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Travels with Barley — the name is a spin on Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley — is author Ken Wells’ journey down the Mississippi in search of the Perfect Beer Joint. At least, that’s how it started out, and that would have no doubt been a fine book. But Wells had an open mind and a sharp eye, and quickly found that there was more to beer joints than just Big Three drafts and chicken wings. That’s when the diversions started, and before long his journey down the River of Beer began to look a lot more like a Beer Geek’s Progress.

Wells, a senior editor at the Wall Street Journal, is actually quite hip to beer, having been indoctrinated through a full immersion course with no less than Sam Calagione, but it seems quite natural that he first discovers German lagers, the components of beer, brewpubs, beer history, extreme beer, homebrewing and Fred Eckhardt, Portland (Oregon, and the famous Mary’s, the strip club with 30+ taps)…in fact, Wells rather neatly compresses almost every bit of the beer geek experience into the book.

He has a lot of fun along the way with the things he learns and the people he meets. He looks for Elvis in Memphis, raising the eternal question: What Would Elvis Drink? The huge, rambling, insanely busy Flora-Bama in Perdido Key, Florida and its annual Mullet Toss gives you a look at the crazy side of beer. Wells walks into bars all along the river, gets handed from one beer enthusiast to another, and meets an unfunny cartoonist, a yeast rustler, a Grand Wazoo, a whole lot of bartenders, and more than a couple drunken people.

The importance of the book stems directly from this mix of mainstream and geek-stream. Wells writes about beer and does it well, without any of the errors common to mainstream press coverage of beer and brewing. He covers the full scope of beer in America: big brewers, craft brewers, and homebrewers. The key point for those of us who love variety in beer is that while treating Big Beer with respect, he clearly comes down as One of Us, fascinated by the panorama of beer. This is the kind of responsible, believable book craft beer needs as an introduction to the mainstream drinking public.

But it’s that respect that makes this the perfect gift for your Bud Light-loving brother-in-law. Get Travels with Barley for him this Christmas (assuming he can read), and wait for Wells’ subversive message to get through: all beer is good, but some of it is a whole lot more interesting than others. It’s a compelling concept: most beer books are good, but some of them are a whole lot more interesting than others.

— Lew Bryson

Randy Mosher is a remarkable man. He is a long time homebrewer, beer authority and author, and seems to have limitless energy for beer, brewing, and all related topics, and his enthusiasm is contagious. As Michael Jackson states in the foreword, "The world desperately needs more Moshers."

Although the title might lead you to believe that this is a book filled with only wacky recipes and the like, Mosher states in the introduction "…the only requirement for being a radical brewer is to pursue the art with great passion." He obviously has great passion for the subject, and it really comes through in his writing. Again, from the introduction:
"This book has two goals. The first is to help you brew great beer. Wacked-out, elegant, seductive, mind-blowingly delicious beer. The second is to help you understand that beer is an art form, a gastronomic treasure, a political act, a mystical ritual, a food, and a fundamental human craft. This, in turn, will help you brew even better beer."

The book begins with a history of beer, brewing practices, ingredients, recipe formulation and chapters on basic beer styles like Basic Drinkers (Bitters, Pale Ales, IPAs and the like), Lagers, Belgian style beers, Big Honkin’Beers, and so on. Each chapter includes recipes for the style being discussed, as well as special brewing techniques that can be used (the lager chapter, for example, includes a discussion of decoction brewing and instructions on how to do it for the beginner). The effect is to demystify these sometimes intimidating procedures. The tone is educational without being preachy, very humorous, and supportive.

The second half of the book delves into brewing with special ingredients, including unusual grains, fruits, Chile peppers, and mushrooms. An exhaustive table of herbs and spices that can be used in brewing is also included. There are also chapters on tasting beer, making your own ingredients, strange historical beers, and pairing beer with food.

The book is capped off with a chapter on Mosher’s home brewery, the Buckapound Brewery (named for the price he paid for the surplus stainless steel). Mosher is a graphic artist by trade, and this book is a visual delight, with drawings, sidebars, and pictures of old beer bottlers, labels, and brewing equipment on every page. Yet the look is clean, not cluttered. This is an exhaustive look at all things brewing related, and would make a great holiday gift for anyone interested in beer and brewing.

