With the new year well on its way it’s about time we try to learn something, eh? It’s very easy to go through your beer-drinking life without knowing the detailed ins and outs of brewing. 
But microbrewing and the people involved have some of the most fascinating details and stories. That’s the thing about craft beer, if anything, it is accessible. Craft beer makers want you to like craft beer. They’re not focused on sales, figures, numbers, or fame. They’re focused on craft beer lovers. (That’s why if you catch a craft brewer standing still for a moment, they wont hesitate to answer—at length, and with passion—any questions you might have.)
So… what if you don’t have a brewer handy (and the lifeline-that-is-the-internet is down)? Hit the books! With our monthly beer tasting club, nothing has been more popular than Randy Mosher’s Tasting Beer. In this handy how-to (pulled together by the how-to experts at Storey Publishing) novices and intermediates alike can brush up on the intricacies of craft beer and the nuances of tasting it.
Peppering his eloquent dialogue with informative tidbits, historic points, and unique details Mosher writes in a way that draws in both the hop head and the dabbling drinker. Systematically breaking down the beer world Mosher touches on many crucial elements of enjoying beer, including the oft-overlooked finer points like the history (which dates back to the Middle East circa 10,000 BCE) to beer’s progression through popular culture both around the world and, more specifically, in the U.S. He stresses the importance of presentation—from the temperature, to the glass, to the pour, and even to the viewpoint and knowledge of the drinker.
Alongside his aesthetic and historic details Mosher also breaks down the nitty-gritty, paying tribute to the book’s title: an examination of beer tasting, which includes all senses used in evaluating an experience—visual, smell, taste (of course), mouthfeel, and even ingrained psychological differences that affect each person’s perception. Breaking down the basic flavors of beer, the process of its creation, factors of comparison, as well as the vocabulary surrounding it, Mosher arms readers with the resources to explain and understand more fully their appreciation of beer.
Near and dear to my heart (er—stomach?) Mosher also gets in-depth about food pairings and recipes that incorporate beer into cuisine. Tasting Beer manages to encompass all the reasons and ways to enjoy beer in an informative and entertaining format. If you weren’t thirsty before you started reading, you will be by the time you’re half-way through.
Topped off with resources like a glossary, information about craft beer advocacy organizations like homebrewing clubs, the Brewers Association, Beer Judge and Cicerone Certification Programs (for when you’re ready to take your testing to the next level), and popular online forums like BeerAdvocate and PubCrawler, Mosher does not leave his readers wanting. In his own words:
“If we remain uninformed, we can be trapped in our own limited beer world, not knowing what delights we’re missing . . . It takes a little information to open up the extraordinary universe of beer.”
Now… go pick up a copy, a mix pack, and get tasting!
