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A Natural History of Beer
A celebration of beer—its science, its history, and its impact on human culture
“Curatorial eminences Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall serve up a potent scientific brew. . . . A marvellous paean to the pint, and to the researchers probing its depths.”—Barbara Kiser, Nature
“Forced to choose between this book and a pint of hazy IPA, I would be at a loss. Better to consume them at the same time—both will go down easily, and leave you in an improved condition.”—Bill McKibben
What can beer teach us about biology, history, and the natural world? From ancient Mesopotamian fermentation practices to the resurgent American craft brewery, Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall peruse the historical record and traverse the globe for engaging and often surprising stories about beer. They explain how we came to drink beer, what ingredients combine to give beers their distinctive flavors, how beer’s chemistry works at the molecular level, and how various societies have regulated the production and consumption of beer.
Drawing from such diverse subject areas as animal behavior, ecology, history, archaeology, chemistry, sociology, law, genetics, physiology, neurobiology, and more, DeSalle and Tattersall entertain and inform with their engaging stories of beer throughout human history and the science behind it all. Readers are invited to grab a beer and explore the fascinating history of its creation.
“Curatorial eminences Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall serve up a potent scientific brew. . . . A marvellous paean to the pint, and to the researchers probing its depths.”—Barbara Kiser, Nature
“Forced to choose between this book and a pint of hazy IPA, I would be at a loss. Better to consume them at the same time—both will go down easily, and leave you in an improved condition.”—Bill McKibben
What can beer teach us about biology, history, and the natural world? From ancient Mesopotamian fermentation practices to the resurgent American craft brewery, Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall peruse the historical record and traverse the globe for engaging and often surprising stories about beer. They explain how we came to drink beer, what ingredients combine to give beers their distinctive flavors, how beer’s chemistry works at the molecular level, and how various societies have regulated the production and consumption of beer.
Drawing from such diverse subject areas as animal behavior, ecology, history, archaeology, chemistry, sociology, law, genetics, physiology, neurobiology, and more, DeSalle and Tattersall entertain and inform with their engaging stories of beer throughout human history and the science behind it all. Readers are invited to grab a beer and explore the fascinating history of its creation.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
24 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Rob DeSalle
36 books17 followersRob DeSalle is curator of entomology in the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. He is author or coauthor of dozens of books, several based upon exhibitions at the AMNH, including The Brain: Big Bangs, Behaviors, and Beliefs and A Natural History of Wine, coauthored with Ian Tattersall and published by Yale University Press. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 22, 2020
Interesting, though at times he goes into too much detail about topics that aren't exactly beer. You can clearly see his scientific background come through, but at time it seems a little too much and diverges from the main topic. Worth the read.
February 29, 2020
A Natural History of Beer
Rob DeSalle & Ian Tattersall
Well, I like beer. As I mentioned in a previous review, about a year ago, I found myself in a rut; I always drank the same mass produced brew and did not take any real pleasure in it. That’s when I went on a quest to try different beers, and I promptly managed to get lost in the maelstrom of the craft beer explosion... Drinking different beer every week is fun, but after a while they all begin to taste the same. This book marks the continuity of my efforts to learn more about beer.
A Natural History of Beer is very informative, and unfortunately at times, a bit boring and confusing. Is it possible for a book to be both too short and too long? This is the feeling I had reading this. The exploration of relatively complex phenomenon felt rushed, and did little to provide the background knowledge required to fully understand what was being discussed. Taking more time on the basics, before veering towards the super-detailed, would have helped me.
To be sure, you will find you share of detailed information in these pages. The book is certainly extensive, erudite, and up to date. It covers everything, from hops lineage to how alcohol affects the brain, from beer bellies and hangovers to the intricate mechanism of the yeast’s work, to the history of classification of types of beer… You would be hard-pressed to find some stones left unturned.
Well, as I said, I like beer, despite the tortuous relationship that many of my family members have had with alcohol. Fortunately, I did not seem to inherit those tendencies and I am able to enjoy this timeless beverage. Sometimes, I stumble upon a brew that I don’t understand. It will be lauded by critics, have strong ratings and a stellar history, but I can’t seem to appreciate it. Maybe, I tell myself, my palate is not quite ready. Perhaps this book was just like a fine brew I can’t quite enjoy yet...
