Prost!: The Story of German Beer

by Horst D. Dornbusch

In Prost! author Horst Dornbusch has extracted from his vast knowledge of German history and beer all of its best parts, and mixed into a fine brew. 141 b/w illustrations and photos, 1 table

Genres: Beer, Brewing, Food, Nonfiction, History

162 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

This is the kind of book which is more a monument to the author's incredible enthusiasm for their hobby than anything else.

Illustrated throughout, it is a chatty, light non-technical run through of the historical development of brewing, followed by a couple of chapters on different beer styles. With the exception of the first couple of chapters the focus is entirely on the German style brewing tradition. The sub-title tells us that it about the story of German beer. Everything that claims to be "the story" can never be more than "a story" not that I want to say that the opposite is true though . This story is anecdotal, happy, entertaining and readable, the worst thing you could say about it is that it is only an introduction to the subject.

It is not however a story of social change, diet, commercialism, advertising (though this is celebrated in the numerous reproduction pictures of beermats throughout the book), or the role of law in protecting some and excluding others as in this story . Once walking through central Germany I notice that while the types of food on offer from one place to the next didn't change the beers were always different, even just a few miles further down the track. Hiking for a day I could cross several beer boundaries. All of which seemed very different from my experience of beer in the UK. Which by contrast seems dominated by a few brands. However it would take a different book telling a different story to explain why there is such a difference involving the same basic drink in much the same part of the world.

It also comes without samples.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book for me is what it must be like for other people to read a book on lung function or maybe biblical exegesis or something. I dunno.
Let me put this another way: I am literally drinking a German beer while I'm writing this. Point is, if you like German beer like I do, this is a fine place to start. Dornbusch gives you a nice and easy intro to German beer history, the science, the brewing, as well as answering questions like: what the hell is difference between an ale and a lager?, what are hops, why do IPAs suck?, what is Bierzwang and why should I be worried, and so on.
It isn't dense at all and you can probably read it mildly drunk. Individual types are broken down, too, in the back so if you're wondering how your doppelbock holds up against someone else's alt, it's all here. Nicely illustrated too with lots of beer labels and coasters throughout to confuse your eyes and your hands.
(If you want the science-y bits (lame-o!), there is a separate chapter later about that. You might want to read that one first.)

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative book on the history of German brewing. Not at all technical, except for one chapter that is only mildly technical. There is some of the affore-mentioned lack of complete information and missed opportunities. Also, it was written in 1997, which dates it a bit when comparing the past to "modern" Germany. From a professial perspective, this book is quite fluffy, but to the uninitated or those just beginning to learn about beer, I would reccommend it.

[Philip Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely meandering introduction. Not too technical. Leaves a lot of questions, particularly on the twentieth century.

[Christopher Obert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very fascinating. I am not a big beer drinker myself but I found the history and information in this book to be interesting. First I did not know that beer and European history were so intertwined. I also did not know much about the brewing of beer or what the difference was between ale and lager. Now that I have read this book I am more interested in trying to find the right beer for me. I look forward to reading more of Horst’s books.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly basic and jingoistic primer about the history of beer in Germany. Loads of information missing or suspect. There's very little discussion about brewing in other countries, nor the effect that unification had on brewing in the north. A missed opportunity.

[Petesea · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this is a fascinating subject matter that is covered in great detail and is very thorough. I do feel that the book could be better organized though. My favorite, little known, detail is that the Egyptians called their beer “kash” which our term “cash” derives from – money equals beer!

[Shane Westfall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and really nice author. I met him signing books at a beer convention many years ago. He really seemed to enjoy talking to people, rather than just signing 'em and moving on.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks, Mom.