Grape vs. Grain: A Historical, Technological, and Social Comparison of Wine and Beer

by Charles W. Bamforth

Why is wine considered more sophisticated even though the production of beer is much more technologically complex? Why is wine touted for its health benefits when beer has more nutritive value? Why does wine conjure up images of staid dinner parties while beer denotes screaming young partiers? Charles Bamforth explores several paradoxes involving these beverages, paying special attention to the culture surrounding each. He argues that beer can be just as grown-up and worldly as wine and be part of a healthy, mature lifestyle. Both beer and wine have histories spanning thousands of years. This is the first book to compare them from the perspectives of history, technology, nature of the market for each, quality attributes, types and styles, and the effect that they have on human health and nutrition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Brewing, Beer, Food, Food and Drink

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 209

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grape vs. Grain is a very accessible, yet relatively deep dive, into technical and scientific detail about beer and the process of making beer. I really enjoyed a talk Charlie gave at a beer symposium at Cal years ago, but I felt like Grape vs. Grain was so one-sided on the grain side that I think he missed a great opportunity to deeply compare, contrast, and educate. I still enjoyed the book a lot, but I’d recommend it only to people who are more interested in beer. I took the more superficial description for wine as a nice bonus.

[Brian]

A missed opportunity. Bamforth's technical knowledge and love of beer is obvious, but I doubt he'll do much to convert people from wine to beer. He starts with the premise that beer ought to be as highly regarded as wine and proceeds to spend the totality of the book cramming that point down the reader's throat. Note that I think he's spot on; beer is superior to wine in countless ways. At the same time, his evangelism was so forceful, I found myself thinking that perhaps the gulf isn't as wide as all that and there's more to wine than I originally thought. (For the record, there isn't.) If you're a beer fan, there's little in here that you don't already know. For the wine enthusiast, the smug tone will likely rub you the wrong way. On to "Tasting Beer", where I get to wallow in a technical analysis of the world's greatest drink.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beer is WAY more interesting than I ever thought about. Charles Bamforth (of UCD, by the way) is VERY passionate about it!

His writing is so-so, but his enthusiasm carries the book. Regardless of my longer-standing love for wine, it's fun to get excited about beer too, and I have been reminded to drink a glass a day of either for my health. Yum.

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's basically pro-beer propaganda from a man who has worked in the brewing industry for decades. His brilliance is obvious but the book is shockingly boring and bland, much like the drivel created every day by Anheuser-Busch.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written essays on beer and wine and their differences. Even if it's clearly aimed at "uplifting" the beer image, I never felt a bias against wine.

[Lupo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bamforth, inglese per decenni impegnato nell'industria birraria e poi docente all'Università della California, cerca in questo libro di dare una dignità sociale alla birra, sottolinea come ci sono tutte le condizioni perché questa bevanda stia alla pari del vino. Impegno sacrosanto! Il libro, che contiene molte informazioni utili ed è scritto in tono leggero e spiritoso, contiene però diversi difetti: mancano degli schemi che rendano visibili a colpo d'occhio i processi di fabbricazione della birra, molto più complessi di quelli del vino, costringendo alla lunga rilettura chi volesse recuperare queste informazioni; è scritto per il pubblico americano e quindi riserva al panorama americano uno spazio sovradimensionato; è pieno di ripetizioni: ci sono cose scritte 3-4 volte, a volte ripetute a distanza di due pagine; le critiche agli enologi a volte sono sacrosante (Chateau Profit Exorbitant), a volte sembrano francamente tirate per i capelli; infine, la traduzione cigola in diversi punti, soprattutto dove il discorso si fa tecnico.
Nonostante tutto, merito a Donzelli che lo ha portato sul mercato italiano. Speriamo che leggendolo, i più abbandonino la cattiva abitudine di bere la birra dalla bottiglia!
15.7.2009

Aggiunta del 3 febbraio 2018:
Purtroppo il numero di persone che beve birra dalla bottiglia aumenta giorno dopo giorno ma in peggio in questi nove anni nel mondo della birra è l'inusitato successo delle birre artigianali italiane. Costosissime e inconsistenti, soprattutto nel retrogusto, e ne ho bevute un certo numero, purtroppo, sempre nella speranza di trovarne finalmente una buona. E' triste constatare poi come i birrai "artigianali" italiani si siano iscritti di diritto al ricco club degli "Chateau Profit Exorbitant". Meritevoli di nota, in particolare, Chateau del Borgo e Chateau Baladin. A quei prezzi prendo un bel volo low-cost per Monaco di Baviera o Praga o Bruxelles.

[Samuel Gaeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly biased comparison of beer vs wine, with the author overtly siding with beer. Have some funny comparisons of beer can wine and raised some good questions about why wine is more highly regarded: their QC is less than beers, there is less variance among wine products, making wine is much simpler. It was good read that was a bit preachy at times about how the general public doesn’t appreciate beer as much as they should, and sometimes dove into deep chemistry regarding the compounds that give beer and wine their flavor

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a professor of brewing, the basic thesis of this book is that beer should have social status equal to wine. I, of course, agree. This guy takes it a little too far though. He has a hard time saying a nice thing about wine without saying three nice things about beer. He repeats himself. The beer chapters all have significant more detail than the wine chapters. He needs a proofreader (seriously).

I found the book really interesting. It had a lot of great facts on beer and wine - historical, how each is made, varieties, healthfulness, etc. I learned a lot, but found his style and attitude annoying. A big wine fan would have found it even more annoying.

If you are going to read, I suggest that you learn a little about the brewing process first. He doesn't do a great job of explaining some more technical beer/brewing terms, and the book gets somewhat scientific.

Final verdict: interesting, an acceptable wine base for me to start building off of, but quite annoying.

[Tonari · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Let us not forget that a major brewing company will be producing beer 24 hours a day for 365 days of the year. There is no concept of a crush for them: all hell let loose for a few weeks after the grapes enter the winery. It is always a mystery to me what those wine guys do for the rest of the year."

I stopped here. Ok, you like beer and you want to promote its image as something more then a party-drink, but if you don't have the slightest idea of what happens in a winery (crushing grapes is just the beginning of the story, not the end) you would better avoid writing a book about wine and beer.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about the making of beer and wine along with the long histories of both drinks. The author seeks to elevate beer to a status similar to wine because of the complexity of brewing and the skill required to make beer.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most entertaining champions of beer I've encountered, and one that avoids the flip-side: beer snobbery.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better on the beer side of things than the wine, as Bamforth is unabashedly pro-brew. Still, I found it entertaining and informative on both liquids.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read.

[Mark]

http://www.mbaa.com/store/Pages/49371...

[Adam Norman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this book, but I found it difficult to read for more than a few minutes at a time. The information in the book was good, but I didn't enjoy reading it as much as I had hoped.