Rob DeSalle & Ian Tattersall
Well, I like beer. As I mentioned in a previous review, about a year ago, I found myself in a rut; I always drank the same mass produced brew and did not take any real pleasure in it. That’s when I went on a quest to try different beers, and I promptly managed to get lost in the maelstrom of the craft beer explosion... Drinking different beer every week is fun, but after a while they all begin to taste the same. This book marks the continuity of my efforts to learn more about beer.
A Natural History of Beer is very informative, and unfortunately at times, a bit boring and confusing. Is it possible for a book to be both too short and too long? This is the feeling I had reading this. The exploration of relatively complex phenomenon felt rushed, and did little to provide the background knowledge required to fully understand what was being discussed. Taking more time on the basics, before veering towards the super-detailed, would have helped me.
To be sure, you will find you share of detailed information in these pages. The book is certainly extensive, erudite, and up to date. It covers everything, from hops lineage to how alcohol affects the brain, from beer bellies and hangovers to the intricate mechanism of the yeast’s work, to the history of classification of types of beer… You would be hard-pressed to find some stones left unturned.
Well, as I said, I like beer, despite the tortuous relationship that many of my family members have had with alcohol. Fortunately, I did not seem to inherit those tendencies and I am able to enjoy this timeless beverage. Sometimes, I stumble upon a brew that I don’t understand. It will be lauded by critics, have strong ratings and a stellar history, but I can’t seem to appreciate it. Maybe, I tell myself, my palate is not quite ready. Perhaps this book was just like a fine brew I can’t quite enjoy yet...
January 4, 2022
3.5 stars
December 31, 2020
3.5 stars
May 9, 2021
The feeling of thirst is the psychological correlate of the metabolic functions of water.
In direct importance drink comes after air, and before food. Thus, in the field of social psychology, drink has played a more important part than food, specially since the primitive discovery of fermentation, and more latterly, distillation, made ethyl alcohol a constituent of drinkables.
After being weaned from his mother’s milk, Man found water a “natural” drink. But, as experimentation with different edible materials proceeded, the awareness of thirst was replaced by the sense of taste.
The resulting complex “sense of drink” was to be satisfied by a series of discoveries which gave some beverages certain properties of both food and drugs.
Perusal of any encyclopaedia available today will indicate to the reader that “alcohol”, as a beverage, originated way back in prehistory. This may, or may not, be true.
If true, then the first instances of alcoholic fermentation were almost undoubtedly a result of providence, and it is probable that the “chance occurrence’’ was made whilst Man was still nomadic. The chances of this happening only once on the planet are surely very low, and we are, therefore, forced to infer that potable alcohol must have been “discovered” independently by a number of groups of nomadic prehistoric peoples. It might have been from rotting fruit; it may have been from stale honey, or even from suppurating dates, damaged cacti or festering palm sap.
We shall almost certainly never know for sure.
Beer is possibly the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage, and it is certainly the most important historically. What is more, although beer has tended to lag behind wine in public regard, in its more inspired manifestations it has at least as much to offer as wine does to our five senses, and to our human capacity for aesthetic appreciation.
Indeed, it has been argued that beer not only is both theoretically and practically more complex than its rival, but also can offer a more complete expression of its makers’ intentions.
The popularity of beer throughout the ages has been due to a number of factors:
1) It could be made
2) Its comparative affordability, making it a drink for the everyman
3) It had immense value as a drink that would not infect the imbiber with cholera, typhoid or any of the other diseases easily contracted from polluted water sources, at a time when clean drinking water was outwith the reach of many
Remarkable though it may seem from a modern perspective, from 1687 to 1860 patients at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London were each allocated three pints of beer per day, made in the hospital’s own brewery. Beer also had important nutritional value – not for nothing has it been been referred to as ‘liquid bread’ – but perhaps its ultimate attraction has always been its intoxicating nature, imparting a feeling of relaxation and well-being, provided consumption is kept within sensible limits.
Hence this book, which appears in a golden age for beer drinkers virtually everywhere. True, the recent enthusiasm in craft brewing has unfolded against a monolithic backdrop of rather uniform mass-market beers, produced and sold in mind-numbing quantities by international giants. But at the more pioneering end of the market, beers have never been produced in such variety and with such astonishing inventiveness.
