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The Brewer's Tale: A History of the World According to Beer

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Winner of 2014 U.S. Gourmand Drinks Award

Taste 5,000 years of brewing history as a time-traveling homebrewer rediscovers and re-creates the great beers of the past. The Brewer’s Tale is a beer-filled journey into the past: the story of brewers gone by and one brave writer’s quest to bring them―and their ancient, forgotten beers―back to life, one taste at a time. This is the story of the world according to beer, a toast to flavors born of necessity and place―in Belgian monasteries, rundown farmhouses, and the basement nanobrewery next door. So pull up a barstool and raise a glass to 5,000 years of fermented magic. Fueled by date-and-honey gruel, sour pediococcus-laced lambics, and all manner of beers between, William Bostwick’s rollicking quest for the drink’s origins takes him into the redwood forests of Sonoma County, to bullet-riddled South Boston brewpubs, and across the Atlantic, from Mesopotamian sands to medieval monasteries to British brewing factories. Bostwick compares notes with the Mt. Vernon historian in charge of preserving George Washington’s molasses-based home brew, and he finds the ancestor of today’s macrobrewed lagers in a nineteenth-century spy’s hollowed-out walking stick. Wrapped around this modern reportage are deeply informed tales of history’s archetypal brewers: Babylonian temple workers, Nordic shamans, patriots, rebels, and monks. The Brewer’s Tale unfurls from the ancient goddess Ninkasi, ruler of intoxication, to the cryptic beer hymns of the Rig Veda and down into the clove-scented treasure holds of India-bound sailing ships. With each discovery comes Bostwick’s own turn at the brew pot, an exercise that honors the audacity and experimentation of the craft. A sticky English porter, a pricelessly rare Belgian, and a sacred, shamanic wormwood-tinged gruit each offer humble communion with the brewers of yore. From sickly sweet Nordic grogs to industrially fine-tuned fizzy lager, Bostwick’s journey into brewing history ultimately arrives at the head of the modern craft beer movement and gazes eagerly if a bit blurry-eyed toward the future of beer.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2014

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William Bostwick

2 books3 followers

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5 stars
150 (21%)
4 stars
314 (44%)
3 stars
190 (26%)
2 stars
44 (6%)
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10 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
Profile Image for Michael.
7 reviews
June 8, 2015
At a couple's Christmas party, I brought two growlers of a brewpub's finest. A man in his early 70s stood around the growlers with us younger folk and as we drank and talked beer. He recommended The Brewer's Tale. I asked if it was a work of fiction because I am not a fan. His response was " It is non-fiction;I have no time for Fairy Tales". I picked it up after a month or two and was shocked that he had recommended a cutting edge, great work about beer. As a beer-neophyte, my knowledge of beer is basic. What I enjoyed about the book was how knowledge of beer was imparted through the lens of history, the author's trials as a amateur home brewer, and visiting the country's most renown breweries. The book completely raised my level of knowledge of the science behind the spirit and the process.

The book has helped me appreciate weird strains of beer from lambics to abbey ales. And it just may be the inspiration to start brewing. As for the man who recommended the text. He is a retired English professor from a Big Ten college.
Profile Image for Nancy.
8 reviews3 followers
October 15, 2015
Over descriptive fluff. I prefer more detailed facts and less embellished adjectives... I could barely get through it and I brew beer.
Profile Image for Derek VanRoekel.
103 reviews
June 15, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Most of this book was pretty good, and I particularly enjoyed learning the origins of various styles of beer.

I would have preferred Bostwick to spend less time on home-brewing stories. The most interesting part of the book to me was the last couple of chapters which discussed the evolution of beer in the US after the 1850s until today.

Overall, it’s a good read for someone who likes craft beer and is interested in learning more.
Profile Image for Randy Tenvoorde.
6 reviews1 follower
November 20, 2017
One of the most over-written, droll, "Look-at-me-I'm-a-witty-writer!", books on the topic of beer I've ever seen/read.

Facts (in quotes. "facts") are thrown around like one-offs at a cocktail party to look smart, all are wrapped in so much descriptive BS (look Ma, I used the whole thesaurus!), I'm pretty sure if the fluff was edited out, it would be a 60 page book. Might actually be more readable, but not necessarily accurate. As a home brewer, I look at how much time/words he spends talking about his brewing experience, I have trouble believing it as most of his beers (by his accounts) are failures. Apparently learning form experience isn't something that registers to him.

I have an extensive brewing and beer history library and tend to be a completist but this is one book that will be shoved in the Goodwill box. If you want to read exceptional and interesting histories and processes for brewing beer, check out Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer. I feel for anyone who purchased The Brewer's Tale for full price.

