Reviewing Books for All About Beer

By all accounts, 2011 was a big year for beer books. Very big. Oxford University Press released the massive, Garrett Oliver-edited Oxford Companion to Beer, Jeremy Cowan and James Sullivan told the story of Shmaltz Brewing Company in Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah, and Joshua M. Bernstein wrote a highly entertaining guide to the thriving craft beer industry called Brewed Awakening. Rounding out the bunch, Running Press also published The Great American Ale Trail by Christian DeBenedetti, a journalist and zymurgist based in Oregon.

In the January issue of All About Beer I reviewed DeBenedetti's book, a title that belongs on the shelf of any craft beer fan. It's fun to browse, and worth consulting when you need help tracking down a watering hole out of town. As I wrote in the magazine, "his voice is knowledgeable, entertaining and easygoing, almost as if a trusted friend rather than a seasoned expert is dispensing the advice within the publication's 352 pages." Here's hoping 2012 has another round of great beer books in the tap line.