The Premium Beer Drinker's Guide is Here!! - September 2000
My name is Stephen Beaumont, the publisher of World of Beer. And I'm very pleased and proud to announce in this issue the publication of my newest book, The Premium Beer Drinker's Guide.
I think that this is a beer book like no other. The Premium Beer Drinker's Guide focuses exclusively on the biggest, boldest, strongest, most expensive and most interesting beers in the world. No pallid amber ales or spineless yellow lagers here! In writing this book, I concerned myself completely with massive brews like American barley wines and Belgian Trappist ales; challenging tastes like German rauchbiers and Québécois mulling beers; and little-known gems like Baltic porters and French bières de garde. In all, more than thirty beer styles are described in detail and hundreds of recommendations given.
The goal of the Guide is simple: To encourage people to try new things. As I wrote in the book's Preface:
Sometimes we can let our passions get the better of us. Confronted by an ever expanding list of beers, we often close our minds to the new possibilities and turn instead to the tried-and-true brand that fits us as comfortably as an old sweatshirt. Still, forever lurking behind that safe decision is a nagging doubt: What if that other beer really is better?
The purpose of this book is to help you deal with that doubt and encourage you to eschew the safety of the familiar and try that other beer -- not always, certainly, but from time to time or on special occasions. Because as rewarding as any familiar brand or style might be, there will always be some situation or circumstance in which another beer will reward you just that much more. The trick is to find the right beer and the right occasion, and put them together.
For each beer style listed in the Premium Beer Drinker's Guide, I provide a brief history of its development, detailed notes on what beers of the style should taste like, suggestions on how to best enjoy that particular type of brew, and recommendations on which brands to buy, including a number of Classic Examples. Whether you are a serious beer connoisseur or a beginner beer aficionado, it is both my hope and belief that you will find the guidance and information to be indispensable.
Beautifully designed and full-colour from cover to cover, the Guide also provides photos of each of the Classic Examples so you can locate them easily in your favourite beer store. And so that you'll know what to expect once you get there, each Classic listing has key ratings for availability, price range and freshness and durability. There is even a quick reference guide so that you can find the beer you want fast, and a photographic chart detailing which beers pair best with certain foods.
Even after having spent the better part of a year working on the Premium Beer Drinker's Guide, I still get thirsty thumbing through it. My bet is that you will, too.
We're very interested in your news, notes, comments and questions, so please feel free to contact SBWoB by clicking on the link below. Or you can add your comments when you sign up for the World of Beer Update, a mid-month e-mail newsletter that brings even more of the world of beer to your computer.
My name is Stephen Beaumont, the publisher of World of Beer. And I'm very pleased and proud to announce in this issue the publication of my newest book, The Premium Beer Drinker's Guide.