Avoid this book like acetobacter.
Profile Image for D. Ryan.
192 reviews23 followers
February 27, 2016
At first I was going to give this book 2 or 3 stars because I thought the author focused too much on his home-brewing and personal adventures and not enough on the history. But the second half of the book quenched my thirst. Overall, this book really increased my love and appreciate for beer and for our courageous forefathers who made it so, so good.
Profile Image for Paul Dearborn.
3 reviews
February 16, 2016
Very interesting and informative. It definitely makes me want to explore a lot more of the great world of beer...
Author 6 books253 followers
March 3, 2021
Man, I love beer. I like history, too. Although Bostwick gets some points for enthusiasm (because what could be more exciting than beer and history?) this book largely falls flat on its face. Lemme lay it on you:
1) Very little actual history. I thought I'd be getting a vast expanse of historical movement, beer trickling down the centuries, how it evolved and changed, how people used it. Instead, you get some little nudges towards that that get largely forgotten as the author moves from contemporary brewer to contemporary brewer in a tad suspicious hawking of their very specific wares. There isn't much actual history. The only section of interest, and it was fleeting, was when Bostwick started talking about the American beer universe and the establishment of the big name breweries, but there wasn't enough of that.
2) Some wrong history. The guy's not a historian, I can forgive some shit, but if you're writing a history book you better know that Napoleon wasn't "late 19th century", that Einbeck is nowhere near Bavaria, you don't mention Ceske Budovice vs Budweiser, and that, in fact, the difference between ale and lager matters quite a bit. Even I know that, and I don't know shit about shit.
3) Beer. This part is okay. Details on brewing is sporadic and a lot of it consists of the author's experiments. Fine, except this is supposed to be a history book. Bostwick does visit some interesting characters, but short thrift is given to standard beers and more attention given to those fucking weird beers you see at Total Wine that the guy with the monocle and waxed moustache is buying while you struggle to lift down two cases of Veltins from the upper racks sans employee.
What I'm saying is, if you care more about the Wormwood Chocolatte reserved edition Flaccid Penguin ale than, say, a nice fine cold Steigl Gold, you'll find much of value here. And why wear just the one monocle?
Profile Image for Nina.
1,862 reviews10 followers
September 1, 2023
Since I don't drink beer, I always thought beer was beer, with minor differences between brands. But it sounds like the differences and nuances are endless, based on the type and amount of hops (and even the soil they are grown in), types and percentages of various grains, types of sugars, types of yeast, and the wide variety of processes to produce it. The additives include every kind of fruit you can think of and nearly everything in your spice rack. The book made me wish I did like beer just to try some of the unusual and historic recipes out there. The author experiments in his own kitchen all the time. It sounds like fun and interesting chemistry. And when he goes drinking, he can chalk it up to research! (And just as there are wine snobs, there are also beer snobs. Who would have thought).
Profile Image for Vladimir.
125 reviews4 followers
October 6, 2017
the book is very well written: a perfect combination of the historical background of a beer brewing with a touch of the personal experience of the author, both brewing and tasting. There was a definite bias towards the American beer, not too much about ancient beer brewing. If author would add some more scientific studies into the book, that would turn it almost into university book (anthropology shelf).
Profile Image for Owen.
6 reviews
April 18, 2020
A great romp through the history of beer. Bostwick writes brilliantly about booze, and although not all of the history stacks up (The Shaman chapter plays a little fast and loose in places) this is someone who really knows their stuff and is happy to travel the world to track down the strangest brews.
Profile Image for Michael Huang.
1,033 reviews55 followers
October 18, 2023
The author covers a lot, anywhere from Babylonian worker’s gruel-style beer, those wonderful beers brewed by monks, to Miller light (technically, this one is flavored water). There’s technicality of what is a Trappist beer, quick bio of brewers, and report of his own effort reproducing many old (even ancient) beers. If you a beer snob, this is could be an interesting read.
Profile Image for Stephanie Harvey.
389 reviews3 followers
April 7, 2021
Interesting overview of beer history that follows a home brewers story. This would be a good one for someone new to beer to start out with.
Profile Image for Craig.
172 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2025
#Audible
Intriguing story: investigate and try to recreate/brew really old beers. But it was a slow read/listen.
1 review
August 25, 2015
Liking most any text to do with the fermented malted beverage, I looked forward to reading "The Brewer's Tale." However, it was quickly apparent that fact-checking and the actual art and science of brewing were not in the wheelhouse of the author. In one instance, the author admonishes lactobacillus (referencing it in the same breath as acetobacter), when, in fact, it is a critical organism for the production of lambic-style beers.