The profusion of creative new offerings has had the effect of making the world of beer not only an exciting place but a rather confusing one as well, with an almost incomprehensible riot of consumer choice available through an archaic distribution system that makes many well-reputed beers hard to find. But sometimes a bit of anarchy can be exhilarating.
The goal of this book is to show just how multifaceted the individuality of beer is, by situating it first in its historical and cultural contexts, and then in the setting of the natural world from which both its ingredients and the human beings who make and drink it have emerged.
In the process, the book traverses progression, ecology, history, primatology, physiology, neurobiology, chemistry, and even a bit of physics, in the hope of offering a more complete appreciation of the wonderful pale-straw-to-blackish-brown liquid that reposes in the glass in front of the readers.
The book has been divided into four main sections, each section further subdivided into independent chapters.
PART ONE GRAINS AND YEAST: A MASHUP FOR THE AGES
1 Beer, Nature, and People
2 Beer in the Ancient World
3 Innovation and an Emerging Industry
4 Beer-Drinking Cultures
PART TWO ELEMENTS OF (ALMOST) EVERY BREW
5 Essential Molecules
6 Water
7 Barley
8 Yeast
9 Hops
PART THREE THE SCIENCE OF GEMÜTLICHKEIT
10 Fermentation
11 Beer and the Senses
12 Beer Bellies
13 Beer and the Brain
PART FOUR FRONTIERS, OLD AND NEW
14 Beer Phylogeny
15 The Resurrection Men
16 The Future of Brewing
From the pages of this book, the readers shall see that, the definite character of the beer consumed around the world has changed radically over the centuries, as have methods of manufacture and the manner and occasion of its consumption.
In the pages that follow the author not only charts the history of beer around the world, highlighting some of the greatest beer-making and beer-drinking nations, but also examines the drink’s cultural associations and its adaptability as an accessory to a broad assortment of foods.
The book focuses on the precise legacy of some of the globally best-known brands, not to mention indicating some of the best places to read about beer. Beer has made a stretched journey from its origins in around 10,000 BC to the 21st century, but questionably there is now more diversity in, promise to and enthusiasm for the subject than there has been for a very long time, and drinkers have lots of reasons for optimism.
Therefore, pour yourself a glass of whatever style and brand takes your fancy, and join the author of this book, as he explores the global history of beer.
In direct importance drink comes after air, and before food. Thus, in the field of social psychology, drink has played a more important part than food, specially since the primitive discovery of fermentation, and more latterly, distillation, made ethyl alcohol a constituent of drinkables.
After being weaned from his mother’s milk, Man found water a “natural” drink. But, as experimentation with different edible materials proceeded, the awareness of thirst was replaced by the sense of taste.
The resulting complex “sense of drink” was to be satisfied by a series of discoveries which gave some beverages certain properties of both food and drugs.
Perusal of any encyclopaedia available today will indicate to the reader that “alcohol”, as a beverage, originated way back in prehistory. This may, or may not, be true.
If true, then the first instances of alcoholic fermentation were almost undoubtedly a result of providence, and it is probable that the “chance occurrence’’ was made whilst Man was still nomadic. The chances of this happening only once on the planet are surely very low, and we are, therefore, forced to infer that potable alcohol must have been “discovered” independently by a number of groups of nomadic prehistoric peoples. It might have been from rotting fruit; it may have been from stale honey, or even from suppurating dates, damaged cacti or festering palm sap.
We shall almost certainly never know for sure.
Beer is possibly the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage, and it is certainly the most important historically. What is more, although beer has tended to lag behind wine in public regard, in its more inspired manifestations it has at least as much to offer as wine does to our five senses, and to our human capacity for aesthetic appreciation.
Indeed, it has been argued that beer not only is both theoretically and practically more complex than its rival, but also can offer a more complete expression of its makers’ intentions.
The popularity of beer throughout the ages has been due to a number of factors:
1) It could be made
2) Its comparative affordability, making it a drink for the everyman
3) It had immense value as a drink that would not infect the imbiber with cholera, typhoid or any of the other diseases easily contracted from polluted water sources, at a time when clean drinking water was outwith the reach of many
Remarkable though it may seem from a modern perspective, from 1687 to 1860 patients at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London were each allocated three pints of beer per day, made in the hospital’s own brewery. Beer also had important nutritional value – not for nothing has it been been referred to as ‘liquid bread’ – but perhaps its ultimate attraction has always been its intoxicating nature, imparting a feeling of relaxation and well-being, provided consumption is kept within sensible limits.
