Written by one of the world's leading authorities and hailed by American Brewer as "brilliant" and "by a wide margin the best reference now available," Beer offers an amusing and informative account of the art and science of brewing, examining the history of brewing and how the brewing process has evolved through the ages. The third edition features more information concerning the history of beer especially in the United States; British, Japanese, and Egyptian beer; beer in the context of health and nutrition; and the various styles of beer. Author Charles Bamforth has also added detailed sidebars on prohibition, Sierra Nevada, life as a maltster, hopgrowing in the Northwestern U.S., and how cans and bottle are made. Finally, the book includes new sections on beer in relation to food, contrasting attitudes towards beer in Europe and America, how beer is marketed, distributed, and retailed in the US, and modern ways of dealing with yeast.

Champagne: Wine of Kings and the King of Wines guides you through the astounding history of how this delicious drink became the hallmark of celebrations, commiserations and partying across the globe. It covers the process of making champagne and the vintage years and the special cuvees; the history of champagne; individual entries on all the major Champagne Houses, the lesser estates, co-operatives, growers and variations of sparkling wine; the social and cultural impact of champagne - how it has become a part of certain traditions; by a man with great knowledge of the drinks business, the beautifully illustrated Champagne: Wine of Kings and the King of Wines is for the connoisseur and the newcomer alike.

In this book, Clive Coates, a Master of Wine who has spent four decades of his distinguished career in Burgundy, shares his vast insider's knowledge of one of the world's most exciting, complex, and intractable wine regions. Personal rather than encyclopedic, and informed by Coates' unparalleled access to regular, extensive tastings, this book imparts the author's philosophy and expertise as to how best approach, appreciate, and discuss the wines of Burgundy. Coates updates and supplements the domaine profiles featured in his two previous books, Cote D'Or and The Wines of Burgundy with new in-depth assessments of specific vineyards. Divided into three sections - Vineyard Profiles, Domaine Profiles, and Vintage Assessments - My Favorite Burgundies considers the leading vineyards and today's top estates, and features detailed maps and a wealth of tasting notes that reflect how the wine develops as it ages. Enlivened by Coates' singular, firsthand knowledge and precise descriptions, this is an indispensable guide for amateur and professional enophiles alike.

A professional booze writer whose life spins out of control tries to piece it back together by embarking upon an epic wine-fueled adventure that takes him to every corner of the U.S. Part vision quest, part guidebook, part journey into the bizarre tapestry of American life, it will make you laugh, make you cry and teach you a whole lot about wine. Former Playboy magazine nightlife columnist Dan Dunn has a made a career out of drinking. Yet this man's man-a connoisseur of beer and whiskey-knew next to nothing about one of the major drinks enjoyed the world over: wine. When a fateful tasting experience coincided with a serious existential crisis, Dunn decided to hit the road on a journey of discovery. To quench his thirst for knowledge (and be able to throw down with the experts), he would educate himself about the industry glass by glass, from winery to winery, in nearly every region in the United States. His bold 15,000-mile road trip took Dunn from Sonoma, California, to Pawley's Island, South Carolina, where he twirled, sniffed, and sipped glass after glass of a vast array of wines with vintners, savants, and celebrities, including Kurt Russell and "The Most Interesting Man in the World," Jonathan Goldsmith. Dunn's mission was to transform himself from a heartbroken schlub who barely knew the difference between Merlot and Meritage, into a confident connoisseur capable of wowing others simply by swirling some fermented grape juice around in his mouth and pronouncing it "troubling, yet brilliant." In American Wino, Dunn shares it all-the good, the bad, the sublime. As his wine knowledge grows and becomes more complex, he shares it with the reader in the form of digestible, actionable nuggets in each chapter. It's like a wine-tasting course at your local community college extension program, only with more sex and less crushing despair. An intoxicating blend of travel writing, memoir, and booze journalism that pairs earthy humor with fine wine for hilarious and enlightening results, it is the story of one man's journey to find himself-and everyman's journey to better understand the true spirit of this divine elixir.

The newest entry in our top-selling "Bad-Ass" series, "Big Bad-Ass Bar Tricks" is an essential guide to the best and most amusing bar tricks ever created! Great for bartenders and those who wish they were, this book will inspire any light-hearted reader to perfect their skills through easy instruction for dozens of tricks involving dollar bills, matches, beer bottles, wine glasses, cocktail napkins, olives, fruit, straws, toothpicks, and more.

Cask ale, real ale, bitter...whatever you want to call it, it's thriving and this book is the perfect drinking companion. Written by acclaimed beer expert Adrian Tierney-Jones, this is an accessible and interactive guide to Britain's finest beers with reviews of over 150 ales and 40 perfect pubs in which to try them. The unique journal format will help you record and rate every tasting as you work your way through beers of every hue and flavour from the nine regions of the British Isles; from the malty milds of the Midlands to the sweet, fruity golds of the South-West. With guides to beer tasting and styles, plus top ten lists of essential beers for every region, this is a must-have interactive guide to the greatest pints in Britain.