Throughout, the author takes on homebrewing projects that, repeatedly, fail. In one instance, he designs and attempt at re-creating a historical ale brewed during George Washington's time, but for some reason decides to add a bunch of holiday-esque spices to the batch even though the original recipe made no mention of them. While the author mentions that the recipe is merely a starting point for a beer, it seemed quite nonsensical for these spice additions, akin to someone on a recipe site saying, "I followed the recipe, but subbed quinoa for rice, ginger powder for fresh, and used margarine instead of butter. Terrible! One star!"

Toward the end, the message was muddled and rushed, with the writing unfocused and jumping haphazardly, seemingly from one subject to another (The whole Immigrant chapter seemed terse, concerning the breadth of history it encompasses). Tying in the absurd growth of the craft beer market in the US would have been a great conclusion (the growth is mentioned, but not expounded upon) as we are in a flourishing age of beer consumption.

However, there are some interesting facets throughout, which I enjoyed (the Sumerian origins, and the great snippets within The Immigrant chapter (notably the birth of Bohemian Pils).

Profile Image for Koen .
315 reviews4 followers
October 26, 2014
Amusing fast paced book about the history of beer. The author alternates between straight-up history, his own brewing experiments in which he tries to recreate old recipes and visits to present-day craft breweries.
The book is mainy focussed on America. It does give a nice introduction to the evolution of beer and is in no way academic in it's approach.
I learned a couple of things and thought it to be an entertaining read. Nothing more, nothing less. Shame i finished it in my lunch-break, i could go for a beer right now. ;-) Cheers!
Profile Image for Tim Hodge.
25 reviews
February 2, 2015
I can't remember the last time I learnt so much from a book. From the historical, through the anecdotal, to the downright scientific, Bostwick imparts well-researched and practiced knowledge of brewing and beer.

You get to know the author more throughout the book as he explores the role of brewer throughout time and geography. With a comprehensive index and reading list I'll be referring to this book for a long time yet.
Profile Image for Stephen.
Author 5 books12 followers
December 9, 2015
If a book can be evaluated by how often you stop and share what you are reading, his book rates highly. I enjoyed the history, the romance of beer-making, and even the honesty that some of his beer projects failed and that other tasted terrible. The history of beer is like all history - some of it should be Savoyard and recovered and others should be left where they were.
Profile Image for Hailey Cleek.
24 reviews18 followers
May 4, 2016
A great introductory overview on the history of beer – I came away knowing more about strains, styles, and stories in relation to beer development. The author provides nice details regarding home-brewing and his own adventures into discovering the history of beer both in America and beyond. I thought that this book was both interesting and approachable, and I’m looking forward to learning more!
Profile Image for Erica.
150 reviews1 follower
January 31, 2015
I don't know a whole lot about beer, but I found it pretty interesting and learned a lot. For someone who is a beer drinker, it might have a deeper meaning. It was interesting to see the types of beers that have been brewed through time, who made them and drank them.
261 reviews
June 25, 2016
This book got me excited about beer (as if I needed a book for that)!

It really drove home the point for me that there is no specific example of beer or any style, and worrying about things like purity and flavor jargon is a waste of time. Just enjoy beer. :-)
Profile Image for Jessica Condon.
56 reviews4 followers
May 21, 2017
This was absolutely fascinating. I encourage anyone who loves beer or history, or some mix of the two, to pick this up. It's an easy read- Bosteick weaves stories about the way of life, and how beer fit into it, during different points of time in humanity since the Ancient Egyptians. My favorite chapters had to be The Babylonian, The Monk, The Farmer, And The Patriot. I generally disliked the last chapter, The Advertiser, but only because I loved the character, and romance of the older chapters. Where beer has ended up, in the 21st Century, generally makes me sad. But then again, I'm a lover of history AND beer, and it seems my taste in beer tends to run towards the historical styles. Gimme all the stouts, porters or sours, please keep your modern lite lagers as far from me as possible.

