Beers of the World: Over 350 Classic Beers, Lagers, Ales, and Porters (Hardcover)

by David Kenning (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Parragon Publishing (May 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405450509
• ISBN-13: 978-1405450508
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #597,363 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Innacurate and lacking, February 12, 2006

By	Jeffrey S. Erway "barleywhiner" (Navajo Nation, NM) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

OK so this book does a descent job of introduction to beer for the novice. And when I say novice, I mean someone who has never drinken or been to a place that sells beer. So does anyone really need to know about Bud, Labbats, Molson, Coors, Old Milwaukee, Miller, or any other of the crap macros??? Really???

So on to the innacuracies:
P. 42. Hair of the Dog Fred is not a lager, it is a strong golden ale. None of HOTD beers are lagers.
P. 59. Post Road is a brewery owned by F.X. Matt and it is brewed in Utica, not Brooklyn.
P. 66 Stone Ruination is not an IPA, it is an Imperial (or Double) India Pale Ale. In addition, most IPAs are not in the range of 5-5.5% abv. Oficcially speaking, IPAs are anywhere between 5.5-7.5% abv.

I have found many others but I will stop here. No need to beat a dead horse.

Now, onto what it is missing.

BREWPUBS!!! There is not a single mention of beers at brewpubs. As such PP Solano beach, PP Carlsbad, PP San Clemente, Oggi's, Elysian, Russian River, Sly Fox, Vermont Pub and Brewery, The Cambridge house, Flossmoor Station, The Town Hall, and oh so many other great beers are not in the American section.
Ok so lets say that he only wanted to cover the breweries that were mainly bottlers. I can live with that. So where are Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, Alesmith, Avery and Jolly Pumpkin. Oh wait, their space must have been taken up by the pages of Michelob Ultra and Old Style.

Canada: One of the finest brewers in the world is in Motreal. While Dieu Du Ciel! is a brewpub, they do bottle and a discussion of current Canadian beer cannot be complete without them.

Britain: Pardon me but isn't the writter Brittish? Where are Samuel Smith's, J.W. Lee's, Thomas Hardy's, Courage RIS, and oh I don't know...Bass No. 1???

Austria and Switzerland: The most recognizable and noteworthy beer that either one of these countries ever made is Samichlaus. Not even a mention?

Belgium: Well I could write a lot about what is missing from this, I'll try to keep it short. He starts the chapter with a short discussion of Lambic beers. That's good. Then he states that sometimes the beers are mixed with fruit to make Gueuze. This is an incorrect statement and shows a serious lack of understanding by the author. Gueuze, in most cases, is a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old lambic unless it is Oude Gueuze and then it is just the 3 year old. Lambic mixed with fruit is named by the fruit it is mixed with; Framboise, Kriek, Cassis, and so on. He then shows only two examples in the chapter of lambic producers, Mort Subite and Lindeman's. Ever heard of Cantillon??? A discussion of lambic cannot be made without the mention of Cantillon. They are the most traditional and well respected of Lambic producers. Lindeman's Gueuze is the only Gueze shown. That is the least respected of the Gueuze style because it is pasteurized and has artificial sweetners. If he wanted to stick to Lindeman's, the Cuvee Rene would have been a much better choice as it is a more authentic beer. There is also no mention of the beer Orval's brett characteristics or of how the beer has changed since they have moved to closed secondary feremnters. I would also like to mention that none of the Westvleteren line were included, easily the most sought after beers of Belgium

Australia: Foster's gets it's own page and Cooper's doesn't even get a mention. Nuff said.

In all this is a very flawed book written by someone who didn't know enough to know that he didn't know enough. Innaccuracies abound. If you want to read a well wriiten book about the beers of the world pick up Micheal Jackson's pocket guide or Ultimate Beer.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pass on this one, June 25, 2006

By	Rockin in the free world (Rochester Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Mr. Erway's review is right on, this book is garbage. Sometimes I wonder if the author got mixed up when commenting on some beers. Chimay Rouge "is dominated by it's big hop aroma...The hop character continues to dominate..." Huh?

Much better info available on the internet, save your money.