Miracle Brew

"In lively and witty fashion, celebrated British beer writer Pete Brown presents a complete natural history of beer and shares the incredible story behind each of its four ingredients- malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. Miracle Brew explores the origins of fermentation, the lost age of hallucinogenic gruit beers, and the evolution of modern hop varieties that now challenge wine grapes in the extent to which they are discussed and revered."--Book cover.

Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink on the planet, but few who enjoy it know much about how its four ingredients – hops, malted barley, water and yeast – miraculously combine. From the birth of brewing in the Middle East, through the surreal madness of drink-sodden hop-blessings in the Czech Republic and the stunning recreation of the first ever modern beer, Miracle Brew is an extraordinary journey through the nature and science of the world's greatest beverage. Along the way, we’ll meet and drink with a cast of characters who reveal the magic of beer and celebrate the joy of drinking it.

Experimentation, mystery, resourcefulness, and above all, fun—these are the hallmarks of brewing beer like a Yeti. Since the craft beer and homebrewing boom of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, beer lovers have enjoyed drinking and brewing a vast array of beer styles. However, most are brewed to accentuate a single ingredient—hops—and few contain the myriad herbs and spices that were standard in beer and gruit recipes from medieval times back to ancient people’s discovery that grain could be malted and fermented into beer. Like his first book, Make Mead Like a Viking, Jereme Zimmerman’s Brew Beer Like a Yeti returns to ancient practices and ingredients and brings storytelling, mysticism, and folklore back to the brewing process, including a broad range of ales, gruits, bragots, and other styles that have undeservingly taken a backseat to the IPA. Recipes inspired by traditions around the globe include sahti, gotlandsdricka, oak bark and mushroom ale, wassail, pawpaw wheat, chicha de muko, and even Neolithic “stone” beers. More importantly, under the guidance of “the world’s only peace-loving, green-living Appalachian Yeti Viking,” readers will learn about the many ways to go beyond the pale ale, utilizing alternatives to standard grains, hops, and commercial yeasts to defy the strictures of style and design their own brews.

With more amazing beers available than ever before, it's hard to know which ones to choose. That's where The New Craft Beer World comes in. Gathering together over 400 of the most innovative and tastiest beers you need to try, and divided into 50 different categories, you will find the best of the best each style has to offer. Every category comes with an explanation of the key characteristics of the style – whether it's an American IPA bursting with citrusy C-hops or an Imperial Stout full of dark roasted malts – along with an example of a classic brew and a selection of cutting edge versions that are certain to become instant favourites. So whether you're looking for bitter beers or balanced flavours, a hit of hops or a hint of coffee, the reviews will point you in the right direction to find the perfect beer to suit your tastebuds. Also included are interesting nuggets of beer information, covering everything from the catalyst that has caused the astonishing growth in craft beer through to matching beer with food and how to serve your drinks.

Beginning in the UK in the 1600s with smoky brown beer and ending with current areas of innovation, this fun and interactive guide moves through time and across the world to tell the stories behind some of today's best-known beer styles, including German lagers, stouts, porters, pilsner, IPA, sour beers and more. Each chapter focuses on one of beer's key ingredients - malt, water, hops and yeast - sharing how, as each ingredient modernized over time, new flavours and styles emerged. With each change, Natalya offers a modern beer to try that will bring the section's story to life and help you truly taste the evolution of beer through the years. With five centuries' worth of information, stories, and fun facts to discover and 50 beers to taste, Beer: Taste the Evolution in 50 Styles breathes new life into the exploration of one of the world's oldest and most enduring drinks.

Primitive beers, country wines, herbal meads, natural sodas, and more The art of brewing doesn’t stop at the usual ingredients: barley, hops, yeast, and water. In fact, the origins of brewing involve a whole galaxy of wild and cultivated plants, fruits, berries, and other natural materials, which were once used to make a whole spectrum of creative, fermented drinks. Now fermentation fans and home brewers can rediscover these “primitive” drinks and their unique flavors in The Wildcrafting Brewer. Wild-plant expert and forager Pascal Baudar’s first book, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, opened up a whole new world of possibilities for readers wishing to explore and capture the flavors of their local terroir. The Wildcrafting Brewer does the same for fermented drinks. Baudar reveals both the underlying philosophy and the practical techniques for making your own delicious concoctions, from simple wild sodas, to non-grape-based “country wines,” to primitive herbal beers, meads, and traditional ethnic ferments like tiswin and kvass. The book opens with a retrospective of plant-based brewing and ancient beers. The author then goes on to describe both hot and cold brewing methods and provides lots of interesting recipes; mugwort beer, horehound beer, and manzanita cider are just a few of the many drinks represented. Baudar is quick to point out that these recipes serve mainly as a touchstone for readers, who can then use the information and techniques he provides to create their own brews, using their own local ingredients. The Wildcrafting Brewer will attract herbalists, foragers, natural-foodies, and chefs alike with the author’s playful and relaxed philosophy. Readers will find themselves surprised by how easy making your own natural drinks can be, and will be inspired, again, by the abundance of nature all around them.

Covers more than 500 different beers from all over the world and provides photographs of beer collectables such as labels, posters, beer mats and emblems

This complete reference rates more than 6,000 beers for aroma, balance, appearance, and more.