My only regret in reading this book is that I didn't have, at hand, one of each style of beer he researches to drink as I was reading. Four stars, all day long. Cheers!
25 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2018
The book was enjoyable but I can't say I learned a lot from his experiences. It was interesting as he travelled but the bouncing around in some chapters was distracting. I'm afraid I put the book aside a few times so I can accurately recall the passage that annoyed me ( i think it was around lambics), but I felt inspite of his research and bibliography that there were parts that would not prove accurate. So much of it felt superficial rather than a journey (from Dogfish head to Miller). Compared to say Amber, Gold & and Black by Martyn Cornell which was indeed dense (lots of OG, and price per pint done in imperial coin) it was deeply facinating and Historically/Stylistically accurate. This was more on a par with The Perfect Keg by Ian Coutts (a worse book) or My beer year by Lucy Burningham (a far better book). Rather than a reference history more of a Bloggy experience narrative which rambles a bit.
Profile Image for Denise.
Author 1 book31 followers
February 7, 2017
Growing up, the only beer I can recall seeing at home was Bud. Some of my friend's parents preferred Coors. My opinion of beer, gross! Great slug killer in gardens. It took me until my mid twenties before I'd have the occasional Corona, with a slice of lime of course. Sometime between my childhood and my early adulthood, the shelves started to change in the refrigerated beer section. I didn't take notice until my husband caught the brewing bug in our later twenties. Where once the grocery shelves appeared to be shrines to light colored beers in cans, I noticed seemingly endless bottled varieties rivaling the wine selections. Naturally I was curious about how these treasures came to be. Mr. Bostwick takes the curious on an informative adventure through time and landscapes to give histories of the oldest, the newest, and mixes between.
581 reviews
June 7, 2017
Maybe I'm just not enough of a beer snob to have enjoyed it? I liked the historical discussions and Bostwick's adventures with modern craft brewers, but I could have done without all of his home brewing. I felt there was a sense of self-aggrandizement in it that I just really didn't like. He isn't snobby about what he makes, I just didn't care about it at all. I was far more interested in the history of beer and why it has become so popular.

I found the most interesting parts of the text to be about things in which I am already invested (Sierra Nevada, colonial brewing in Philadelphia (even if he does spend time at City Tavern, a place no local would ever enter), Porter, Dogfish Head, German immigrants and the rise of American lager and why Pilsner could originally only really be made in Pilsen.)

It was interesting in places. I just had a hard time getting through it.
Profile Image for Katharine.
319 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2022
The Brewer's Tale is part history, part travel adventure, part "fishing tale" (It was That Big! I swear!), all related to beer. I found the history part and the different ingredients used to make beer over the millennia to be especially interesting. But, the author's attempts at recreating those ancient beers, and his honest take on his friends' and family's reaction were also highly entertaining.
However, it bugged me a lot when some of the author's "facts" were clearly wrong (example: Miller Lite was not a clone recipe of a German beer called Diat. Google it.) because it made me question the history that I had been enjoying until I realized it might be just stuff made up to create a good story.
So, as long as you take the book as pure entertainment and don't try to quote it to make yourself look knowledgeable, it's a good read.
1 review
September 19, 2020
Easy enough reading, but this often read as an advertisement for the breweries the author visited. But pleae, take what the author says with a grain of salt! For something masquerading as a book about history it is riddled with errors. To me, the most frustrating was towards the end of the book, where a significant portion of the narrative is based on the incorrect belief that Einbeck is in Bavaria. What's unique about Einbeck is that if wasn't in Bavaria and because of this was able to make lighter tasting beers that did not comply with the purity law. That neither the author nor his editor so much as bothered to pick up Google maps is very disappointing, given such a significant portion of the book relies on this error.
Profile Image for Armando Araujo.
18 reviews3 followers
July 12, 2022
Based on the subtitle, I expected the content of this book to focus more on world history in an academic sense. The content interplays between historical facts and contemporary examples of beer making with a focus on craft beer in North America. If you're a fan of craft beer, you will likely still enjoy this book nonetheless.

The last two chapters, the Immigrant and the Advertiser, are by far my favorites and I wish the rest of the book were more structured like these chapters. I'd gladly read such a work if the author were to produce one.

Also, as someone who doesn't drink much beer nowadays, William's descriptions made me get up and go to Safeway for a pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. So do yourself a favor and have some good beer on hand while reading this.
Profile Image for Lou Florio.
198 reviews16 followers
June 25, 2022
As other reviewers note, the author is sometimes light on historical details (if not sometimes also off in depth and specificity) and heavy on flowery language. Yet if you approach this as a travel log recording his experience with beer's history, home brewing, and craft breweries, you will likely enjoy it as I did. It is a narrative tale aafter all, and it proves a personal one. It should not be confused with an academic treatise. In summarizing the experience of reading this book, consider his closing statement, "Each age has its tastes, each moment its perfect beer. The brewer adapts. His tale is still being told." Sit back and enjoy.
67 reviews2 followers
August 17, 2025
Meh.

I'll have to write a longer review, but I guess my issue is that I really wanted more history from it. It's a fun book, as far as it goes, but it's more of a personal diary or collection of blog posts. Indeed, some of what he recounts in the book is more legend or, less charitably, myths about beer and beer history than it is actual history. He'd rather recount what Sam Calagione tells him than do research.

Now, there's nothing wrong with this, but it's definitely *not* a history of the world according to beer. My money is on the publisher adding that subtitle.

All in all, it's a very well-written and entertaining book. Just not as advertised.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews

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