From Kirkus Reviews
The rollicking California-based authors of Hot Links and Country Flavors (1990)--Aidells, a sausage-maker with a Ph.D., and Kelly, who writes and teaches about wine and food--are back with an all-American beer book that combines: a history of beer-making and beer-drinking in America; 175 recipes for pickling onions and smoking fish and preparing other gutsy food that is cooked with beer or goes with beer; and a survey of the new microbreweries, regional breweries, brew pubs, and other small beer companies that constitute, the authors say, a ``genuine beer renaissance'' throughout the land. Oddly, considering the subject, the prose here hasn't the lusty, free-wheeling drive that made Hot Links a trip to read--but this is still a beer-lovers' boon: a guide to choice beers, beer touring, and old-fashioned lip-smackin' eats to wash down with the brew of your newly enlightened choice. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
From the Inside Flap
or beer lovers -- and much, much more. In Real Beer & Good Eats, Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly take you on an exhilarating beer and food odyssey into the heart of America, tasting the rich new full-bodied beers and ales that are being produced by small breweries today and sampling delicious foods that go with good suds. Along the way, they tell you the story of American beer, from the founding fathers (who refused to tax what they called "liquid bread") and Washington and Jefferson (who both brewed their own) to the heyday of beer gardens and neighborhood saloons.
The renaissance of good beer-making that is sweeping the country brings with it a new interest in foods that go well with beer. The 175 recipes that Aidells and Kelly bring together here reflect the great American regional dishes and traditional saloon fare, as well as the cooking of brewpub chefs who are creating a new beer cuisine.
To wit...
Typical of brewing days in early America -- Pi
From the Back Cover
Beer is the beverage of celebration, of the shared harvest and communal prosperity. It's what we drink at town festivals and picnics in the park, beach parties and block parties, family reunions and friendly get-togethers. From the Goddess of Beer to Spuds McKenzie, on Oktoberfest or the Fourth of July, at Sunday afternoon baseball or Alderman Riley's reelection, beer is the drink of parties and holidays, the ritual substance that unites us all.And beer in America is always tied to food. A hot dog at the stadium or clambake on Cape Cod, a barbecue with the neighbors or the Sheboygan bratwurst festival: all are incomplete without foaming mugs of beer to accompany the feast.
Beer itself is, after all, a form of food. When asked about taxing beer, one of our founding fathers objected, "Sirrah, it is liquid bread!" And indeed it is: the first food purity laws date from the Babylonian lawgiver Hammurabi's time and condemn brewers who make bad beer to be thrown into the river. The Bavarian Rheinheitsgebot (Purity Law) of 1516 is still in effect and ensures that only grain, yeast, hops, and pure water be used to brew beer.
Beer is basically fermented grain and is nourishing in and of itself. Early sailors carried it aboard ship to drink in place of foul water and to prevent scurvy. It is said that beer, bread, and onions built Egypt's pyramids. The Vikings brewed a special Portage Ale to give them strength for the great portage around Kiev. Beer was an essential part of the diet of the European peasant from time immemorial. And it was, especially in northern Europe, England, and early America, the beverage of choice at the table.
In colonial America beer was drunk at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a ration of beer was part of the everyday wages of the agricultural laborer. Beer accompanied everything from the plowman's simple lunch of bread and cheese to the most elaborate banquet menus in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.
About the Author
Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly are the authors of Hot Links & Country Flavors, the first book in the Knopf Cooks American series. Aidells is the chef-owner of the Aidells Sausage Company, and both authors, who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, have traveled widely in the United States to explore American food and drink.
