Saturday, October 11, 2014

Great New Books About Booze and History

http://bit.ly/1CI0xJl
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.


http://bit.ly/1vCAS1r
True tales of celebrity hijinks are served up with an equal measure of Hollywood history, movie-star mayhem, and a frothy mix of forty cocktail recipes.

Humphrey Bogart got himself arrested for protecting his drinking buddies, who happened to be a pair of stuffed pandas. Ava Gardner would water-ski to the set of Night of the Iguana holding a towline in one hand and a cocktail in the other. Barely legal Natalie Wood would let Dennis Hopper seduce her if he provided a bathtub full of champagne. Bing Crosby’s ill-mannered antics earned him the nickname “Binge Crosby.” And sweet Mary Pickford stashed liquor in hydrogen peroxide bottles during Prohibition. From the frontier days of silent film up to the wild auteur period of the 1970s, Mark Bailey has pillaged the vaults of Hollywood history and lore to dig up the true—and often surprising—stories of seventy of our most beloved actors, directors, and screenwriters at their most soused.

Bite-size biographies are followed by ribald anecdotes and memorable quotes. If a star had a favorite cocktail, the recipe is included. Films with the most outrageous booze-soaked stories, like Apocalypse Now, From Here to Eternity, and The Misfits, are featured, along with the legendary watering holes of the day (and the recipes for their signature drinks). Edward Hemingway’s portraits complete this spirited look at America’s most iconic silver-screen legends.
Listen to an interview with both the author and the illustrator of book HERE.


Newly revised and updated, the master-level companion to the world’s bestselling beer making book, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.

In this inviting, easy-to-follow, hands-on guide, Charlie Papazian, the godfather of homebrewing, takes readers beyond the basics of homebrewing. This second edition of the classic volume includes detailed charts and tables, the latest techniques and equipment information, new recipes, and more, including:
 
*Added details on the art and science of brewing be
 
*Up-to-date malt and fermentation charts
 
*Websites and resources
 
*Everything you need to know about hops and how to use them
 
*Expanded information on yeast and microbiological enhancements that can make your beer even better
 
*A list of beer styles with references
 
*55 beer recipes and 10 mead recipes—plus dozens of new recipes
 
*How to make gluten-free beer
 
*An expanded glossary of beer characters and a beer evaluation section
 
*Expert insight and recommendations on beer and food pairings and cooking with beer 

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