Beer for Dummies Book

Foreword

Introduction

How to Use This Book

Part I: Defining Beer: Style and Substance

Part II: Enjoying Beer: Tasting, Serving, and Cooking

Part III: Buying Beer: Becoming an Informed Consumer

Part IV: Making Beer: Homebrewing

Part V: Going Nuts over Beer: Travel and Collecting

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Part VII: Appendixes

Icons Used in This Book

A Last First Word

Chapter 1: Beer Basics: Which Brew's for You?

Introducing Beer's Building Blocks

Ale versus Lager: Not a Family Fight

Yeast makes the beer

You can taste the difference, sometimes

Style Is Everything (And You Thought Beer Was Simple!)

What is so good about good beer?

To order! To order!: a list of ales and lagers

Where to Start

Buying according to season

Candlelight, a glass of beer, and thou: wine/beer substitutions

Chapter 2: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous: Beer Ingredients

Barley: Cereal for Beer, Not for Breakfast

Hops: Not Just for Bunnies

Hop hits

Bitter news

Yeast: There's a Fungus Amongus

The story on yeast

Yeast sets the style

H₂OH!

Wing of Bat, Eye of Newt: Adjuncts You May Love or Hate

Chapter 3: Brewing Beer

Tuns, Kettles, and Tanks: Equipment

Ale Alchemy: Brewing Processes

Malting

Milling

Mashing

Boiling

Fermenting

Aging

Packaging

Cleaning up

All That Just for a Brewski?

Chapter 4: Tasting and Evaluating Beer: Making Your Buds Wiser

Tasting 1-2-3 (Actually, 1-2-3-4-5)

Smell: The Nose Knows

Look: You Can't Judge a Bock by Its Cover

Every color in the rainbrew

On a clear day

A head in the hand

Taste: Nuts and Bolts, Malt and Hops

Marvelous malt taste

Heavenly hops taste

Fabulous fermentation

Aftertaste: Let it linger

Touch: Mouthfeel and Body

Reflect: Time for Analysis of the Gestalt

If you like it, it's good

So it's good -- but how does it rate?

Chapter 5: Beer Exploring

Checking Out Brewpubs, Beer Bars, and Beer Dinners

Brewpub basics

Beer bars

Beer dinners

Be It Ever So Humble, There's No Place like Home

Beer-of-the-month clubs

Party time!

Chapter 6: Are You Being Served?

Pouring It On

To tilt or not to tilt . . .

Finding the right temperature

Choosing a Glass with Class

Glass class

Sport drinking tools

Let's get practical

Neatness Counts: Cleaning and Storing Glassware

Beer clean

Putting it all away

Chapter 7: Cooking and Dining with Beer

Cooking with Beer

Getting started

Choosing the right beer

Recipe: beer in haute cuisine

Dining with Beer: Beer/Food Matchmaking

Guessing at guidelines

Contrast and conquer

Before and after dinner

Chasing the heat

Chapter 8: Label Lunacy and Marketing Mayhem

Labeling Laws

Label must-haves

Prohibited label practices

The Reinheitsgebot: the German beer purity law

Beer watchdogs

"Guinness Is Good for You": Nutritional Content

Cholesterol free! Fat free!

Drink beer, live longer

Beer Advertising and Marketing

Little white lies on labels

Beware the sheep in wolf's clothing

The lowdown on contract brewing

Chapter 9: Better Beer Buying

Purchase or Perish

Time (is not on your side)

Aging like fine wine -- not!

Left out of the cold

Seeing the light

Checking out the scene before checking out

Making friends

Did You Get Burnt?

Popping your top

Oxidation blues

Cans, Kegs, Bottles, and Barrels

The cancan

Pain in the glass

Keg parties

Chapter 10: Homebrewing for the Beginner

Getting Started

Supply shopping

Pots, pans, buckets, brushes, and such

First draught: brew ingredients

Department of Sanitation

"Cleanliness is next to godliness"

Soaps for suds

General cleaning practices

Ready, Set, Brew!

Fabulous Fermentation

Ready, Set, Bottle!

Record Keeping

Chapter 11: Sophomore Homebrewing

New Toys: Equipment Upgrades

The Right Stuff: Obligatory Ingredients

Malt makes it: gravity and dry malt extract

Specialty grains

Let's go to the hops

Fresh hops!

