Froth!

Remember way back when (oh-ho-ho) I told you about a book which will use some of my beer photos? Well, two years later - voila!

The book Froth! The Science of Beer is written by Mark Denny. And somewhere in the book - after a lot of very scientific and intelligent beer stuff - is also a photo from this very blog. The Steendonk beer made it into the book. Ha!

Autographs, anyone?

Great Beers of Belgium

To kick-start this year's Belgian Beers, a first book review by A Brussels Nostalgic.

Text and Photo: ABN

Website/blog:

Why does Belgium, of all countries in the world, have such a vast and high quality beer industry and culture? How come so many of Belgium’s beers have monastic origins? Where, if not in Belgium, would kids sometimes get light table beer for lunch? You’ll find the answer to these and many more issues revolving around Belgian beer in Michael Jackson’s Great Beers of Belgium, a fantastic book which has been in print since 1991 and in 2006 came out with a brand new look together with lots of new pictures and updates.

For those of you who don’t know, Michael Jackson (no relation with the other guy) was probably the world’s best beer critic. He recently passed away on August 30th 2007, leaving behind several books on beer, but also whiskey, and lots of fans of his Beer Hunter tv series. He won countless awards and was always highly regarded by brewers worldwide, particularly in Belgium, who often invited him to tastings. The book is a tribute to Belgian beers, which, it is said, were his favorite.

While reading it, you quickly grasp the idea that Belgian Beer is all about culture, tradition, craftsmanship, history and geography, all of which, combined, bring a product of very high quality. Structured around 22 different chapters, Jackson’s book covers the whole spectrum of beermaking in this country, from the growing of grain and hops, as well as the importance of water and yeast, to a review of more than 300 different beers classified by type, among which you will of course find pils, white, red, brown, fruit, abbey, Trappist but also saison and brut as well as some other interesting categories I presume he coined himself such as “wicked beers”or “passionate pints”. The last two chapters include a long list of addresses of shops, cafes, restaurants and inns around the world that serve Belgian beer.

The book is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all beers in Belgium, like the book by Hilde Deweer All Belgian Beers reviewed earlier in this blog, but covers nevertheless a very wide range of different beers as to get a great idea of the variety and art of Belgian beer brewing.

It is a very interesting work that often makes you think you are reading a travel guide of Belgium rather than a book on beers. His experience, authority, popularity among Belgian brewers and knowledge of the country’s history and geography radiate throughout the pages.

A definite must for anyone who loves not only Belgian beers, but Belgium itself as well.

Michael Jackson’s Great Beers of Belgium – available at www.lannoo.com

All Belgian Beers

Ahem!

How do I put this? I am looking for the right word ... still looking ... this is the most FANTASTIC book ever! Do I sound a little bit over the top? Well, that's because this book is so FANTASTIC.

Ok, enough. Perhaps I should tell you more about the book. All Belgian Beers, Les Bieres Belges, Alle Belgische Bieren is a very much hot off the press new book on Belgian Beers. Which explains why I am writing about it. This is a Belgian Beer blog after all. Plus it's almost time for Christmas so if you don't know what to get/ or what to receive this is perfect timing.

The book arrived yesterday. A lot smaller than I thought, but also a lot thicker (over 1500 pages). A very compact little book, but oh my God, the information in it! And I thought we tried a lot of beers. You don't know a thing about Belgian Beers till you have seen the amount of beers in this book.

Over 750 Belgian Beers have made it into the book, together with information on: fermenting and beer style, composition, alcohol content, colour, how to serve the beer and at what temperature, description of the character and taste. And as if this isn't enough, there is also space for personal notes at the bottom of each page. To give you an idea, I spent about 1h yesterday reading up on ... beers. I don't read on beers. I drink beers. But there you go ... Plus the photography is pretty good, and I also got to discover a whole lot of new beer glasses.

What else could I tell you about this book? It costs 35euro (that is 51USD or 25GBP) and it gets shipped world wide. Perhaps not the cheapest book on the planet, but think about this: Christmas presents (!) and trust me, you'll probably have enough Belgian Beer to read on way into next year.

Did anyone get the book already? Now available on Amazon as well.