The Oxford Companion to Beer (Oxford Companion To...

by Garrett Oliver, Tom Colicchio (Foreword)

For millennia, beer has been a staple beverage in cultures across the globe. After water and tea, it is the most popular drink in the world, and it is at the center of an over $450 billion industry. With the emergence of craft brewing and homebrewing, beer is experiencing a renaissance that is expanding the reach of the beer culture even further, bringing the art of brewing into homes and widening the interest in beer as an important cultural item.

The Oxford Companion to Beer is the first reference work to fully investigate the history and vast scope of beer, from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as "spent grain" and "wort," but give fascinating details about how these and other ingredients affect a beer's taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries on such topics as drinking songs or beer gardens offer vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have shifted through history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries; the legacies they left behind, in the forms of the world's most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book.

Collectively the Companion has over 1,100 entries--written by 150 of the world's most prominent beer experts--as well as a foreword by renowned chef Tom Colicchio (star of television's Top Chef), thorough appendices, conversion tables, images throughout, and an index. Flipping through the book, readers will discover everything from why beer was first taxed to how drinkers throughout history have overcome temperance movements and how an "ale conner" determined the quality of a beer in the thirteenth century. (It involved sitting in a puddle of beer.)

The Companion is comprehensive, unprecedented, and of great value to anyone who has ever had a curiosity or appetite for beer.

Genres: Beer, Reference, Nonfiction, Brewing, Food, Cooking, Alcohol

960 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2011

About the author

Garrett Oliver is the Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery in New York City and one of the foremost authorities in the world on the subject of beer. A host of more than 700 tasting and pairing events in 12 countries over the past two decades, he is perhaps best known as the author of the award-winning book The Brewmaster’s Table. He has made many appearances on television and in other media, writes regularly for food and beer-related periodicals, and is a veteran judge of professional brewing competitions. His principal occupation is the creation of The Brooklyn Brewery’s well-regarded range of beers.

Garrett was a founding Board member of Slow Food USA and later became a member of the Board of Counselors of Slow Food International. He was also a 2009 and 2010 finalist for the James Beard Award as “Outstanding Wine or Spirits Professional.”
His last book, The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food, first published by HarperCollins in May, 2003, was the winner of a 2004 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Book Award and was a finalist for the 2004 James Beard Foundation Book Awards. The Brewmaster’s Table was released in a paperback edition in May of 2005.

Garrett is a graduate of Boston University and holds a degree in Broadcasting and Film. He was the recipient of the 1998 Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation and Excellence in Brewing, the 2003 Semper Ardens Award for Beer Culture (Denmark) and Cheers Beverage Media’s “Beverage Innovator of the Year” Award for 2006. In 2007, Forbes named him one of the top ten tastemakers in the country for wine, beer and spirits.

Garrett Oliver’s latest book is The Oxford Companion to Beer, published in September, 2011 by Oxford University Press; he is Editor-in-Chief. Covering more than 1,100 subjects, it is the most comprehensive reference book on beer ever published.

Reviews

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty much an encyclopaedia-like tome discussing beer and related concepts. It doesn't really go into much detail on any concept or term, but I think it does a great job of giving you the basic idea and including most, if not all, of the terms you'd want to consult if you're a beer aficionado. I'd say it's a great starting point and you can do further research if needed.

[Jack Perdue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book you sit down to read, this is a study of all things beer. Need to look up info on a particular beer style, this is a great place to begin. Excellent source. I will always be reading through this book, but not as entertainment on a leisurely summer day.

[Lana Svitankova]

Два роки короткими статтями читати цю цеглину. Але корисно

[Ravanagh Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for the home-brewer more than the beer aficionado. There is so much on the brewing process and not that much on world beers, which is a real pity.

I’m an Australian from good-old Melbourne who now lives in bloody Sydney, and Sydney’s beer is written up (Toohey’s, now unfortunately owned by Kirin); but Melbourne’s beer is not (Carlton, now owned by Asahi *sigh*) — Australia has two large cities of equal size, but foreigners only know (or care to know) one (Australians from outside the two hold a higher opinion of the other, however)!

Not only that, but far-flung foreign beers I have managed to lay my busy hands and delighted lips on similarly get the chop. Where is Quilmes, Argentina, for example? Don’t know, don’t care. Some long-established craft brewers are here (Sierra Nevada, No-Cal), while other equals are MIA (Karl Strauss, S. Diego). And I don’t feel space was a limiting factor — the volume is not massive.

