Great Beer Guide [Paperback]

Michael Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2000

Which beers are the best? Get the inside stories on Czech and German lagers, Belgian wheat beers and Trappists, classic British ales, Irish stouts and American micro brews. The shelves of the supermarkets are packed with an ever-changing array of beers from around the world. Bars restaurants clubs and pubs stock an ever-greater range. Which will suit your taste? Which is the beer for the moment? Will this beer be light crisp and refreshing; that one sweet that one dry bitter and appetizing? TV Beer Hunter[registered] Michael Jackson has tasted them all. He describes the flavor and body of each beer explains why beers taste the way they do, notes their strength and ideal serving temperature. Spot the best beers with the aid of superbly shot photographs showing the bottle label and the properly poured beer in the ideal glass. Never before has beer looked so beautiful.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Jackson is the world's best-selling beer writer. He's written numerous books on the subject and has won many awards, including 1999 Glenfiddich Drinks Writer of the Year. Michael is also a journalist, and writes regularly for publications including The Independent and Whisky magazine. He lives in London. Find out more at www.beerhunter.com/about.html

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Plc P/B (October 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751308137
• ISBN-13: 978-0751308136
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a, February 14, 2004

By 

Jeremy Ulrey "Bangyrmfhead" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide (Paperback)

I'm not sure anyone in the world has sampled more brews than Michael Jackson. No, not that Michael Jackson. This one is (from what I've been able to discern) the pre-eminent beer critic in the world.

"Great Beer Guide" covers several hundred beers from all over the world but avoids the "x number of stars" format and, in fact, doesn't offer a numerical rating at all. It's assumed that if the beer was good enough to make it into this guide that it qualifies at the top of it's class, whether it be a pilsner, lager, or ale, or even one of the exotics like a lambic or barleywine.

The biggest draw of this book for me was the layout. Each of the 500+ pages is occupied by a single beer, which is pictured in both it's bottle incarnation and also as a draft, giving you not just an idea of what the beer looks like but also the official glassware it's intended to be served in. Some of the more unusual glassware includes a beer from Oregon that is served in a pint glass with a half-log as it's base!

In addition to the pictures the text also tells you what type of beer it is, where it's from, the alcohol content by both volume and gravity, and finally a description of the beer itself (again, there is no effort made to play favorites, but if the description sounds up your alley it would be more than worth your time to track the beer down).

Alas, many of the beers listed in the book have limited distribution, so depending on where you live you'll probably only have access to a reasonably small percentage of these brews. Nonetheless, I was able to track down quite a few by special order that the local liquor stores would probably have never stocked of their own accord. And who knows? If you find yourself doing a lot of travelling you might just manage to cross all of these off your list sooner or later. But I doubt it.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Guide., March 12, 2005

By 

W. N. Hay (Princeton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide (Paperback)

Michael Jackson begins the book with a guide to the ingredients of beer and the types of beer and how they are brewed. That is very informative if you are a beer lover. He neglects the Westvleteren 12 but that is perhaps because it is near impossible to find in the United States. Under each beer is a wonderful description of the taste plus a picture of the glass and the suggested serving temperature. The serving temperature and the type of glass are critical. Enjoy this brilliant mans book. By the way he really knows his history.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What we needed!, July 29, 2004

By 

isala "Isabel and Lars" (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide (Paperback)

Michael Jackson has sacrificed his liver so that others might know what beers are around!
This book covers just about every major beer there is. The only complaint I have is that I cannot taste them all. It covers the history of beer, different types of beers, different beer making techniques (you will be amazed!), in short - it covers everything about beer!
It has chapters on different beers, and different regions. Obviously, the chapters on Belgium, the UK, and Chech Republic are "must reads". In a very nice and generous touch, he also tells us about US microbreweries, that produces surprisingly potable products. We now live in Alaska, end enjoy the some of the local produce from the Alaska and Silver Gulch breweries. The book is a little bit to big to bring on the travel, but I think he has also written a pocket guide.