Ashley V. Routson

I love beer. It’s a romance that began almost a half century ago when I had the opportunity to live in Germany for a year. That was way back in the late sixties when most Americans had no idea what a craft beer was, much less had the opportunity to taste one. But in Germany at that time every town and tiny village had its own brewery, often more than one. And in Germany, weekly draft beer deliveries to personal homes (by the case, in liter-sized growlers) were as common as milk deliveries show more were back home. Naturally in an environment like that I developed an unwavering taste for craft beer. Eventually, it grew into a life-long love affair.

Up until this book, I’ve never been tempted to read about beer other than the occasional magazine article here and there. But there’s a craft beer revolution going on in America. Where I live in the South Bay section of Los Angeles, it started about six years ago. It started with craft beer bars, continued with craft breweries popping up like mushrooms everywhere, and now, you can’t go into a trendy upscale restaurant without noticing that they all serve a fine selection of premium craft beers on draft.

At no time in American history has it been more important for craft beer lovers to learn about beer.

I’d seen Ashley Routson on TV a few times and read some articles by her. She’s a bigger than life character and certainly one of the most celebrated and highly sought-after beer tasters on the America scene. She’s also a woman with a fun attitude and a great personality. Her enthusiasm for beer (not to mention life) is contagious. When I heard she’d written a guide to beer, I had to have it.

I though I would be getting a cute and sassy type of reference book. And that would have been okay. But once I had it, I couldn’t stop reading it, cover to cover. She made it all fascinating. Of course I loved the subject matter and it taught me a great deal I did not know. But best, reading this book is like having Ashley Routson as a personal beer coach. And she’s the type of fun person that anyone—man or woman—would love to be around. Reading the book felt like being with her and having fun with her.

The first hundred pages instruct you, in detail, about every type of major craft beer broken down into nine broad categories. The second fifty-five-page section teaches you how to be a beer expert. You learn how it is brewed, what ingredients go into it, how to evaluate it, and most important, how to respect it. Finally, in the remaining almost one hundred-page section, she covers all the ways you can “have fun with beer.” This section includes beer-food pairing, cooking with beer, and mixing bar drinks with beer.

Every photo was phenomenal! They’re all on premium glossy paper and look incredibly mouth watering. I challenge you to read this marvelous book, taking in all those tantalizing photos, and not come away absolutely craving a few flights of the best available craft beers from your local beer bar. I admit that’s exactly what I did. show less

I love craft beers, but that wasn’t always the case . . .

My first experience with beer was years ago, and that was mostly cheap domestic beers. Since I wasn’t crazy about the taste of beer, I pretty much stuck with wine or an occasional mixed drink. . . until I stumbled into a ‘beer tasting’ held in conjunction with a wine tasting event a few years ago and found an entirely new type of beverage. Beer had changed.

I admit, I don’t know a lot about beer, it’s history, or how it is show more made, but I know what I like when I taste it, and I have now developed a taste for craft beers. When I heard about The Beer Wench’s Guide to Beer, and that it was written by a woman, I wanted to read it. I was ready for an informative guide to lead me through the many types of beers that are readily available today. What I got was much more.

The book is divided into three sections: A guide to beer styles and their history, the brewing process, and a recipe section on cooking with beer and pairing beer with foods. Don’t let the fact that it’s paperback fool you. It is a full-size book and nicely laid out with full color photos and graphics on heavy glossy paper.

This is an excellent guide for someone like me who wants to learn more about beer but doesn’t want to read something written in formal textbook style. The author makes learning about beer interesting and even entertaining with her conversational writing style. An extensive assortment of beers are included throughout with enough detail to make this a good reference guide. And with the inclusion of many delicious sounding recipes, this book has a place on my cookbook shelf. show less

I requested this book in exchange for a review (Goodreads Giveaways) because Traverse City MI has a lot of breweries popping up. I go to them...a lot. I also found myself a bit confused about beer styles. This book is helpful (along with talking to the brewers when possible). It's arranged by beer style to make looking things up a bit easier. Each beer is broken down into the following categories: Style Name, The gist, My two cents, Key stats (IBU's, ABV's and such), In one word (one word show more she uses to sum it up), Pour it into this, Drink instead of, Pair with, Brief history lesson, and Try it. It's fun easy to thumb through book. I think it would be great to take it along with me, but it's not a very compact size.

The author can be a little pretentious, for example under the Classic American Pilsner her "Drink instead of remark" is Water. I know some people who hate all these craft beers and just want their Bud or Miller. It seems it can be appreciated by someone and her comments on this (and really all of the book) are really just her opinion.

The middle chapters on Becoming an Expert (Brewing and Evaluating) are interesting to read, though I don't think I'll ever be brewing, it's nice to get a feel for how it's done.

The final chapters focus on cooking with beer. Now, this is for me! I will be trying the Beer Cheese soup this winter. The waffles, the mustard beer dipping sauce and the Chocolate Stout Baked Mac and Cheese also sound intriguing. There is also a small section after this with beer cocktail recipes. The blackberry lemonade shandy sounds pretty refreshing!

If you are like me and have been drinking lite beers (I gave up and went to wine) your whole life, you don't know what you are missing. Find a couple interesting breweries, get this book and start sipping! show less