— Paul Sullivan

The Lambic brews of Belgium — consisting primarily of unblended Lambic; Gueuze; Kriek; Framboise; and Faro — are some of the most complex and enigmatic beers produced on Earth today. Yet, sadly, the consumption of the authentic versions of these brews has been on the decline for many years, due to a number of factors.

Three authors, two English, and one Flemish, seek to help save these fine beers and the simple cafes that serve them, with their new book, "LambicLand". Tim Webb is best known for his "Good Beer Guide to Belgium and Holland" which covers all aspects of the Belgian beer world, from breweries to specialty beer cafes, beer festivals, beer museums, travel, accommodation, and much more.

LambicLand does the same thing for the regions of Belgium which are the home of Lambic brewing and specialty cafes. Namely, the Payottenland area, to the South and West of Brussels, as well as Brussels cafe culture and the famous Cantillon brewery there.

Co-authors Chris "Podge" Pollard of England, who runs beer tours from England to Belgium for beer loving Brits, and Joris Pattyn, a well known beer researcher from Flanders for over 25 years, ably contribute to the book. Mr. Pattyn also translated the book into Dutch (the book is dual language). LambicLand is only available through www.booksaboutbeer.com.

LambicLand covers the nine Lambic breweries in the Payottenland and Brussels and also Lambic blenders, the simple cafes that serve Lambic beers, and much more. Just about anything one would need to know when traveling in the Lambic brewing regions is covered in the book, from contact info to opening hours and days to bus and train information.

For the cafes that serve Lambic brews, beer and food possibilities are listed, as are comments, given in Mr. Webb’s always classically witty British style. Directions are also offered, which can be critical in finding these often out of the way places.

Anyone interested in Lambic brews, from novice to beer expert, should have a copy of this book. The authors have been quoted recently about LambicLand, saying "This one we do for love." A worthy love, at that.

— Chuck Cook

This book took me back. I did a master’s in history 20 years ago, and for my historical statistics course, I managed to find a trove of data on commercial brewing production in Antwerp in the 1400s. I got a B- in the course, the worst grade I got in the whole program, but I still remember the fascination with the idea of brewing information from so long ago.

Richard Unger found that information and truckloads more for Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and makes the fascination real for the serious student of beer. This is not a book of homebrew recipes for gruit beers, or speculation about hop use or barrel aging. Unger’s book is a scholarly work on how beer went from home-brewed health drink to commercially brewed commodity and valued export, and how beer fell from its lofty status with the advent of spirits and improvements in wine.

One of the most interesting things about this book is how familiar so much of it is. Contract brewing? Well-established in the 13th Century. Wildly bitter ales? Complaints about them (from Englishmen!) in the 8th Century. Brewing in the home forbidden by the state? See the Hanseatic League, who wanted to be sure they got all the taxes coming to them. Importers and brewers selling the same beer under different names, and changing them every so often? An established practice by the 1600s. There is truly nothing new under the sun!

Unger’s book is not for everyone; it is an academic historical study of an international business. There are times, such as during the discussion of the taxation of gruit, that the book becomes hard slogging. But the look at beer’s historical roots is priceless and well-researched, and artfully hung on a framework of economic reasoning. This is an excellent addition to a serious beer reference library, and I look forward to referring to it many times in the future.

— Lew Bryson

The Big Book o’ Beer
By Duane Swierczynski
Quirk Books
ISBN 1-931686-49-1

A couple of things are clear from The Big Book o’ Beer.

One is that author Duane Swierczynski is a certified beer nut who has obviously fallen head over heels for what he (rightly) calls "the greatest beverage on Earth."

Another is that his name is not likely to become a household name. Swierczynski is endearingly sarcastic in many places, though his affection for his topic is always clear, even when he’s being flippant. In short, if you like the sportscasters on ESPN, you’ll like this book.

To be sure, there is not much in here that is earthshakingly new in terms of information, though I confess that I did not know the origin of "hobnob." Most beer geeks, in fact, know most of what’s in this book already. You may find yourself saying, "Hell, I knew that already, and this guy Swierczynski gets to write a book?"

Well, yes, he does. Because he obviously was driven by his passion to do it, and he does it well, often with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

One section needles beer snobs with a rapier-like comment on how to evaluate the color of a beer. "There are only so many synonyms for ‘straw’ and ‘brown’," says Swierczynski Another section gives tips on how to make all kinds of geeky beer toys, including The Swierczynski Beer Cap Table.

