Obsessions: Craft Beer

by Ian Coutts

Craft beer is currently enjoying a massive global revolution with microbreweries popping up in every corner of the globe from Brooklyn to Copenhagen, and London to Portland. Savouring the very best the world has to offer, Craft Beer celebrates the finest brewers and highlights the most outstanding examples of their wares. The ultimate field guide for beer connoisseurs and newcomers alike, Craft Beer is packed full of essential information as well as little-known facts, hints and tips. Author and beer connoisseur Ian Coutts demystifies the dazzling varieties available, sorting the lightest of lagers and sweetest wheat beers from abbey ales and toasty stouts. The guide is punctuated with a series of sidebars called Worlds from the Wise in which global experts provide crucial industry knowledge, insights and ideas. Contributors will advise on a range of subjects from where to buy, how to start your own brewery, tasting and serving suggestions. This hardback book has 144 pages and measures: 18.4 x 13.4 x 1.4cm

160 pages, Hardcover

Published June 16, 2016

About the author

I'm really excited about my new book, The Perfect Keg: Sowing, Scything, Malting and Brewing My Way to the Best-Ever Pint of Beer. It's all about my adventures making beer from complete scratch. And adventures they were: crop failure, acrid smoke, snarling hounds, band-aid beer, frozen yeast, and a mercurial barrel maker, to name just a few. Despite all that, in the end what I got was... well, I can't reveal too much about that final, aiming-to-be-perfect keg, but I can tell you that I met some wonderful folks, learned a huge amount about brewing, and gained enormous respect for the people who really know how to do it.
And I'm so happy that the book is already striking a chord with readers. J.B. MacKinnon, author of The 100-Mile Diet, says that it will "make you laugh, make you cheer, and make you thirsty."
This and my other books reflect what I most love to do: really research a topic, and then present it in a way that's lively and fun.
I'll be doing media stuff and getting out and around in the U.S. and Canada to talk about the book. Please check out my blog and Twitter feed for details.