Ale & Arty: The story of beer

by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Almost two thousand years ago, the art of converting sprouted barley and wheat into a fizzy, amber-coloured alcoholic drink was discovered in Mesopotamia. This was the beginning of the fascinating story of beer. From Egypt and the Middle East (where it was subsequently banned for religious reasons), beer came to Europe, from where it travelled to the rest of the world, reaching the Indian subcontinent in the early eighteenth century. In this thoroughly-researched and anecdotal history of beer, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw recounts the rise of the great beer dynasties of the world, including stalwarts like Guinness, Carlsberg, Fosters and Anheuser-Busch. Drawing upon her long experience in the Indian beer industry, she explains the actual process of brewing, dwelling on the changing technology that allowed the production of different kinds of beer. For the beer enthusiast and dedicated pub-hopper, she has a section on the most unusual pubs in India and abroad, as well as a list of the world's best-selling beer brands. Adding to the value of the work are brilliant illustrations specially commissioned for this book, by well-known artists including Jatin Das, Yusuf Arakkal, S.G.

112 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2003