From yeast to west (liquid yeast versus dry yeast)

Optional Goodies

Sweet kettle adjuncts

Unforgettable unfermentables: almost 31 flavors!

Herbs and spice and everything nice

Secondary Fermentation

The Art of Siphoning

Sophomore Homebrew Recipes

Chapter 12: Homebrew Geekdom

From Syrup to Grain: Equipment and Ingredients for Advanced Homebrewing

Getting more equipment (or making it yourself)

Growing, roasting, and smoking your ingredients

Investing in optional gadgets and gizmos

Brewing by the Byte

Homebrewing software

Shareware -- caveat emptor

BOPs Are Now S.O.P.

Homebrew Competitions

I feel sanctified

Even losers are winners

Becoming a barrister of beer

Chapter 13: European Beer Touring: Brewspots and Shrines

Beer Trekking Tips

Germany

German shrines

German festivals

German museums

U.K. (England, Scotland, and Wales)

U.K. shrines

U.K. festivals

U.K. museums

Ireland

Belgium

Belgian shrines

Belgian festivals

Belgian museums

Czech Republic

Other Worldly Highlights

Austria

Denmark

The Netherlands

Norway

Australia

Japan

Thailand

Chapter 14: North American Beer Tours and Festivals

Brewery Tours

Beer Festivals

Beer festival dos and don'ts

Beer festivals in the U.S. and Canada

U.S. Beer Museums

Chapter 15: Collecting Beer Stuff

Do I or Don't I?

Focusing Your Collection

Breweriana Clubs

Chapter 16: Ten Great Food Recipes Featuring Beer

Chapter 17: Facts, Figures, and Misconceptions

Who Are the Rising North American Craft Brewers?

Growth industry

Foamy factoids

Malty Misconceptions

Chapter 18: Just the FAQs, Ma'am: Ten Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Beer in the World?

How Is Alcohol Created in Beer?

What Is the Alcohol Content of the Average Beer?

What's the Difference between a Lager and an Ale?

Does Beer Age Well like Wine?

Does Beer Have to Be Refrigerated?

What Is the Proper Serving Temperature for Beer?

What Is the Proper Glassware for Serving Beer?

What Is the Difference between Barley and Malt?

Why Is Yeast Found in Some Beer Bottles?

What Is the German Beer Purity Law?

Are Brown or Green Bottles Better to Use for Beer?

How Many Different Styles of Beer Are There?

Chapter 19: Ten Favorite U.S. Brewpubs

Ten Top Spots

Honorable Mentions

Ones to Watch

Appendix A: Beer's Greatest Hits

Appendix B: Beer Style Chart

Appendix C: Beer Associations, Clubs, Guilds, and Societies

Consumer Groups

U.S. and Canada

England

Northern Europe

Breweriana Collectors Clubs

U.S. Mail-Order Beer Clubs

Professional Brewers Groups

U.S.

Canada

England

France and Switzerland

Japan

Australia

Lobbying Organizations

Brewing Schools

Appendix D: Beer Media

Beer Periodicals

U.S. brewspapers

U.S. national brewmags

Beer Books

History and musings

Guides to brewpubs, beer bars, and microbreweries

Cooking and dining with beer

Reference and critical reviews

Videos

CD-ROM

The Internet and World Wide Web

Commercial online services

Usenet (beer newsgroups)

World Wide Web sites

U.S. breweries online

U.S. brewing and import businesses

Clubs and organizations

Miscellaneous

Appendix E: Homebrewing Information Sources

Homebrewing Magazines

Homebrewing Books

Homebrew-Supply Mail-Order Catalogs

Homebrewing Electronic Media

Homebrew newsgroups and Web sites

Homebrew clubs

Homebrew clubs on the Web

Appendix F: Alcohol Content and Gravity of Various Beer Styles

Ales

Lagers

Hybrids and Specialty Beers

Appendix G: A Short History of Beer (For the True Beer Nut)

Beer = Civilization

U.S. Beer History

Colonial times

The Volstead Act

Post-Prohibition blues

Contemporary U.S. Beer Renaissance

Beer Seer (The Future of Suds)

Elsewhere in the World

A Toast to Important Folks in the History of Beer

Index

Reader Response Card