English beers are exhaustively and parochially all here, of course. It’s a very Anglo-centric Companion. At least you get the feeling there is still some national pride left in the English after all! (You wouldn’t know it reading today’s British fiction, or, worse, walking down the street there.)

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It will be a while before I “finish” this book because it’s not meant to be read cover to cover. Instead, it’s an encyclopedic volume where you can look up any key word or phrase related to beer and brewing. The entry may be a single paragraph or several pages, and by following the “see also” suggestions, you’ll find yourself flipping from related topic to topic, learning all kinds of good stuff. When I looked up something related to sour beer, I found myself still following breadcrumbs throughout the book two hours later, having learned quite a bit about Belgian styles, yeast and bacteria. Not light reading, but very informative for beer geeks like me. I’ve taken to highlighting the heading for each entry that I read, so maybe one day I can say I’ve read it all. Well-written entries from a number of industry experts, and very well edited by Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery.

[Paul Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife gave me this book for Christmas a few years ago. I've actually read portions of it twice. This is meant to be an encyclopedia for all things beer - though it's more of a comprehensive collection of well written articles on every topic concerning beer. Many of them are technical, such as chemistry and viruses, etc., which I admittedly skipped over. However, the various sections on the history of beer, breweries, marketing, photos of old labels, styles of beer, etc. earned 5 stars from me.

[Raul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complete book but i think not rich in details. For example if you want to be a maltster there are more information in internet than in this book but, this is the most complete book now about brewing.

[Mr. Sterner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhaustive and comprehensive tome! Not exactly easy reading, but it was never meant to be. As a reference book, it is a high quality source. I'll definitely return to this in future.

[mtschettar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book. Probably spent 2 weeks looking over it. Bouncing around from entry to entry.

[Samuel Gaeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some sections very interesting, others overly technical. Some about hops that were no longer used were not very interesting. Good ready for people obsessed with beer.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

it' really so fun to find a new beer of some kind and to then read about its type, flavor, etc. enriches the experience.saisons, for what it's worth, are the best beer

[Ian Coutts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love reviews that start: "If you read only one book this year, let it be..." Well, if you buy only one major beer reference book this year (or in this lifetime, come to that, let it be The Oxford Companion to Beer. This book is incredibly comprehensive -- from yeast to labels to pub games, it is all there. And it features knowledgeable contributors who can really write, including Canada's own Josh Rubin. I have to say I was particularly impressed by editor Garrett Oliver's contributions. The guy is already a great brew master -- who would expect him to write so elegantly as well? Anyway, if you love beer -- brewing it, learning about it or just plain drinking it -- this book is for you.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I certainly have not read this all the way through in the one month I have owned it, but I have turned to if quite frequently. I have found it to be thorough, intelligent, and well crafted throughout. It is highly possible I will discover some terrible oversights or errors as I continue to use this tome that will change my 5 star rating, but it is just as highly improbable. One look at this Goliath and I knew I was going love it; I am just glad it has, thus far, lived up to my beer geek/regular geek expectations.

[Elliot Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear Lord, 868 pages of small type in dual columns. Much more than you would ever want to know about every facet of beer, from chemistry to biographies of significant brewers to food pairings. Intermittently fascinating. I've borrowed a copy from the library. Probably don't need a permanent reference copy.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much info in this book, but it's not one you'd want on the coffee table for browsing unless you're a brewer yourself. Still, lots of info and well done. For those with an interest in beer, this is a good read, but unless you're needing a scholarly tome/cyclopedia on beer, it's not an essential purchase (only because its price point doesn't lend it to being of broad appeal).

[Andrew Uys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one heck of an epic read. A bit more advanced than I was prepared for, and a touch drier than necessary, it still made for an interesting (if slow) read. I'd be interested to know what a beer expert or aficionado thinks of this book, but it certainly made for a very educational read for me. Cheers!

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a fuller review up on www.pourcurator.com, but the bottom line is it's a great work. Yes, there are some inaccuracies, so I suppose one could quibble with the five stars. But that's a different debate.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An always useful reference for all things beer. It has been invaluable to me in preparing for class and refining my notes.

[Bill Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much whatever you need to know about beer is contained within.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want your head to explode from beer knowledge, this is the book for you. Not easy to carry around, but perfect for learning a little bit at a time.

[LeslieNicoleS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just going to be constantly reading this as it's a reference work. So fascinating.

[Henning Hj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just overwhelmed by perhaps too much information.