Customer Reviews

Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Another quality book from Mr. Jackson. Brilliant photographs, easy to read, enough to give one a thirst! Doesn't seek to impose his views by ratings (which I found a surprise). Unusual shape / format for the book, in a chunky style which I liked. I'm sure an enthusiast for beer like Jackson would like to have put many more than 500 beers into the book if it was at all possible.

Being one of the world's oldest beverages, beer was known to Egyptians and Mesopotamians, even written about by ancient Sumerians and still enjoyed to this day, the constant way of reinventing and flavor and introducing new brands can be overwhelming but not with this easy to read guide.

Sometimes there's more to beer than meets the eye. Like tea it's more of a simple, easy and relaxing beverage that lacks the arrogance of coffee and hard liquors and the overly sweetness of cocoa and some wines. Even thought I like all the above beer is still an incredible invention, it's perfect for a weekend afternoon or chilled one or two for dinner when I just don't feel like cooking. I really do drink it because it like everything about it, not to get tipsy and forget everything, people tend to look down on it for some reason, but beer deserves some love and appreciation. Apparently one beer a day is good for the circulation, the hard part is having just one!

This book is more of a large pocket manual, but too thick to fit into any pocket, with each beer in alphabetical order taking places on each page, showing beautiful photos of the bottle, the proper glassware for serving and all sorts of flavor and history information. I can count on this to inform, entertain and show me beers that I will probably never tastes or find but at least I know to be on the lookout! I tend to like lighter beers, and the Asian ones always seem to tickle my fancy, currently Tiger beer just has my heart, and its extremely simple and non fussy I even love the name, which represents my favorite animal. Fruit flavored beers are also fun, but when I feel like something sweet. Currently having discovered great strawberry ale I am in search of new and untested brews.

This is a fun, sort of a mini encyclopedia for anyone who's a fan of the beverage and fan of history and the way different countries can interpret hops, malted barley, wheat, corn or even rice into their own distinct beverages. So yeah you have to do a few more crunches but beer is worth it.

- Kasia S.

A wonderful collection of beer information. The layout is unlike any other I have seen, devoting a full page for each of 500 world class beers. This book is very informative and includes a full picture of every single beer in both a bottle and a full glass! It goes beyond the rating guides and even gives the ideal serving temperature for each brew. Also, keep in mind that all of these beers would receive 3 to 4 stars in his rating guide, so there is really no need to list ratings...

M. Jackson has easily done it again. Another informative guide of beer. What sets this apart from beer guides that this shows the what the bottle looks like. All noted are high-quality brews. Gives point of origin (regionally of US or what country). Specific gravity (abw & abv), style and serving temperature. Has a nice synopsis of beer (& company). Easy read and type style. To those connoisseurs, the type (pictoral) of glass to serve these brews. The end pages shows how to pour 4 basic styles of beer. General beertasting concepts. Types of beer when to drink (socially respectful and for self), briefly noted. Short Lexicon. Useful Addresses and websites. Excellent addition to any 'craftbeer' lover.

A must for any beer lovers collection. Especially if you are a traveller and have the chance to visit some of these places for the beer. I must say that our reader from Hamburg is certainly entitled to their opinion, but remember this is not a book about being funny it is about beer, and when it comes to beer Michael Jackson certainly is the foremost authority on the subject.

If you love to read about, and taste, gourmet beer, then chalk this book up as a must-have.

Michael "The Beer Hunter" Jackson (not to be confused with the glove-wearing pop singer of the same name) is (as of this writing) the most well known beer writer in the world.

In his book, TBH (the beer hunter) tours all the major beer producing regions of the globe, and discusses many of their most well known and widely selling offerings. It's a great book to learn about the names and styles of beer from around the globe, and there are lots of spiffy full color pictures and some fairly decent tasting notes.

TBH's books do have minor flaws - the only one worth mentioning (not that it matters to most laypersons) is that MJ is a just a beer aficianado and a paid guest speaker ... he's NOT a brewer. Homebrewers who buy his books in order to learn more about how to make the beers they read about in his books are bound to be disappointed, because MJ often omits the sort of details that brewing geeks like me obsess over ... such as which beers use which hops and (in general) which types of specialty grains; the fact that the secret ingredient of Anchor Brewing's "Old Foghorn" Barleywine is Maple Syrup; and that Mackesson Triple Stout gets it's slightly burnt backnote from slightly scorched brewer's caramel. Such information exists, but you have to hunt around elsewhere for it ... a good starting place is the "Classic Beer Style Series" (IBDoF linkage pending).

Bottom line: This is a great all around book for beer lovers.

This is an excellent beer reference for both novice and expert beer lovers. The bulk of the content is made up of one-page-per-beer descriptions complete with tasting notes, historical anecdotes, pictures of the beer and bottle, and a table filled with notes on: region of origin, style, alcohol content, and serving temperature.

The book also contains a glossary of terms for those wishing to make their own tasting notes.

My primary use for the book has been to aid me in selecting new beers to try when I make internet orders.