The ultimate guide to more than 450 classic brews, presented by the Beer Hunter(r) himself, Michael Jackson.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Possibly the world's most famous beer writer, British author Michael Jackson has made an enviable living surveying the lure and the lore of this most democratic of beverages. His classic coffee-table textbooks, The New World Guide to Beer and Michael Jackson's Beer Companion, offer highly regarded overviews of the world's styles, traditions, and techniques. Along with a television documentary series, numerous articles in trade publications, and extensive touring, Jackson's guides have established the other Michael Jackson as one of the great promoters of great beer.
With Ultimate Beer, Jackson homes in on the particulars: which beer, when, and why. After a concise overview of brewing ingredients and processes, Jackson explores a myriad of beers from every corner of the brewing world. His suggestions are organized by the situation in which they might best be enjoyed: from summer sippers to winter warmers, aperitifs to nightcaps. Enticing photography of each beer and its packaging accompanies Jackson's tasting notes, brief technical info, and product-specific tidbits. Then, Jackson indulges further with chapters on matching particular beers to particular dishes, and follows that up with a brief guide to cooking with beer.
The guiding principle of Jackson's writing--that which he shares with any beer enthusiast--is that beer, like wine, is best enjoyed when served at the right time, in the right conditions, and with the right dish. This book is Michael Jackson's very personal attempt to point the way to enjoying that Ultimate Beer. --Todd Gehman
Review
"Mr. Jackson, an engaging British writer, has already established himself as a - perhaps the - hops authority... Another in the large-format, visually stunning Dorling Kindersley series of food and beverage books, Ultimate Beer is chock full of almost life size color photographs of beers from around the world, and text that is equally cosmopolitan... His descriptions are so vivid...he seems to enjoy cooking as much as he does drinking. Instead of joining him at the pub, maybe you'd rather follow him home around supper time." -- New York Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This probably shouldn't be any beer lover's primary reference - the main emphasis seems to be on the pictures. Not, however, that there is anything wrong with that. The illustrations are mouth watering and worth the cost of the book. The text seems to aimed toward novices.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Ultimate Beer" by Michael Jackson, is a great book to acquaint the curious beer drinker with the unique characteristics and styles that are available. Beer is no longer the boring, "they all taste the same" beverage that it was in the United States for so long. Thanks to the microbrewing revolution, beer is now the equivalent of wine in respect to its diversity and its adaptability to many occasions.
The best part of this book is the illustrations. Each beer is presented in a section with similar beer styles, complete with a picture of the bottle and a picture of a glass filled with that particular brand of beer. There is also a food/occasion section with more pictures of beer along with the food that it best accomodates.
This book provides a good reference to the many styles of beer, the brewing process, and the compatibility of beer to any taste or occasion. Take notice: after you read this book and look at those full glasses of beer, you will have an uncontrollable urge to head to the nearest beverage store!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a large, coffee-table sized book on nice, glossy paper with beautiful photos and graphics. Those of you who know Jackson as a beer and scotch writer need no introduction to him, but for those of you who won't, Jackson has authored numerous books on single-malt whisky and beer and starred in and wrote the "The Beer Hunter" TV series, where he travelled the world in search of great beers.
Jackson puts his vast knowledge of beer to work in this very attractive work. There is a tremendous amount of enjoyable detail, history, tasting notes, and other information in this book. In contrast to some of his other books, this one is more topically organized--that is, there are sections on many of the different types and styles of beers, "Winter Warmers" (i.e., the bock beers), "Strong Ales," and "Belgian Wheats"-- and so on. Also interestingly, the later sections are on picking beers to go well with foods, and there are separate sections on seafood, beef, poultry, etc. These sections take up perhaps one-third of the book.
The layout and writing is well organized and fits well with the graphics on each page. Each section has an introductory paragraph or two to introduce the style of beer, giving the basic facts and some history. Then the rest of the area on each page shows photos of prominent examples of each beer with descriptions, including historical info on the brewery and tasting notes. Over 450 important beers are pictured and discussed, making this a veritable treasure trove of fun information on all types of beer. Overall another great beer book from Jackson, and if I had to pick one beer book from him to have, this would probably be it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Overall knoledge about beers in a beautiful book!
A very beautiful book, with the basic and most important information about beers and their history all around the world.
Published 8 months ago by mpcrosta
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome info and pictures of Beer
When I received this book I was overwhelmed at how well written it was. This book is filled with a lot of great details and images of all different beers. Read more
Published on February 13, 2009 by B. Kress
5.0 out of 5 stars
My path to beerdom
6 years ago I took this from a friends dad because he never even looked at it. This was the first book I ever owned on beer. Read more
Published on May 9, 2006 by Jeffrey S. Erway
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great starter book.
This book is definitely aimed towards the person who's just starting to dabble in expanding his taste in beers. Read more
Published on September 22, 2000 by Douglas Kovatch
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Pictures
I own almost 10 books on beer, and this book has by far the best photographs in it. Hundreds of beers are shown in the bottle and in a full glass from the respective brewery. Read more
Published on June 3, 2000 by Oskar Norlander
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great coffee table book, not an educational tome.
This is a very handsome coffee table book that is great for casual reading while enjoying a fine beer. It is not a volume to raise your beer IQ by any appreciable degree. Read more
Published on October 16, 1999 by Bradley Morehouse
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing
Poorly researched and badly organized, this book is a huge disappointment. One of the most superficial works on this subject that I've read. Read more
Published on July 14, 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
Great Book
Published on July 5, 1999
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hardly Ultimate
Self-Appointed beer expert Jackson churns out more amateur fluff in this shallow study. Hardly ultimate and hardly scholarship - at least not on the level of Gunderson, Klein, or... Read more
Published on January 18, 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimate Beer is like Buttah!
I LOVE "Ultimate Beer." My friends at work have been passing it around and I doubt I'll ever get the book back. Read more
Published on October 28, 1998
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