Interest in wine has steadily increased in recent years, with people far more sophisticated about wine than they used to be. And, inevitably, those who take a serious interest in wine find themselves asking questions about it that are at heart philosophical.
Questions of Taste is the first book to tackle these questions, illuminating the philosophical issues surrounding our love of wine. Featuring lucid essays by top philosophers, a linguist, a biochemist, and a winemaker and wine critic, this book applies their critical and analytical skills to answer--or at least understand--many thorny questions. Does the experience of wine lie in the glass or in our minds? Does the elaborate language we use to describe wine--alluding to the flavors of cheese or fruit, or to a wine's "suppleness" or "brawniness"---really mean anything at all? Can two people taste one wine in the same way? Does a wine expert enjoy wine more than a novice? These questions and others are not just the concern of the wine lover, but go to the heart of how we think about the world around us--and are the province of the philosopher.
With a foreword by leading wine authority Jancis Robinson (editor of the highly acclaimed Oxford Companion to Wine), this volume will be of interest to anyone who thinks seriously about the experience of enjoying wine, as well as those interested in seeing philosophy applied to the world of the everyday.

An inside look at how craft beer makers and IPA devotees come together to brew, taste, and enjoy fine ale while also building a sense of community in Las Vegas Equally reviled and revered as Sin City, Las Vegas is both exceptional and emblematic of contemporary American cultural practices and tastes. Michael Ian Borer takes us inside the burgeoning Las Vegas craft beer scene to witness how its adherents use beer to create and foster not just a local culture but a locals' culture. Through compelling, detailed first-hand accounts and interviews, Vegas Brews provides an unprecedented look into the ways that brewers, distributors, bartenders, and drinkers fight against the perceived and preconceived norm about what "happens in Vegas" and lay claim to a part of their city that is too often overshadowed by the bright lights of tourist sites. Borer shows how our interactions with the things we care about-and the ways that we care about how they're made, treated, and consumed-can lead to new senses of belonging and connections with and to others and the places where we live. In a world where people and things move around at an extraordinary pace, the folks Borer spent time talking (and drinking) with remind us to slow down and learn how to taste the "good life," or at least a semblance of it, even in a city where style is often valued over substance.

An innovative, captivating tour of the finest gins and distilleries the world has to offer, brought to you by bestselling author and gin connoisseur Tristan Stephenson. The Curious Bartender's Gin Palace is the follow-up to master mixologist Tristan Stephenson's hugely successful books, 'The Curious Bartender' and 'The Curious Bartender: An Odyssey of Malt, Bourbon & Rye Whiskies'. Discover the extraordinary journey that gin has taken, from its origins in the Middle Ages as the herbal medicine 'genever' to gin's commercialization and the dark days of the Gin Craze in mid 18th Century London, through to its partnership with tonic water - creating the most palatable and enjoyable anti-malarial medication - to the golden age that it is now experiencing. In the last few years, hundreds of distilleries and micro-distilleries are cropping up all over the world, producing superb craft products infused with remarkable new blends of botanicals. In this book, you'll be at the cutting-edge of the most exciting developments, uncovering the alchemy of the gin production process and the science of flavour before taking a tour through the most exciting distilleries and gins the world has to offer. Finally, put Tristan's mixology skills into practice with a dozen spectacular cocktails including a Purl, a Rickey and a Fruit Cup.

This is a lavishly illustrated exploration and celebration of real cider and its close cousin perry, for both new converts to cider and more traditional cider-drinkers. With a modern, engaging design, a sharp focus and with fascinating detail, this books aims to appeal to the growing number of cider drinkers, and to persuade drinkers of characterless industrial brands of the merits of the real thing. Cider showcases the best of the British craft cider revolution, with features on some of the characters involved in cider - and perry-making and articles on the history of cider and perry, noteworthy cider pubs, making your own cider, cooking with cider, cider's place in British folklore and foreign ciders.

"THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF BOURBON."-Sacramento Bee A Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Bestseller A ROLLICKING BIOGRAPHY OF BOURBON WHISKEY THAT DOUBLES AS "A COMPLEX AND ENTERTAINING" (WALL STREET JOURNAL) HISTORY OF AMERICA ITSELF Few products are so completely or intimately steeped in the American story as bourbon whiskey. As Dane Huckelbridge's masterfully crafted history reveals, the iconic amber spirit is the American experience, distilled, aged, and sealed in a bottle.

