The Oxford Companion to Beer edited by Garrett Oliver is a book I've been salivating for. Thank goodness I had a recent birthday and my brother-in-law and his wife were kind enough to buy me a copy, which I will take most of my weekend reading through. Granted, the book is not one you sit and read from cover-to-cover, but rather, it is a complex and thorough encyclopedia for all things beer. That said, it is very readable and fun to delve into. I have already noticed it even lists one of my favorite brewers - New Glarus Brewing Company - in its pages:
I'm telling you, if you want a great beer book (or need a gift for your beer loving friend), this is the book to purchase for them. It's extensive content and easily read entries answer all your beer questions, leaving you a walking beer guru (and who wouldn't want to be that?).
The book is a little pricey ($65) - but having supernatural knowledge of beer? Say it with me: PRICELESS!
Post Script: If you haven't read Garrett Oliver's other book, The Brewmaster's Table, I would highly recommend that, too. Oliver takes you on a beer journey with his narration of the places he has been, the food he has ate, and, most importantly, the beer he pairs with food during his travels. This beer book is a must have beer resource for your personal library!
So seeing this and knowing you have this book, I am in need for some advice. I recently ran across recipe for a dessert beer. Imagine a root beer float with a kick. Some guts of the drink include heavy whipped cream, vanilla, and kahlua. But the recipe calls for a good stout. Does anyone have any recommendations for a stout that might fit this flavor commendation? I don't want to try this just guessing and picking out some random stout and ruin my expectations for this grown up drink.
ReplyDeleteCraig,
DeleteA couple of recommendations, each will showcase different aspects of the drink.
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout to emphasize dark chocolate
Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter to push the vanilla\
Terrapin's Moo Hoo Milk Stout to push the sweetness
Flying Dog's Kujo Coffee Stout or Southern Tier's Coffee Stout to push the coffee taste, or really go off script and use a Surly Coffee Bender.
Or go straight up with a Lion Stout.
Though if all you could find was a Guinness then that would probably work too, because that will pretty much mix with anything.
Thanks for the recommendations. I will try these out and let you know how it goes.
ReplyDelete