Jonny Garrett, cofounder of the YouTube sensation Craft Beer Channel, travels in search of the deeper cultural impact of brewing—how it has become one of the world’s most important inventions and shaped our lives for millennia.

What’s the oldest and most consumed alcoholic beverage on earth? Beer, of course. And it might just be one of our more important inventions.

Since its creation thirteen thousand years ago, our love of beer has shaped everything from religious ceremonies to advertising, and architecture to bioengineering. The people who built the pyramids were paid in ale; the first fridge was built for beer, not food; bacteria was discovered while investigating sour beer; Germany’s beer halls hosted Hitler’s rise to power; and brewer’s yeast may yet be the answer to climate change.

In The Meaning of Beer, award-winning beer writer Jonny Garrett tells the stories of these incredible human moments and inventions, taking readers to some of the best-known beer destinations in the world—Munich and Oktoberfest, Carlsberg Brewery’s historic laboratory, St. Louis and the home of Budweiser—as well as those lesser known, from a five-thousand-year-old brewery in the Egyptian desert to Arctic Svalbard, home to the world’s most northerly pub.

Ultimately, this is not a book about how we made beer, but how beer made us.

An Insider's Guide to Craft Beer the World's Greatest Drink "Brad and Jonny make understanding beer easy and nearly as fun as drinking it." James Watt, founder of Brewdog. #1 Best Seller in Beer Beer has come a long way in the 6,000 years since the first taste. The legends of the craft beer industry have made sure everyone's within reach of the perfect pint. But how do you get the right brew for you? And can you learn to make a beer that adds to the lager legacy? Beers of the world. Welcome to Beer School, brought to you by the heroes of YouTube sensation the Craft Beer Channel, a guide to everything you need to know about the wide and wonderful beers of the world. In Beer School, Jonny and Brad explain the intricacies of the finest artisan craft brews including: ales, lagers, porters, stouts, IPSs, and bitters. How to make beer. The lads have the inside scoop on everything from hop varieties and barrel aging, to serving temperatures and glassware. Beer School helps you learn how to make beer and how to get the most out of every sip. Learn about grain, mash, water, hops, boil, yeast, fermentation, serving, storing, pouring, and tasting. If you have read books such as The Complete Beer Course by Joshua M. Bernstein or The Beer Bible by Jeff Alworth, you'll love Beer School by Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans.

Book description: This book is the definitive guide to the 250 best beers in the world today, selected by a panel of eight renowned international beer writers and influencers. Following a lengthy process of discussion and debate, each of our eight writers has arrived at their own final list of their favourite beers in the world. Illustrated in full colour throughout, this high-quality book is a must-have for all self-respecting beer lovers.