Amber, Gold & Black: The History of Britain's Great Beers

by Martyn Cornell

Amber, Gold & Black is a comprehensive history of British beer in all its variety. It covers all there is to know about the history of the beers Britons have brewed and enjoyed down the centuries—Bitter, Porter, Mild and Stout, IPA, Brown Ale, Burton Ale and Old Ale, Barley Wine and Stingo, Golden Ale, Gale Ale, Honey Ale, White Beer, Heather Ale, and Mum. This is a celebration of the depths of British beery heritage, a look at the roots of the styles that are enjoyed today as well as lost ales and beers, and a study of how the liquids that fill our beer glasses developed over the years. From beginner to beer buff, this history will tell you things you never knew before about Britain's favorite drink.

Genres: Brewing, Beer, History, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Pascal Scallon-Chouinard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this book in the hope of gaining a better understanding of the social and cultural history of beer in Britain. I expected to read about the emergence of different styles of beer, their integration into the country’s brewing culture, the evolution of tastes and preferences, the impact of national and international events on the development and consumption of certain products…

While some of these elements appear in the course of the chapters, I must admit that it is mainly a descriptive history that is offered to the readers. This is partly due to the composition of the book itself, which is divided into several chapters, each of which deals with a particular type of beer. Each chapter follows the same pattern, with the same type of information presented in the same order. The result is a repetitive or a redundant reading, which remains on the surface and does not seek to problematize or analyze, to the point where it is difficult to understand the overall picture.

There are, of course, a few exceptions, notably the chapter on IPAs, which is perhaps the most interesting of the lot, or the one on Heather Ales, which is unfortunately too short, but we constantly come up against too many technical details, which make the reading too heavy, forcing to always go back to the glossary, and which are, very often, superfluous or without real interest. Moreover, the author refers to numerous writings or archives, but the references are never clearly detailed in the text or in the notes: only a short bibliography is offered at the end of the book. The lack of a conclusion also reinforces the impression that there is no real thread, apart from the technical description of the different beer styles.

In the end, it is an instructive read, that help get to know the styles of beer and their origins better, but it does not give a better understanding of the social and cultural history of this beverage over the decades and centuries.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the author of Beer: The Story of the Pint. Given that I found Mr. Cornell’s information on style history to be the runaway strong point of Beer: The Story of the Pint I had high expectations for this book. I’m happy to report that I found Amber, Gold & Black a fascinating read with a treasure trove of research to support the story of an eclectic assortment of British beer styles. Mr. Cornell does a wonderful job of laying out the history of bitter, mild, porter and india pale ale based on actual research (!) rather than repeated myth, and shines the light on styles you may have only heard about such as Burton Ale, and Stingo, as well as those that were news to me, such as Gale Ale and Mum. There is a lot of information useful to the homebrewer here, as brewing information such as original gravities and hop varieties are provided for many of the historic beers discussed, and there is an excellent section on British herbs that used to be used for flavoring and bittering. Highly recommended.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent account of the history of the modern styles of English beers and ales. Each chapter is dedicated to a different style, with the largest sections being dedicated to porter, mild, and IPA, not surprisingly. Cornell did a great deal of research on the various styles and presents a chronological overview of the factors such as ingredient supply, development of brewing techniques, laws and taxation, happy accidents, and public taste that influenced the evolution of each style. The chapters end with a number of modern examples of each style and frequently include beers from countries other than Britain. Ingredients, techniques, and brewing data (such as original gravities) are recounted regularly, but brewers should not be looking here for recipes. This book is good for gaining an appreciation of the ever shifting definitions of "style" in the world of beer.

[Dave Bonta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific so far. The chapter on herbal brewing (a special interest of mine) is one of the best things I've read on the subject. Overall, I'm impressed by the depth and breadth of the author's knowledge and the carefulness of his research, with myth-destroying revelations on nearly every page. If you like British beer, this is a must-read.

[E. Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an invaluable resource and it could even be definitive if the author took care of a couple of weaknesses in future editions.

-A book about "British" beers should include the Scottish styles. This is virtually all English, with the occasional mention of an Irish stout. Wee Heavy is merely mentioned in the Barleyweine chapter and I don't think the various Shilling Ales are mentioned at all.

-The book is organized into chapters that cover each of the styles. An overview chapter that explained eg the way "beer" and "ale" were used to describe different thing in different periods, the way gravities have dropped since the styles described were invented, the development of pale malts etc. would make this a much better book.

-Some technical stuff should either be better explained or left out entirely. I'm not sure we need to know "Union" fermentation was a big deal back in the day but if we do we should know what the hell that means.

-Some of the chapters could use an extensive rewrite. I read the chapter on Porters twice and I'm still not sure how "Three Threads" is involved here. And if you're looking for a definitive answer to the perennial question of what's the real difference between Stout and Porter, you won't find it in this book, although there's separate chapters for each of those.

[Apurva]

Was really excited to read this - thought it might have read like a travel book with many personal stories and reflections, but it was actually quite a heavy read and more academic than I expected. Not for me!

[James Slaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful history of British beer! If you don’t mind a wee bit of tedium on brewers, it kicks bottom!

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and researched historical guide to British beer styles. For each style, it goes through the origin, its evolution and present state. Although, the historical pricing for each beer is something that completely fails to interest me.