Hence this book, which appears in a golden age for beer drinkers virtually everywhere. True, the recent enthusiasm in craft brewing has unfolded against a monolithic backdrop of rather uniform mass-market beers, produced and sold in mind-numbing quantities by international giants. But at the more pioneering end of the market, beers have never been produced in such variety and with such astonishing inventiveness.
The profusion of creative new offerings has had the effect of making the world of beer not only an exciting place but a rather confusing one as well, with an almost incomprehensible riot of consumer choice available through an archaic distribution system that makes many well-reputed beers hard to find. But sometimes a bit of anarchy can be exhilarating.
The goal of this book is to show just how multifaceted the individuality of beer is, by situating it first in its historical and cultural contexts, and then in the setting of the natural world from which both its ingredients and the human beings who make and drink it have emerged.
In the process, the book traverses progression, ecology, history, primatology, physiology, neurobiology, chemistry, and even a bit of physics, in the hope of offering a more complete appreciation of the wonderful pale-straw-to-blackish-brown liquid that reposes in the glass in front of the readers.
The book has been divided into four main sections, each section further subdivided into independent chapters.
PART ONE GRAINS AND YEAST: A MASHUP FOR THE AGES
1 Beer, Nature, and People
2 Beer in the Ancient World
3 Innovation and an Emerging Industry
4 Beer-Drinking Cultures
PART TWO ELEMENTS OF (ALMOST) EVERY BREW
5 Essential Molecules
6 Water
7 Barley
8 Yeast
9 Hops
PART THREE THE SCIENCE OF GEMÜTLICHKEIT
10 Fermentation
11 Beer and the Senses
12 Beer Bellies
13 Beer and the Brain
PART FOUR FRONTIERS, OLD AND NEW
14 Beer Phylogeny
15 The Resurrection Men
16 The Future of Brewing
From the pages of this book, the readers shall see that, the definite character of the beer consumed around the world has changed radically over the centuries, as have methods of manufacture and the manner and occasion of its consumption.
In the pages that follow the author not only charts the history of beer around the world, highlighting some of the greatest beer-making and beer-drinking nations, but also examines the drink’s cultural associations and its adaptability as an accessory to a broad assortment of foods.
The book focuses on the precise legacy of some of the globally best-known brands, not to mention indicating some of the best places to read about beer. Beer has made a stretched journey from its origins in around 10,000 BC to the 21st century, but questionably there is now more diversity in, promise to and enthusiasm for the subject than there has been for a very long time, and drinkers have lots of reasons for optimism.
Therefore, pour yourself a glass of whatever style and brand takes your fancy, and join the author of this book, as he explores the global history of beer.
February 19, 2025
Picked up this book because my father was an agronomist who studied grasses and worked with wheat and barley his entire career.
Put down this book because I only know .01% of what my father forgot about grasses. Genomic prediction was familiar to him. But HIS knowledge was not genetic.
Put down this book because I only know .01% of what my father forgot about grasses. Genomic prediction was familiar to him. But HIS knowledge was not genetic.
August 26, 2021
the first 4 chapters are about beer. beyond that, it's only tangentially related, at best.
you'll learn more about fungal phyla, dna sequencing, and cell membranes than any history or beer. once you cross that chapter 4 threshold, you enter the realm of bio-fluff. i don’t even know what the hell they were aiming for with this. a hip science book for hop heads? (thank you, thank you, i've got jokes like this for days)
it's the kind of writing that starts off on-topic, gets hung up on an anecdote, then overextends the anecdote to fill up the chapter. rinse and repeat. chapter after chapter. before you know it you get used to the rhythm of things. oh wow, some beer is produced using corn syrup? and corn syrup is actually a syrupy concoction made from the starch of corn...
...and now we're talking about crazy horse and smallpox. this book is a waste of perfectly good paper. no one should read it. and judging by the reviews, it looks like no one does. which is good. because it sucks.
