Brewdog: Craft Beer for the People

by Richard Taylor, James Watt, Martin Dickie

How to understand and enjoy craft beer, from one of the most exciting new beer brands.

BrewDog is one of the world's fastest-growing food and drink brands. Well known for their crowd-funded, rapid expansion and iconoclastic approach, the company now has a wide range of award-winning craft beers (67 to date) that are stocked by every major retailer, 55 BrewDog-branded bars around the world and has just opened a major brewery in Ohio. Their first beer book focuses on explaining craft beer to the widest possible audience.

It includes:

a survey of what makes craft beer great
how to understand different beer styles
how to cook with beer and match beers with food


and even how to brew your own.

Designed in the highly individual style of the brand, the book includes quirky features such as spaces to place a drop of beer once you've ticked a particular beer off your 'to-drink' list and a DIY beer mat.

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

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2017

Reviews

[Jordi Balcells · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5, faltaba más. ¡Mi primogénito querido! Bueno, es mi sobrino más bien, que padres ya tenía cuando me lo presentaron. Un libro completísimo y hermoso como él solo: nociones básicas sobre la cerveza, repaso exhaustivo a estilos, directrices básicas de elaboración, recetas de marcas muy conocidas (¡no solo BrewDog!), recetas de cocina y maridaje y mucho más. ¡Muy rico!

[David Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't nearly as pretentious as I feared it would be. BrewDog aren't afraid to toot their own horn in quite an annoying way, but they mostly came across well in this, with lots of inclusions of other breweries and beers, so that was nice.

It was more interesting than I thought it'd be - it could easily have been a very dry, dull read, and stretches were, but it had enough variation and kept things relatively brief so it was quite readable. definitely a toilet-side book, but still.

The auto-biographal parts were quite interesting. The scientific parts were nothing I haven't seen before. Loads on home-brewing, which went a bit over my head, and I probably would have gotten much more from it if I was into that. Some food pairing tips and recipes were interesting, and I might try a couple. The beer profile parts were probably the most enjoyable - learning about some of the history and evolution of different styles that I had no idea about.

I wasn't really sure about the tone or the intended audience throughout though. It often reads like it's aimed at complete beer novices and it's meant to be their guide to discovering a world outside of industrial lager, but I can't imagine anyone picking this up who didn't already have a pretty big interest in craft beer anyway, especially since it was sent out to BrewDog shareholders. Felt a little off!

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Craft Beer for the People is a great introductory book on the subject of beer and brewing. The book is definitely aimed at people with little to no knowledge of beer, and people who may not even particularly like beer. That being said, there are definitely some interesting and informative parts of the book for people who are more knowledgeable about beer, and even the introductory parts have some good insights and pieces of information that I wasn't familiar with.

I particularly enjoyed the sections of the book focusing on Brewdog's history and their beers - they were fascinating windows into the operation and lore of one of today's more unique breweries. I also really liked the beer-themed recipes towards the end of the book, and I'm looking forward to trying them!

Overall, Craft Beer for the People is a great overview of beer and brewing - outlining the brewing process, explaining different beer styles and how they relate to each other, and even detailing how to enjoy and appreciate beer. I think this is a great book for beer fans of all skill and knowledge levels, particularly for those who are also fans of Brewdog.

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve ever had a proper brewery tour and a beer tasting training, this book probably doesn’t offer much extra to what you already know. Given as a freebie to Equity for Punks shareholders, this book combines the essential knowledge of BrewDog classics, beer brewing, how to get started with home brewing and as the cherry on the top, recipes for many BrewDog beers and food and how to pair them. It’s not all just about BrewDog beers though. I got this book years ago but I just didn’t bother reading it until now. Well well, better late than never.

[Cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second beer book I've read, and I feel that it strikes the balance between an enthusiastic pub chat with mates and gems of uncommon knowledge. There seems to have been very little crossover between my drinking experience and theirs, so I'm left a little unsure of exactly what I know fits in each style. I also didn't really need the homebrewing info and definitely not the recipes

You're still here? Okay, I'll tell you of my experience with beer. I grew up near Faversham, home of Kent brewers Shepherd Neame and theirs were the common offerings most places. My dad would give me the odd sip of his beer, and it was nice enough but I didn't really get the appeal. He joined CAMRA, and that was more like it and I would finish the odd half.
Then I found a bottle of Fraoch, and that was the stuff. I'm not a big drinker, but I do appreciate a good beer above all else. Nearly a decade of working around the UK and Europe taught me that having existed for centuries is no guarantee of enjoyment, bock isn't just what chickens say, there absolutely should be banana in there, and liking the name is often a good sign. Also, being told "you'll like this" usually means the opposite, but have the decency to try.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Craft Beer for the People, written by Richard Taylor, James Watt, and Martin Dickie from Brewdog, is in equal parts a marketing manual for Brewdog's many beers and an engaging and informative introduction to the world of craft beer. In fairness, they're pretty open about the fact that they're promoting their own beers, and are equally passionate about encouraging people to try craft beers from other brewers and experiment with their own styles by homebrewing. For every one Brewdog beer they recommend, they're sure to recommend a handful of similar style beers from their competitors. Their revolution is very much against the industrial-scale brewers producing tasteless lagers, rather than any other craft brewers. The book contains lots of information about the brewing process, the various different styles of beer, how you can learn to taste beer properly, about what sorts of beers to pair with what sorts of food, and so on. It will all seem very pretentious to those who don't enjoy craft beer, but who cares what they think? 6/10

