Winner of 2014 U.S. Gourmand Drinks Award • Taste 5,000 years of brewing history as a time-traveling homebrewer rediscovers and re-creates the great beers of the past. The Brewer's Tale is a beer-filled journey into the past: the story of brewers gone by and one brave writer's quest to bring them—and their ancient, forgotten beers—back to life, one taste at a time. This is the story of the world according to beer, a toast to flavors born of necessity and place—in Belgian monasteries, rundown farmhouses, and the basement nanobrewery next door. So pull up a barstool and raise a glass to 5,000 years of fermented magic. Fueled by date-and-honey gruel, sour pediococcus-laced lambics, and all manner of beers between, William Bostwick's rollicking quest for the drink's origins takes him into the redwood forests of Sonoma County, to bullet-riddled South Boston brewpubs, and across the Atlantic, from Mesopotamian sands to medieval monasteries to British brewing factories. Bostwick compares notes with the Mt. Vernon historian in charge of preserving George Washington's molasses-based home brew, and he finds the ancestor of today's macrobrewed lagers in a nineteenth-century spy's hollowed-out walking stick. Wrapped around this modern reportage are deeply informed tales of history's archetypal brewers: Babylonian temple workers, Nordic shamans, patriots, rebels, and monks. The Brewer's Tale unfurls from the ancient goddess Ninkasi, ruler of intoxication, to the cryptic beer hymns of the Rig Veda and down into the clove-scented treasure holds of India-bound sailing ships. With each discovery comes Bostwick's own turn at the brew pot, an exercise that honors the audacity and experimentation of the craft. A sticky English porter, a pricelessly rare Belgian, and a sacred, shamanic wormwood-tinged gruit each offer humble communion with the brewers of yore. From sickly sweet Nordic grogs to industrially fine-tuned fizzy lager, Bostwick's journey into brewing history ultimately arrives at the head of the modern craft beer movement and gazes eagerly if a bit blurry-eyed toward the future of beer.
Winner of 2014 US Gourmand Drinks Award Taste 5,000 years of brewing history as a time-traveling home brewer rediscovers and re-creates the great beers of the past. The Brewer's Tale is a beer-filled journey into the past: the story of brewers gone by and one brave writer's quest to bring them - and their ancient, forgotten beers - back to life, one taste at a time. This is the story of the world according to beer, a toast to flavors born of necessity and place - in Belgian monasteries, rundown farmhouses, and the basement nanobrewery next door. So pull up a barstool and raise a glass to 5,000 years of fermented magic. Fueled by date-and-honey gruel, sour pediococcus-laced lambics, and all manner of beers between, William Bostwick's rollicking quest for the drink's origins takes him into the redwood forests of Sonoma County, to bullet-riddled South Boston brewpubs, and across the Atlantic, from Mesopotamian sands to medieval monasteries to British brewing factories. Bostwick compares notes with the Mt. Vernon historian in charge of preserving George Washington's molasses-based home brew, and he finds the ancestor of today's macrobrewed lagers in a nineteenth-century spy's hollowed-out walking stick. Wrapped around this modern reportage are deeply informed tales of history's archetypal brewers: Babylonian temple workers, Nordic shamans, patriots, rebels, and monks. The Brewer's Tale unfurls from the ancient goddess Ninkasi, ruler of intoxication, to the cryptic beer hymns of the Rig Veda and down into the clove-scented treasure holds of India-bound sailing ships. With each discovery comes Bostwick's own turn at the brew pot, an exercise that honors the audacity and experimentation of the craft. A sticky English porter, a pricelessly rare Belgian, and a sacred, shamanic wormwood-tinged gruit each offer humble communion with the brewers of yore. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Christopher Sutton. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/adbl/021518/bk_adbl_021518_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
One man had a single goal…to eliminate Hitler from the face of the Earth. Living as a carpenter who had spent time working in a watch factory, Georg Elser was just an ordinary member of society living in Munich. That is, however, until he took it upon himself to attempt to assassinate the Fhrer, Adolph Hitler. Being a common man who opposed the Nazi regime, Elser took the skills from his craft and worked to assemble his own bomb detonator. Every night, he snuck out to the Munich Beer Hall, where he worked on assembling the bomb that he planned to use to kill Hitler. Hidden in a hollowed-out space near the speaker’s podium, Elser’s bomb went off successfully, killing eight people. Hitler was not one of them. This is the story, scene by scene, of the events that led up to Georg Elser taking justice into his own hands, his attempt to murder the Fuhrer, and what happened after the bomb went off. The Lone Assassin is a powerfully gripping tale that places the listener in the dark days of Munich in 1939, following Elser from the Munich Beer Hall, across the border, and sadly, to the concentration camp where his heroic life ended. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Traber Burns. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/adbl/008557/bk_adbl_008557_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.