(to be fair, the book never actually mentions corns syrup, crazy horse, or smallpox. it's not that fun. it's general popular science writing with a misleading marketing hook)
if the book were titled something like "the science of beer" i'd have been fine with it. i'd have avoided it the same way i avoid "philosophy of star wars" books, but at least if i'd chosen to read it, it'd have been through my own fault and choosing. everything about this book rubs me the wrong way.
you'll learn more about fungal phyla, dna sequencing, and cell membranes than any history or beer. once you cross that chapter 4 threshold, you enter the realm of bio-fluff. i don’t even know what the hell they were aiming for with this. a hip science book for hop heads? (thank you, thank you, i've got jokes like this for days)
it's the kind of writing that starts off on-topic, gets hung up on an anecdote, then overextends the anecdote to fill up the chapter. rinse and repeat. chapter after chapter. before you know it you get used to the rhythm of things. oh wow, some beer is produced using corn syrup? and corn syrup is actually a syrupy concoction made from the starch of corn...
...and now we're talking about crazy horse and smallpox. this book is a waste of perfectly good paper. no one should read it. and judging by the reviews, it looks like no one does. which is good. because it sucks.
(to be fair, the book never actually mentions corns syrup, crazy horse, or smallpox. it's not that fun. it's general popular science writing with a misleading marketing hook)
if the book were titled something like "the science of beer" i'd have been fine with it. i'd have avoided it the same way i avoid "philosophy of star wars" books, but at least if i'd chosen to read it, it'd have been through my own fault and choosing. everything about this book rubs me the wrong way.
February 1, 2020
I found this unnecessarily self-indulgent on the science behind many aspects (from genome sequencing explanations to biological sense discussions), which pushed out what could have been a much more interesting exploration into the topics as they are relevant to a brewer or beer appreciator. Seems written for the pleasure of the author, not the reader.
If anything I'd argue the actual "history of beer" parts were almost absent, and would have made a far more compelling read.
If anything I'd argue the actual "history of beer" parts were almost absent, and would have made a far more compelling read.
February 24, 2021
Before picking up this book, ask yourself: Are you excited to learn specifics about the barley genome and how the subsequent proteins interact with your sense of smell? If not, then this book may not be for you. I like that stuff, so I liked the book. Otherwise, I recommend The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart.
February 28, 2022
This was a fun and interesting look into this seemingly simple beverage. After an interesting and fast-paced review of the history of the making and consumption of this drink, I was pleasantly surprised to find the authors switch to a discussion with plenty of chemistry, biology and anatomy regarding how beer gets made and what exactly it does to our bodies. While I could easily complain about some topics of discussion that I didn’t find particularly engaging (how exactly bitterness is measured in beer, or the attempts by brewers to revive the beers of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt), a brief pause led to the realization that other readers might equally object to discussions I found fascinating (the exact way alcohol impairs brain functions, or the differences in the beer-drinking cultures of Germany, England, the US, Australia and Japan). This realization led me to believe that while any reader is unlike to find all the aspects of this book equally fascinating, there is enough variety in their discussion for each interested reader to be amazed by one or another topic. Definitely worth the read by anyone who has enjoyed a beer and thanked humankind for continuing to produce it.
August 5, 2022
If you're interested in the history and science of beer, you're likely not going to find a better book. Written by a microbial science specialist and an anthropologist, both of whom love beer as much as you do, this digs into the nitty-gritty of what makes a beer a beer.
The work is divided pretty evenly between actual history and the science of beer. The history part is par for the course, and you'll likely learn a lot if you don't read stuff like this too often (I found it a warm reminder of things historical).
Where the book really shines are the science bits. You're gonna wanna break out the ol' organic chemistry notes from high school and college, because these guys go deep. Beginning with the alcohol molecule, they walk you step by step through human physiology, beer chemistry, how yeast genetics, barley, and hops all affect fermentation, the different types of all of those, how the body's organs process alcohol, beer bellies, and how beer affects the brain.
All of this is interspersed with funny little anecdotes of the two authors sampling (or making) different kinds of beer from around the world.
An in-depth work, but maybe too complex for the simple drinker.
The work is divided pretty evenly between actual history and the science of beer. The history part is par for the course, and you'll likely learn a lot if you don't read stuff like this too often (I found it a warm reminder of things historical).
Where the book really shines are the science bits. You're gonna wanna break out the ol' organic chemistry notes from high school and college, because these guys go deep. Beginning with the alcohol molecule, they walk you step by step through human physiology, beer chemistry, how yeast genetics, barley, and hops all affect fermentation, the different types of all of those, how the body's organs process alcohol, beer bellies, and how beer affects the brain.