Time-honored cocktails like the New York Sour and the Sidecar were born during the era of Prohibition, the blessedly bygone social experiment that turned drinking into an underground adventure. In those days, hard beverage options were usually made with homemade hooch and flavorings of dubious origin and quality.
Thankfully, a cocktail renaissance has emerged in many of today's bars, where inventive drinks showcase both the artistry and craft of bartending. At their moody and atmospheric West Village bar-restaurant Employees Only, master mixologists Jason Kosmas and Dushan Zaric can regale you with colorful tales of cocktail origins--or just pour you a mean drink. In "Speakeasy," Kosmas and Zaric take their inspiration from traditional favorites, then use the finest spirits, the freshest ingredients, and a good measure of reverence for their craft to elevate the mixed drink to artisanal status.
More than 80 imaginative libations that riff on the classics are showcased in this one-of-a-kind collection. Recipes emphasize fresh fruits and herbs, homemade syrups and infusions, and a careful balancing of flavors, with a mind toward seasonality. A Ginger Smash is offered in four different versions: kumquat, pineapple, pear, or cranberry, depending on the time of year. The Millionaire becomes the Billionaire with the addition of homemade grenadine and 107-proof bourbon. And the South Side becomes the West Side by replacing the gin with sun-kissed Meyer lemon-infused vodka. With the specter of Prohibition firmly in the past, "Speakeasy" shares recipes for the choicest potent potables, reimagining the finest drinks of yesterday for today's thirsty imbibers.

*** "Jamie Goode is a rarity in the wine world: a trained scientist who can explain complicated subjects without dumbing them down or coming over like a pointy head. It also helps that he's a terrific writer with a real passion for his subject." - Tim Atkin MW, Observer This revolutionary book is the only in-depth reference to detail the processes, developments and factors affecting the science of winemaking. Jamie Goode, a highly regarded expert on the subject, skilfully opens up this complex subject and explains the background to the various processes involved and the range of issues surrounding their uses. He reports on the vital progress in winemaking research and explains the practical application of science with reference to the range of winemaking techniques used around the world, as well as viticultural practices, organics and ecology and lifestyle influences. This third edition of Wine Science includes new sections such as managing vineyard soils, vine disease and the vineyard of the future. Jamie has updated the text throughout, and many existing chapters are entirely revised. Written in a uniquely accessible style, the book is divided into three sections covering the vineyard, the winery and human interaction with wine. It features more than 80 illustrations and photographs to help make even the most complex topics clear, straightforward and easy to understand.

The pub has been at the heart of English life for generations. But how has this unique institution developed over the centuries? Paul Jennings traces the history of the English pub, looking at how it evolved from the coaching inn and the humble alehouse, through back-street beerhouses and 'fine, flaring' gin palaces to the drinking establishments of the twenty-first centuries. Covering all aspects of pub life, this fascinating history examines pubs in town and country. It identifies key trends and discusses architecture and interior design. It looks at customers and their varied activities in pubs and at the men and women who ran them. The story of the pub is set throughout the wider context of social change. The Local is a must-read for the pub-goer and anyone interested in the history of the English people.

Now you can with this indispensable handbook, the most thorough'and thoroughly accessible'bartending guide ever created for both professional and home use. Encyclopedic in scope and filled with clear, simple instructions, The Bartender's Bible includes information on:

• Stocking and equipping a bar'from liquors and mixers to condiments, garnishes, and equipment

• Shot-by-shot recipes for over 1,000 cocktails and mixed drinks from bourbon to rum to whiskey

• Wine drinks

• Beer drinks

• Nonalcoholic drinks

• Special category drinks'tropical, classics, aperitifs, cordials, hot drinks, and party punches

• Anecdotes and histories of favorite potables

• And more!

If you've ever wondered whether to shake or stir a proper Martini, or what to do with those dusty bottles of flavored liqueurs, The Bartender's Bible is the only book you need!

A bartender, as a rule, is a person who enjoys the company of others, endeavors to solve problems, listens to the woes of the world, sympathizes with the mistreated, laughs with the comedians, cheers up the down at heart, and generally controls the atmosphere at his or her bar. A bartender is the manager of moods, the master of mixology.

Certain scenarios are played out over and over again in bars everywhere. The questions are basically the same; only the details vary: What's in a true Singapore Sling? How long has the Martini been around? What's the difference between a Fix and a Fizz? A reference book is as necessary to a bartender as ice.

-- from The Bartender's Bible

For many people, wine is an anxiety-inducing mystery as arcane as quantum physics, and with so many varieties, it's difficult to know what to choose. As New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov argues, that puzzling uncertainty often prevents people from buying and ordering wine, depriving them of an exquisite, deeply satisfying experience. In How to Love Wine, Asimov examines why the American wine culture produces such feelings of anxiety and suggests how readers can overcome their fears and develop a sense of discovery and wonder as they explore the diversity and complexity of the world of wine. With warmth, candor, and intelligent authority, Asimov interweaves his professional knowledge and insights with engaging personal stories of his love affair with wine, a lifelong passion that began when he was a graduate student on a budget. In a direct, down-to-earth manner, Asimov discusses favorite vineyards, wine's singular personalities, the tyranny of tasting notes -those meaningless, over-written wine descriptions that often pass for criticism today-and current wine issues. Throughout, he incorporates in-depth discussions of beautiful wines, both easy to find and rare, and pays special attention to those that have been particularly meaningful to him. Thought-provoking and enjoyable, How to Love Wine will help diminish readers' anxiety, bolster their confidence, and transform them into true wine lovers.