2021 Beer Book Gift Guide
Give the gift of reading…about beer.
It’s book season, when the publishing industry drops a bevvy of reading materials onto the market in the hops that you will pick one up for winter reading or gift giving. And it has been a busy year for beer books on a variety of subjects new and old. If you, or someone you know, prefers to get their beer education through the tactile nature of print available at their fingertips, then we have some recommendations for you below.
Also check out our full Beer Geek Gift Guide which includes more gadgets, glassware, beer candy, foods, and drink collections that we recommend.
Now in a fully updated 3rd edition, the World Atlas of Beer is a handsome tome that will stand out on a coffee table and make you look, and actually be, a multi-faceted beer expert. Authors Stephen Beaumont and Tim Webb make it easy to understand the rich, multi-faceted traditions of Belgium, the Nordic legend that is Finnish Sahti, the relatively new phenomenon of the New England hazy IPA, and why Australia's lower-strength beers are one of its great successes. Country by country the book considers a vast range of brewing techniques, beer styles and traditions. Detailed maps describe crucial trends in major territories and features such as matching beer with food and how to pour different kinds of beer complete the picture.
The Dogfish Head Book: 26 Years of Off-Centered Adventures
Delaware’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery was an industry pioneer in innovative techniques and a leader in extreme brewing that helped bring about the wild craft beer scene that we have today. In this recent fall 2021 book release the founder and brewer Sam Calagione shares stories and anecdotes from his perspective as well as co-owner Mariah Calagione, and longtime Dogfish Head Inn-keeper Andrew C. Greele, with detailed accounts from past employees and brewers on the 26 year history of the brewery. It’s all packaged together in a heavily illustrated hardcover tome.
Portland author Jeff Alworth has updated his guide to the world of beer as the industry changes under our feet. The recently released 2nd edition of The Beer Bible covers the past to present of beer from it’s early beginnings, to the rise and full of pub and drinking cultures across society. If you want to learn about beer styles and traditions and how they evolve and contrast against current trends, or how beer tourism is shaping the culture this book covers it all. Read our interview with the author on the release of the 2nd edition.
A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse
These days beer and it’s production is most associated with men, but in Tara Nurin’s new book she proves that it was women who have actually brewed beer throughout most of human history. While the modern age has worked to erase women’s role in beer, this book helps to preserve it and share some of the forgotten history as well as the movement to bring women back in. In reality, women were the original brewers from the earliest days of Mesopotamian civilization, the reign of Cleopatra, the witch trials of early modern Europe, and the settling of colonial America. A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse celebrates the contributions and influence of female brewers and explores the forces that have erased them from the brewing world and how we can all play a part in changing things for the future. Available in paperback, audiobook, kindle, or CD.
James Beard award winner and New York Times–bestselling author Sandor Katz is back with his second book about home fermentations. While this book is not specifically about beer or brewing, it’s of interest to anyone interested in fermentation and creativity. The Art of Fermentation is recipes, processes, cultural traditions, and stories from around the globe that inspire Sandor Katz and his life’s work―a cookbook essential for every home chef and fermentation enthusiast.
Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing
This 2020 released book by Lars Marius Garshol is equal parts history, cultural anthropology, social science, and travelogue of the ancient techniques of farmhouse brewing that were almost completely lost to us. You will learn about the recent uncovering of the unusual and potent Nordic Kveik yeast strains and how to make a beer called keptinis by baking the mash in the oven. Farmhouse brewing may be the most fascinating area of the beer industry and Garshol will guide you through it both as historian and homebrewer. Explore using juniper boughs for various stages of the brewing process. Test your own hand by brewing recipes gleaned from years of travel and research in the farmlands of northern Europe. Meet the brewers and delve into the ingredients that have kept these traditional methods alive.
One of the world’s greatest living beer writers Stan Hieronymous delves into where our American grown beer ingredients come from and how they shape what we drink in his book “Brewing Local.” Hieronymous explains how before European colonization, Native Americans were making beer from fermented corn, such as the tiswin of the Apache and Pueblo tribes. He takes the reader through grains, hops, trees, plants, roots, mushrooms, and chilis―all ingredients that can be locally grown, cultivated, or foraged. The author supplies tips on how to find these as well as dos and don'ts of foraging. He investigates the nascent wild hops movement and initiatives like the Local Yeast Project and explores the wealth of ingredients available to the locavores and beer aficionados of today.
Before he opened Oregon’s own Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery, author Christian deBenedetti co-authored this collection of 65 food recipes and pairings based around beer. Beer Bites roams the globe in terms of types of food and beer, and explains how to make appetizers to snacks and main courses that go beyond typical pub grub with recommendations of beer styles and widely available must-try brews for each dish. Beer Bites is designed for craft beer lovers eager to explore the basics and nuances of beer and food pairings, whether they are hosting tasting nights or just enjoying one good brew at a time.
Writer Joshua Bernstein is known for his beer writings in publications like the New York Times and Imbibe Magazine and has authored 5 separate books on beer. Drink Better Beer is his latest and it’s one of the most beautifully presented beer books you can find with it’s maroon fabric hardcover with orange imprint and edges.
Drink Better Beer is basically a literary guide to becoming a beer geek. If it was one of those "How To" style series it would be called How To Become a Beer Snob for Dummies. But that's really diminishing what's contained in Drink Better Beer's 224 pages. In Drink Better Beer, Bernstein calls on his many industry contacts and his own expertise for pro-tips on everything from tasting beer to choosing the right glassware and food pairings. Want to learn how to evaluate beer properly with a few sniffs? Drink Better Beer has got you covered. Want to school your beer newb friends about the proper glassware for a Kolsch? Drink Better Beer can help. Need to figure out the right beer to bring to a Scandinavian dinner party? Bernstein has thoughts.