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Shelf Number | Material Type | Copy | Shelf Location | Status |
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641.23 SWI | Book | 1 | Standard shelving location | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The Big Book o' Beer is a lavish colour celebration of The Greatest Beverage on Earth, with numerous photographs and little-known facts. Duane Swierczynski takes readers around the world and through 10,000 years of history to answer all beer-related questions. Subjects include History (what is mead anyway?), Crafts and Gear (transform empties into dazzling arts and crafts), Science (why don't they teach this stuff in chem class?) and Arts and Entertainment (with beloved beer spokesmodels like Spuds McKenzie). Along with a recipe for beer ice cream, there are sections on classic cheap beers, rules of drinking games, guidelines for brewing your own and all the froth on Canadian beer.
Author Notes
John Heller is a gallery owner and work-incentive poster aficionado based in New Rochelle, New York.
Reviews (1)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Beer may have gone a bit upscale in recent years, what with all those microbrews and Belgian ales, but Swierczynski (The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion) is more interested in the history of Pabst Blue Ribbon and the trivia of hangovers, not to mention the physics of a flying bottle cap, the world's weirdest beer flavors (he's found banana and white chocolate mousse, among others) and beer label art. He divides this visually captivating compendium into a six-pack of chapters, covering history, geography, crafts, the sciences, the arts and even connoisseurship as they relate to readers' favorite hop-flavored brew. The "Bonus Can" chapter appears to include stuff that wouldn't fit anywhere else (e.g., Web sites and drinking songs). Swierczynski has amassed quite a collection of images: vintage Milwaukee's Best cans, jars of pickled eggs, Heineken mugs, drinking funnels and even beer can votive holders are all on display, and the random sidebars and diagrams will help hold readers' attention. Despite all this, the book is largely a jumble of only loosely related facts and lists, and virtually no subject gets more than a paragraph of text. It's too disorganized to serve as a reference book, and too choppy to be read all the way through, yet too attractive and entertaining to put down for long. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Table of Contents
Introduction: One Hundred Bottles of Beer on My Wall | p. 7 |
Can #1 The History of Beer | p. 9 |
Great Moments in Beer History: Antiquity | p. 10 |
Great Moments in Beer History: Enlightenment | p. 15 |
Not-So-Great Moments in Beer History: Prohibition | p. 21 |
Great Moments in Beer History: Modernity | p. 24 |
The Evolution of the Beer Can | p. 28 |
Popular Expressions That Came from Beer | p. 32 |
Prestigious Beer Awards and Ceremonies | p. 34 |
World Beer Records | p. 37 |
The Year in Beer | p. 40 |
Can #2 The Atlas of Beer | p. 43 |
Ireland and the United Kingdom | p. 44 |
Belgium and the Netherlands | p. 46 |
Germany and Austria | p. 48 |
The Czech Republic and Poland | p. 50 |
Scandinavia | p. 52 |
Western Europe | p. 54 |
The United States of America: New England | p. 56 |
The United States of America: Mid-Atlantic | p. 58 |
The United States of America: The South | p. 60 |
The United States of America: The Midwest | p. 62 |
The United States of America: The Southwest | p. 64 |
The United States of America: The West | p. 66 |
Canada | p. 68 |
Mexico | p. 70 |
The Caribbean | p. 72 |
China and Japan | p. 74 |
Australia and New Zealand | p. 76 |
Can #3 Beer Connoisseurship | p. 79 |
A Field Guide to Beer | p. 80 |
The Big Beers | p. 84 |
They Live! Zombie Beers | p. 94 |
Beer: An Owner's Manual | p. 97 |
How to Act Like a Beer Snob | p. 100 |
Cheaper by the Six-Pack | p. 102 |
Beer and Food | p. 106 |
Brew It Yourself | p. 112 |
Can #4 Beer Crafts and Gear | p. 117 |
Aw, You Mugs | p. 118 |
The Perfect Glass for Every Beer | p. 122 |
Beer Kegs and Beer Kegerators | p. 126 |
Beer Crafts | p. 129 |
Games Beer Drinkers Play | p. 138 |
Can #5 Beer and the Applied Sciences | p. 143 |
Health and Beer | p. 144 |
Beer Isn't the Answer; It's the Cure | p. 149 |
The Physics and Chemistry of Beer | p. 151 |
Alternate Scientific Applications for Beer | p. 158 |
Beer Math | p. 161 |
Can #6 Beer and the Arts | p. 163 |
The Metropolitan Gallery of Beer Art | p. 165 |
The Art of the Beer Label | p. 170 |
Beer Commercials and Spokespersons | p. 176 |
Memorable Beer Moments in Television and Cinema | p. 182 |
Beer and Literature | p. 187 |
Fictional Beers | p. 189 |
Bonus Can | p. 193 |
Beer Resources | p. 194 |
Beer Glossary | p. 196 |
Toasts and Roasts | p. 198 |
Drinking Songs | p. 200 |
Beer Buddies | p. 203 |
Index | p. 204 |