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Brewdog beers and I also love trying other types of craft beer, so this was an easy book to enjoy.
It's an interesting and fascinating insight into how Brewdog started with two guys their dog and a home brew set up in their shed, how the legendary beer hunter Michael Jackson told them to go for it full time and of course the rest is history.
A very high quality book with colour pictures throughout and selected Brewdog recipes for the home brewer to attempt to replicate the beers at home. There is also a section on food - what types of beer are best enjoyed with what dishes and even recipes utilising certain types of beer.
It doesn't just exclusively feature Brewdog beers, in fact they go to lengths to explain the beers that were inspiration for them to develop their own recipes.
An excellent book for anyone interested in craft beer, home brewing or even cooking with beer.

[Steven Gresham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a massive beer drinker but this has really opened my eyes to the skill and passion of craft brewers. A great book for any beer lover but also anybody interested in being more mindful with their drinking. Far from promoting drinking, if focuses on refined appreciation of the beer - something I feel would benefit society and may help encourage a more responsible approach to alcohol in general.

The book is written in a friendly, informative way. It assumes very little of the reader. It's nicely put together and stylishly presented. Great for a book shelf or coffee table.

Highly recommend.

[Andy Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Christmas present, a lovely coffee -table book on craft beer. Not just that, though - this crams in a lot about beer, its brewing, and how to appreciate it. Obviously heavily influenced by its Brewdog brand, but gives a fair nod to a lot of other brewers and indeed in the fascinating home brew section inlcudes recipes for their beers and those of their friendly rivals evenly. Has a great section on enjoying beer with food, including what to look for in picking a beer to accompany a dish.
Took a long time to finish as this was my bedside book for the last few months, dipping into a bit at a time.

[Trashed Panda Brew Co · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as part of the welcome package of being a shareholder in brewdog and it's a lovely book to have on the shelf.

It's a book I keep revisiting as it's full of interesting articles into the theory of brewing good beer. If you've ever wondered how beer is made this book might be for you as it provides great explanations without complicating it with things you don't need to know.

There are beer recipes for how to recreate some of brewdogs best beers (I can't wait to try) and some mouth watering recipes for food that pairs well with the beers.

[Christoph Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a signed copy (I love signed books!) as a shareholder thanks to an Equity for Punks program.

Even so, this book is not only a biography or ad for BrewDog but includes a very good overview of brewing, of craft beer and how to get started on your craft beer journey. It ends with some nice recipes with beer.

If you're only looking to have one book on the matter of craft beer, this i not the worst choice as it touches on so many subjects.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long time ago, way back in history, when all there was to drink was nothing but cups of tea. Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops, and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops. A barrel of malt, a bushel of hops, you stir it around with a stick, the kind of lubrication to make your engine tick. Forty pints of wallop a day will keep away the quacks. It’s only eight pence hapenny and one and six in tax.

[Ramon van Dam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great summary of everything that involves craft beer. Not just a hardcover advertisement for Brew Dog, although it is written in their typical enthusiastic style that is also present on their labels.

I especially appreciate the original approach to their list of beer styles and the examples of pairing food with beer.

[Stephen Reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is some useful information in this book, but it is aimed more for the beginner. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy some of the beers that Brewdog make however too much of this book reads like blurb on one of their bottle labels i.e. very cringeworthy which put me off reading at times.

[Kevin K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, but would likely have enjoyed it to a greater extent had I known nothing about craft beer.

For me the best value were the cribbed recipes at the back. I now have a chance to make some Elvis Juice

[Alexander Hoksbergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuk boek, als je geïnteresseerd bent in craft bier, met humor geschreven

[Steven Pilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it does what it says on the tin . It's evangelical occasionally smart but won't convert you or interest you if craft beer is not your thing .

[Mr David Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to follow and also contains the real recipes for a lot of hit beers. Well worth it for that alone.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read, part biography of Brewdog, part glorification of beer.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative, funny and sharp - good for both beginners and beer aficionados alike.

[Fabio · Rating 5 out of 5]

It opened my eyes even more on the art of brewing, it gave me impulse to step up with my home brewing hobby.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was fairly interesting, but a large part of the book is just food recipes, pairings and recipes for their own beers to make at home.

[Tom Sims · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, if you want to read about craft beer and BrewDog.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting look at the craft beer industry from Brewdog, a company based in the UK, that is aimed at the beer drinker who enjoys trying brews that are different and unique. In 10 years they have been very successful and have grown from 2 guys and a dog to 750 employees and a dog.

These guys are truly experts in their field and they make no secret of their dislike of corporate breweries marketing fake craft beer, or buying a small brewery just to get the name.

There is a lot of information in this book, everything from the proper way to taste beer to how to brew your own. There is even a section of recipes to pair with beers. The book has a nice layout with lots of color photos, illustrations, charts, and sidebars. Headings and points of interest are in bold type making it easy to flip through and stop and read a topic that catches the eye. The writing style is engaging, fun, and informative.