The Beer Book

In classic BBC Christmas style, here is another repeat, a book review that I wrote for the current issue of London Drinker and worthy of a second airing. It was also reviewed recently by my good friend Arfur, who writes Brew Wales blog here.

Another book on our favourite subject has been published recently by Dorling Kindersley.

The Beer Book is another world tour of beer, a world where the beer scene is constantly changing allowing books in this style to be published fairly regularly. It covers 800 breweries and has detailed tasting notes and photographs of over 2,000 beers. It is an up to date guide to every good beer in the world.

I have seen the book described elsewhere as "beer porn" such is the strength of the colour photography making one want to travel far and wide to find the best beer.

The press release that accompanied my copy suggested that it would be useful to take on a stag weekend as it also covers in detail some of the world's best beer drinking cities. Well, given the cost of excess baggage with our low-cost airlines, the book must stay at home being too heavy as a guidebook. That said, it is a detailed volume that covers both the traditional and the young and vibrant faces of today's beer industry.

The book is edited by Tim Hampson, chairman of the British Guild of Beer Writers who gathered the international research from a team of renowned local specialists.

It is available from www.dk.com for £16.99.