Martyn Cornell

Martyn Cornell is a serious beer writer. By that I mean he writes serious stuff about beer rather than this flippant rubbish.

His book Beer - The Story of the Pint is a detailed, well-researched chronicle of our favourite drink. Roger Protz described it as "a magnificent contribution to the history of beer and should be on every aficionado's bookshelf."

The book was published in 2003 and stands up well among other similar definitive text books.

A couple of things have just caught my eye. Martyn is the author of the zythophile blog. As you might expect this is a more serious read than most of the other beer blogs.

Firstly there is a recent post on a short history of yeast. There are books written on most subjects relating to beer but there is very little recently on yeast, that vital ingredient without which we would be lost. This article is a serious but readable piece.

Secondly, Martyn has just published an e-book called Amber, Gold & Black, the most comprehensive history of British beer styles of all kinds ever written.

Astonishingly, this is the first book devoted solely to looking at the unique history of the different styles of beer produced in Britain. Some 16 chapters and 223 pages cover in detail the true stories behind Porter, Bitter, Mild, Stout, IPA, Brown Ale, Burton Ale, Old Ale, Barley Wine, and all the other beers produced in Britain.

Available through his blog the book is available for download for only £5.