The Brewer's Tale is for anyone who, drinking a beer, has wondered how the past tasted. Part travelogue, part history, part culinary adventure, beer critic William Bostwick uncovers the stories behind the brewers who have practised their craft since the dawn of civilisation. Beer by beer Bostwick tells a history of the world through the brewer's eyes, unearthing recipes from poems and potsherds to re-create these beers and their long-lost flavours. Jumping through time as he weaves ancient lore with today's craft scene, Bostwick meets adventurous brewers who share his path, trading insight, recipes and ingredients like home-grown hops and wild, Nile Delta yeast. The Brewer's Tale is history told in the glass, from tongue-numbing mead to sour pediococcus-laced lambic.
The Brewer's Tale is for anyone who, drinking a beer, has wondered how the past tasted. Part travelogue, part history, part culinary adventure, beer critic William Bostwick uncovers the stories behind the brewers who have practised their craft since the dawn of civilisation. Beer by beer Bostwick tells a history of the world through the brewer's eyes, unearthing recipes from poems and potsherds to re-create these beers and their long-lost flavours. Jumping through time as he weaves ancient lore with today's craft scene, Bostwick meets adventurous brewers who share his path, trading insight, recipes and ingredients like home-grown hops and wild, Nile Delta yeast. The Brewer's Tale is history told in the glass, from tongue-numbing mead to sour pediococcus-laced lambic.
Hophead Harry Goes to the Brewery is a colorful story about a little hop's journey through the brewing process. The title character introduces himself and explains how beer is made-from the field to the glass. To better tell the tale, Harry visits a number of friends who accompany him on his journey to the brewery. Throughout the story, each character describes his or her role in the beer-making process. First, we run into Bobby Barley who shows us how the process begins with grain. Next, Mary Malts arrives on the scene to discuss how she transforms the barley into malt. Once these three have their hops and malt packed up, they head to the brewery where they meet Brewmaster Brooks and Wendy Water. Combining all their resources, along with some brewer's yeast, these five characters brew a craft beer together. After the beer is fermented in tanks, they transfer the beer into kegs before delivering them to the local pub. Although the story is set up as a children's book filled with quirky characters and vivid illustrations, it's as much meant for parents as it is for their children (actually, more so). It's entertaining and educational regardless of age, but it's a story predominantly meant for craft beer enthusiasts to enjoy.
The Brewer's Tale is for anyone who, drinking a beer, has wondered how the past tasted. Part travelogue, part history, part culinary adventure, beer critic William Bostwick uncovers the stories behind the brewers who have practised their craft since the dawn of civilisation. Beer by beer Bostwick tells a history of the world through the brewer's eyes, unearthing recipes from poems and potsherds to re-create these beers and their long-lost flavours. Jumping through time as he weaves ancient lore with today's craft scene, Bostwick meets adventurous brewers who share his path, trading insight, recipes and ingredients like home-grown hops and wild, Nile Delta yeast. The Brewer's Tale is history told in the glass, from tongue-numbing mead to sour pediococcus-laced lambic.
Hophead Harry Goes to the Brewery is a colorful story about a little hop's journey through the brewing process. The title character introduces himself and explains how beer is made-from the field to the glass. To better tell the tale, Harry visits a number of friends who accompany him on his journey to the brewery. Throughout the story, each character describes his or her role in the beer-making process. First, we run into Bobby Barley who shows us how the process begins with grain. Next, Mary Malts arrives on the scene to discuss how she transforms the barley into malt. Once these three have their hops and malt packed up, they head to the brewery where they meet Brewmaster Brooks and Wendy Water. Combining all their resources, along with some brewer's yeast, these five characters brew a craft beer together. After the beer is fermented in tanks, they transfer the beer into kegs before delivering them to the local pub. Although the story is set up as a children's book filled with quirky characters and vivid illustrations, it's as much meant for parents as it is for their children (actually, more so). It's entertaining and educational regardless of age, but it's a story predominantly meant for craft beer enthusiasts to enjoy.
The Brewer's Tale is for anyone who, drinking a beer, has wondered how the past tasted. Part travelogue, part history, part culinary adventure, beer critic William Bostwick uncovers the stories behind the brewers who have practised their craft since the dawn of civilisation. Beer by beer Bostwick tells a history of the world through the brewer's eyes, unearthing recipes from poems and potsherds to re-create these beers and their long-lost flavours. Jumping through time as he weaves ancient lore with today's craft scene, Bostwick meets adventurous brewers who share his path, trading insight, recipes and ingredients like home-grown hops and wild, Nile Delta yeast. The Brewer's Tale is history told in the glass, from tongue-numbing mead to sour pediococcus-laced lambic.