Filled with some really good photos of all kinds of beer-related things like striking beer steins and breweries, close-ups of exotic and familiar beer labels — even a blowup of a microscope’s view of ice beer (proving that some scientist has entirely too much time on his hands), the book is beautifully laid out. Its format reminds you of that short attention span style they use in major news magazines now.

It’s got recipes, atlases, art, graphs — even games to while away your beer drinking sessions when simple conversation fails. Don’t miss the Beer Glossary for some good laughs.

Disdaining old fashioned "chapters," Duane has organized his book into numbered "Beer Cans" with titles like The History of Beer, Beer and the Arts, Beer and the Applied Sciences and Beer Connoisseurship among others.

It’s a fun read, but this is not the sort of book you read from cover-to-cover, even if you’re just getting into beer. A smart pub owner might keep a copy at the bar — chained down, of course; but since it’s designed to be read in snatches and snips, the perfect place for this book is in the bathroom.

— Kurt Epps

Lead writer for "The Man Show", Ray James, brings his irreverent, sarcastic, chauvinistic wit to bear upon the world of beer with "The Man Show on Tap." If you are expecting an insightful, fact-filled, comedic homage to that most beloved beverage of the working man — well, you obviously don’t watch "The Man Show."

Most men remember the Comedy Central hit TV show for the "Juggies," the well-endowed women (who jumped up and down on a trampoline as the show credits rolled), with its shamelessly testosterone-fueled humor running a close second.

In terms of real beer information, there isn’t a whole lot there, except for the true beer "newbie" (although the introduction is actually pretty decent in terms of history). I did get a kick out of the table comparing beer prices in professional ballparks. (Best buy: Minnesota Twins — 24 oz. for $5.50. Worst buy: "Boston Red Sox — 12 oz. for $5.25) And I suppose knowing the DUI limits/penalties for each state could come in handy some day?

Instead, the book serves as vehicle to launch the typical humor that is the staple of the TV series. Although the beer-swilling/chauvinist jokes tend to run a little stale midway through, there are definitely some gems: How to open a beer with your teeth, lighter, eye socket, or buttocks; various drinking games (This version of "Donkey Kong" involves real rolling kegs!); "The Greatest Beer Tale Ever Told" — an epic contest between Mike Ditka and Tim Rossovich to see who can open the most bottles — with their teeth; "The Fastest Beer Drinker Ever" — remember when the Guinness Book of World Records used to include drinking? (Can you beat 1 liter in 1.3 seconds?)

Crude, predictable, and funny at turns, "The Man Show: On Tap" is about what fans of the show would expect. If you are the type of person who looks forward to emails with subject lines like: "10 Reasons Why a Beer is Better than a Woman" (also a section in the book) and want to broaden your beer pathos to include "Beer boobs," "The 40: Not Just For Black Guys Anymore," and topics in a similar vein; then this is the book for you. The perfect literary work for whiling away those long periods of solitude in the "porcelain reading room."

— Kevin Trayner

"Get the designated driver! Get the designated driver...to buy me a beer!" That’s just one of the pearls that comes from I. M. Happy, a lovable lout who ought to remind everybody of somebody they know.

The ruggedly built I. M. Happy is an action figure (or should that be an in-action figure?) of a guy, getting a bit on in his years, who’s perhaps put away a few too many brewskis. He’s a little rude and crude but you know that under his gruff exterior, he has a heart of gold. As he sits on his barstool, he hoists his mug, rocks his torso from side to side and bounces his leg in time with the music.

I.M Happy is the creation of Mickey Marchello, a longtime member of the NY metro music scene who with his brother, Peppi, founded The The beery soaked voice of I. M. Happy is that of Lou DiBella, the former head of HBO Sports - Boxing.

I could glaze your eyes in no time flat with the technical specifications about the product. Suffice it to say that he’s a lot more complicated than a "Billy Bass," and much wittier too.

Between him, his barstool and the base unit, Happy stands over fourteen inches tall. A press of a button starts the action. There’s a master on/off switch underneath. He runs on four "C" cell batteries, and there’s an included power jack for an optional AC adapter if you’d prefer to run him that way.

Retail outlets being considered for I. M. Happy include bars, breweries and beverage centers. You can purchase him directly via the web from http://www.57happy.com, or from a hotline, 1-866-97-HAPPY. If you surf over to the web page, you can find some pictures of Happy and a mock history which is really cute.