The Beer Bible | Jeff Alworth

No other book of this depth and scope approaches the subject of beer in the same way that beer lovers do - by style, just as a perfect pub menu is organized - and gets right to the pleasure of discovery, knowledge, and connoisseurship. Divided into four major families - ales, lagers, wheat beers, and tart and wild ales - there's everything a beer drinker wants to know about the hundreds of different authentic types of brews, from bitters, books, and IPAs to weisses, milk stouts, lambics, and more. Each style is a chapter unto itself, delving into origins, ingredients, description and characteristics, substyles, and tasting notes, and ending with a recommended list of the beers to know in each category. Hip infographics throughout make the explanation of beer's flavours, brewing methods, ingredients, labeling, serving, and more as immediate as it is lively. The book is written for passionate beginners, who will love its "if you like X, try Y" feature; for intermediate beer lovers eager to go deeper; and for true geeks, who will find new information on every page. History, romance, the art of tasting, backstories and anecdotes, appropriate glassware, bitterness units, mouthfeel, and more - it's all here. Plus a primer on pairing beer and food using the three Cs - complement, contrast, or cut. It's the book that every beer lover will read with pleasure, and use with even more.