoyed the single pages that outlined a beer style. And I learned a few new things! I had no idea that “bridal” comes from “bride ale” (a fact checked this because it seemed unbelievable). I didn’t know that (by legend, at least) the lidded beer stein was started during the Black Plague.
So overall, it’s a very didactic read with some weak spots but great art work.
December 15, 2019
The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution is a graphic novel written by the team of Jonathan Hennessey and Mike Smith and illustrated by Aaron McConnell. This graphic novel probes the history of beer.
This graphic novel takes the reader from ancient fermentation processes to today's craft breweries, authors Hennessey and Smith present an engaging look at the importance of beer in humanity's cultural history.
The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution is written and constructed extremely well. With meticulous research, the authors open the readers' minds to the possibility that beer helped shape the course of civilization, but showing how, in each age, beer played a significant role in helping shape human affairs. McConnell's illustrations are a perfect accompaniment and his sometimes amusing, sometimes intriguing, and sometimes provocative visuals have all the qualities of this favorite beverage.
All in all, The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution is a wonderful graphic novel about one of humanity’s favorite alcoholic beverages – beer.
This graphic novel takes the reader from ancient fermentation processes to today's craft breweries, authors Hennessey and Smith present an engaging look at the importance of beer in humanity's cultural history.
The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution is written and constructed extremely well. With meticulous research, the authors open the readers' minds to the possibility that beer helped shape the course of civilization, but showing how, in each age, beer played a significant role in helping shape human affairs. McConnell's illustrations are a perfect accompaniment and his sometimes amusing, sometimes intriguing, and sometimes provocative visuals have all the qualities of this favorite beverage.
All in all, The Comic Book Story of Beer: The World's Favorite Beverage from 7000 BC to Today's Craft Brewing Revolution is a wonderful graphic novel about one of humanity’s favorite alcoholic beverages – beer.
September 24, 2023
A delightfully entertaining and educational book! Not only did it provide me with a more complete understanding of the beer brewing process, even after I had already read a comprehensive book on beer (The World Atlas of Beer), read many internet pages and visited several breweries and brew pubs around the world, but it also puts beer in a historic context that is very fascinating. Instead of simply giving you the history of beer, this book instead wraps it into a brief world history with focus on beer’s often important or notable role in human history and at key historic events.
All the classical beer styles are introduced in a seamless fashion throughout the book by the use of «Meet the beer» single pages; part fact sheet, part summary, part fun fact.
The fantastic comic book drawings, with changing styles according to the historical context, makes this a visually immersive experience. Combined with great writing and a careful selection of interesting history and facts, without going too deep into each part, makes it a great read for both the history interested and the beer interested alike. If you’re into both, this is a book you should have in your collection!
All the classical beer styles are introduced in a seamless fashion throughout the book by the use of «Meet the beer» single pages; part fact sheet, part summary, part fun fact.
The fantastic comic book drawings, with changing styles according to the historical context, makes this a visually immersive experience. Combined with great writing and a careful selection of interesting history and facts, without going too deep into each part, makes it a great read for both the history interested and the beer interested alike. If you’re into both, this is a book you should have in your collection!
July 6, 2020
Gets the Catholic Church completely wrong. Just more anti-Catholic propaganda thrown into a story that doesn’t even need to touch this topic. Catholic priests, friars, and nuns were the only individuals who willingly exposed themselves to plague-ridden people and attempted to heal them. Catholics founded the first hospitals in the Western world. This comic book makes it appear as though Catholics in the Medieval era had no understanding of medicine, science, or personal hygiene, which is completely inaccurate. These “historians” need to stop proposing lies and do some real research.
Apart from that, I enjoyed the second chapter which explained the process of brewing beer. I think the writers tried to cover too broad a topic because there wasn’t really any well-researched history, and it jumped around too much, failing to tie everything together. It was based more on myths and legends than fact. But I did like the artwork.
Apart from that, I enjoyed the second chapter which explained the process of brewing beer. I think the writers tried to cover too broad a topic because there wasn’t really any well-researched history, and it jumped around too much, failing to tie everything together. It was based more on myths and legends than fact. But I did like the artwork.
February 24, 2018
I thought this was just OK. There's a lot of decent information about the history of beer, although most of it was already familiar to me. (I did, however, learn that there is now a certified Trappist monastery brewery in Spencer, Massachusetts!) Ultimately I didn't feel like the book did anything in particular to leverage the graphic novel format--the illustrations don't have a strong characteristic style, nor did they seem to tell the story any better than you could tell it in words. (But if you just used words, I guess it wouldn't have been enough for a book!) Finally, negative points for some unnecessarily sexualized illustrations of women (primarily of the Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi).
February 7, 2024
Of all the religious books out there, i'm going to adopt this one as my sole Spiritual life guide. Hail to Beer and all the beerdrinkers out there. 🍻
Thank you Inês and Tiago for this great Comic Book.
Thank you Inês and Tiago for this great Comic Book.
January 12, 2025
Phenomenal book to give a comprehensive overview of the history of beer. I also love the profiles on various beer styles. As a brewery tour guide, this is a great resource for gaining knowledge to share with my guests.
April 25, 2023
i highly recommended skipping the first five pages and the last five pages. otherwise, an entertaining, engaging, and enthralling read. a total crash course of beer history.
October 3, 2023
Picked this up while browsing my local library. It’s a fun format for nonfiction and reminded me of the DK books that used to fill my book bag on weekly library trips. Will have to check out the other topics in this series
June 14, 2025
Quite possibly the most important history book ever written.
March 19, 2020
We were born too late to explore the world, too soon to explore the universe, but right in time to explore the widest variety of great beers in human history. And thats something to be grateful for.
February 8, 2017
This book is a decently thorough, yet concise, book on beer, not only its history, but on the science behind the brewing process. Hennessey, who has written other graphic "novels" on history, and brewer Mike Smith, sift through a lot of history and come up with some new ideas. Like the fact that we can only date the history of beer back to 7000 BC because that's when people started making it in pottery that can be found today; animal skins or wooden vessels from earlier times would have decayed away. The authors delve a bit further, too, into other aspects of beer history that are just touched on elsewhere: the fact that Rome and the Greeks were responsible for denigrating this universal brew only because THEY had wine grapes (and once Christian Rome fell to those beer-swilling barbarians, it was up to the far flung, beer brewing Irish monasteries to keep civilization going); the centuries-long role of women as primary brewers (and the first "public houses" were likely the homes where the lady of the house was good at her craft). I could summarize more "I never thought of that" bits, but let's move on.
Sprinkled through the book are one-page infographics of historic beer styles, like bock, Trappist dubbel, porter, IPA, American lager, American pale ale, and Pierre Celis' resurrected Belgian wit. These summaries do mention the current scholarship questioning the accepted origins for porter and IPA, the usual "A-Ha!" traps beer geeks like to find.
The book concludes with a section on the resurgence in craft brewing and an appreciation of the worldwide, American-led, craft brewing renaissance. Like a good beer, it's filling yet easy to take, and keeps you coming back for more.
Sprinkled through the book are one-page infographics of historic beer styles, like bock, Trappist dubbel, porter, IPA, American lager, American pale ale, and Pierre Celis' resurrected Belgian wit. These summaries do mention the current scholarship questioning the accepted origins for porter and IPA, the usual "A-Ha!" traps beer geeks like to find.
The book concludes with a section on the resurgence in craft brewing and an appreciation of the worldwide, American-led, craft brewing renaissance. Like a good beer, it's filling yet easy to take, and keeps you coming back for more.
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