All of this is interspersed with funny little anecdotes of the two authors sampling (or making) different kinds of beer from around the world.
An in-depth work, but maybe too complex for the simple drinker.
March 29, 2022
The first part I felt like was common knowledge and then somewhere in the middle everything was way over my head. ..overly scientific. Not sure what the point of some of it was as it relates to beer or brewing... Talking about rods and cones in your eyes. It would have been a better book if all of it was geared towards the novice or somebody who was really interested in the science of brewing. Nonetheless, it was interesting and I learned.
August 2, 2022
So... This (audio)book is 4 stars good, but its scientific scope is extremely broad and lacking focus which would bring it down to 3 stars, BUT the thoroughness of the technical detail brings it back to a 4 for me.
I don't know if I'd read it in book form, but I enjoyed this as an audiobook.
Brewmasters would probably find this whole book to be a delight. Readers wanting to casually learn about beer would enjoy parts 1 and 4.
I don't know if I'd read it in book form, but I enjoyed this as an audiobook.
Brewmasters would probably find this whole book to be a delight. Readers wanting to casually learn about beer would enjoy parts 1 and 4.
December 11, 2022
This book had a lot of information about beer. It was well written. I liked the history of beer making. And the business of beer drinking. But there was too much detail about the chemical compounds and interactions for my preference. It was explained in detail, so if you want the detailed chemical reactions associated with brewing you will love this book. I want to read their book about wine. But I will have to listen to it.
July 4, 2024
Less a book about beer and more a chemistry/biology/genealogy text book, this was a interesting if somewhat dry and occasionally heavy-going book that I sometimes had trouble following. On finishing it, I felt like I needed a drink. Still, at least I now know what causes the hangover.
If you want a history of beer, as opposed to a natural history, I would point you more towards Pete Brown, an author who gets name-checked at least three times in this book.
If you want a history of beer, as opposed to a natural history, I would point you more towards Pete Brown, an author who gets name-checked at least three times in this book.
July 9, 2023
4.5/5
Phylogenies, STRUCTURE plots, PCAs, a deep dive into history, physiology, botany, selection, and sociology, discussions of genomics and modern molecular methods - this is the book about beer I have always wanted to read. Looking forward to diving into DeSalle & Tattersall's other books on alcohol.
Phylogenies, STRUCTURE plots, PCAs, a deep dive into history, physiology, botany, selection, and sociology, discussions of genomics and modern molecular methods - this is the book about beer I have always wanted to read. Looking forward to diving into DeSalle & Tattersall's other books on alcohol.
August 2, 2025
This book is a great explanation of the history of beer (and the consumption of alcohol) by humans. It is well-researched and well-written. The author briefly explores the chemistry and physiology of making and consuming beer. It is a great education of a piece of society about which most people are ignorant.
December 15, 2019
Review to follow
April 22, 2021
It’s a great book! Different from any other read on the subject. Some of it got a little long-winded but for the most part kept me turning pages
May 19, 2021
I enjoyed the historical discussion and looking to the future of craft brewing, the technical chapters were hard to swallow at times.
November 19, 2021
A good overview of beer's historical and scientific aspects. I listened on audiobook so I definitely would have benefited from images in the more dense scientific parts.
Read
June 15, 2022Too technical for what i was look for, but deep and well researched. Would have appreciated just the historical take.
May 21, 2024
First chapter is too technical and my eyes crossed within a few paragraphs.
April 8, 2025
Книжка класна і цікава, але мені не дуже зайшла. Не очікувала, шо тут буде так багато науки і так мало історії 😅
Але з історичної частини дізналась багато нового, тому не знижую бал сильно і не шкодую про прочитане.
Але з історичної частини дізналась багато нового, тому не знижую бал сильно і не шкодую про прочитане.
November 27, 2021
This book tackles a wide variety of topics around beer, from the history and cultural influences on styles to the scientific underpinnings of fermentation and yeast biology that strongly influence the flavors we sample. I liked the book, but I think it's trying to tackle too many different subjects in a superficial manner. The DNA section is great, but it's there and gone in just a few pages. Same is true for all of the topics.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews