Quick, think: You are about to be dropped on a desert island where the only thing preventing you from being consumed by the cannibalistic natives is beer knowledge; what one book would you take with you? Well, there are many excellent books on the history of beer, numerous fine tomes on the production of beer, multiple lovely diatribes on specific styles or regions, and at least two quirky reads that would easily fit in the “humour” section. Until now, however, there hasn’t been a complete, encyclopedic compendium of beer information. So it’s been with no small amount of excitement that the beer community has been awaiting the release of the Oxford Companion to Beer, edited by Garrett Oliver.
The Oxford Companion to Beer
If you’re not familiar with The Oxford Companion series, they are exhaustive texts on their subject matter, covering more topics than you can imagine. A quick search at Amazon will demonstrate how many books we’re talking about. It’s not surprising that the good folks at Oxford University Press approached Garrett Oliver to edit this book. As Garrett himself notes, it’s a job that should have fallen to Michael Jackson (the large, bearded beer writer, not the skinny entertainer with great dance moves). Sadly, we lost Michael in 2007, so the mantle fell to Garrett. An obvious choice, as his The Brewmaster’s Table is not just an excellent reference for beer and food pairing, but beer in general. Garrett is remarkable brewer (in case you didn’t make the connection, he is brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery in New York), and an excellent spokesman for the craft beer movement.
But a book on beer that runs nearly 1000 pages is not a job for one person, no matter how passionate and knowledgeable they might be. 166 writers were called-in to pen over 1,100 articles that are presented alphabetically, like an encyclopedia, and are cross-referenced for easy navigation of a particular topic. The contributors range from beer writers, brewers (big and small), agronomists, cellarmen, and academics. To say it’s the most complete reference on the subject of beer, is kind of obvious.
As a book, it functions like an encyclopedia, or a text book; not really designed to be read from start to finish (though certainly, you could). It is technical at times, though you don’t need a degree in science to understand it. It covers literally everything, from regional history, to styles, to brewing techniques, to ingredients, to notable brewers and more.
Okay, I’ll be honest here: I haven’t read the entire book. I’ve only been in possession of it for a little over 12 hours. That being said, what I’ve read has been excellent. I love that while the writing is fairly concise and direct, each article still retains written inflections and character from each author. This way, while the book is clearly technical, it stays accessible and interesting.
In addition to the quality of its content, the book is beautiful and well-designed. The cover work is simple and attractive; the type-setting befits a text, yet has elements that retain a bit of fun; and the illustrations and images are helpful, thorough and well represented. Not surprising from a publication from Oxford University Press, but noteworthy none the less.
This book will stay within arms-reach while I’m writing about beer. It will probably be abused somewhat, with condensation rings on the cover, spilled stout on the occasional page, notes in the margin, and the usual sort of “love” good cookbooks get in their line of duty. I can’t wait to put it through it’s paces.
I’ll conclude and summarize using Tom Colicchio words from the final paragraph of his foreword for the book:
The Oxford Companion to Beer provides an exhaustive account of not only beer’s history, but its science and its art, at a time when people are more willing than ever to take beer seriously. And if I had to choose one person to be my beer guide and teacher, it would be Garrett Oliver, whose passion for beer is only surpassed by his sheer knowledge on the subject. In this volume Oliver and numerous experts have assembled beer wisdom from around the globe, creating a virtual beer symposium – the scope of which the world has never known. And we, as readers, have a front-row seat.
Many thanks to Garrett Oliver and the 166 contributors. I cannot imagine the time and effort that must have gone into this project. Thanks for giving us the front-row seat.
The book is not available in Canada until October 21st, but you can pre-order it here:
5 Comments