Death on Tap

"It wasn't so much the sight of my husband's bare ass that would become permanently etched in my memory, but rather the rhythmic sounds of the German brass band oompah-ing in the background, coupled with the strong but delicious smell of grains steeping in the mash tun."

How could you not be intrigued by this opening line?

Sloan decides that it's time for her to leave the Das Kellar brewery and find a new job away from her husband's family. She accepts a position as brewer with a new small Microbrewery but things don't exactly start out well because on the day after their opening she finds a rival floating dead in the tank.

This cozy was loads of fun to read - the characters often had me laughing out loud and the information about show more brewing beer was very interesting. show less

Sloane Krause loves her Bavarian themed hometown - Leavenworth, WA. The town goes all out for authentic atmosphere from German foods to locally brewed beers. There are several breweries in the small town. Sloane has worked for her in-laws' family brewery for years and loves it.....until she catches her husband Mac with his pants down. Literally. Reeling from getting an eyeful of her husband and a young bar maid, she gets a job at a new, rival brewery in town. Her new boss, Garrett Strong, says that he always wanted to open his own nano-brewery, and his recipe for a new citrus beer is amazing. Sloane helps him prepare for the grand opening of the Nitro Brewery. Everything is perfect. Their event is a total success. The next morning, show more however, things take a dangerous turn. Sloane comes in to work and finds a rival brewer dead in Nitro's fermenting vat. It only gets worse when Mac is arrested for the murder. Sloane is really really mad at her husband.....but she knows he isn't a murderer. For the sake of their teenage son and her inlaws, and because she knows Mac isn't guilty, Sloane jumps in to investigate.

This book is a great start to a new series, Sloane Krause Mysteries. I liked the brewery theme. The book contains many details about brewing, different types of beer, and the ingredients required for a quality beer. Although there are lots of details about brewing, the background theme didn't overpower the mystery....it added to it. This start to a new series is a cozy with a bit more bite to it....this isn't themed around a cute dog or cat, or knitting, but brewing beer and philandering husbands. Sloane is a tough, intelligent woman.....and cutesie just wouldn't be her style. The book is still a cozy though.....there is no spurting blood and no cursing. Just the implication of a 2/3 naked husband and lots of great beer. :) I liked the fact that the author didn't just include information on making the beer, but also details about regulations and restrictions on breweries and establishments that serve alcohol. I didn't realize some of the restrictions that pubs or breweries have to follow. Very interesting!

The mystery moves along at a nice pace. There are some great clues and twists along the way. The ending still caught me by surprise though -- I love it when that happens! I didn't see it coming! :)
Sloane is a capable MC, and all the side characters helped support the plot. I liked all the characters....even the cheating husband Mac (although I did want to seriously punch him a couple of times). All in all, a well-written mystery that is enjoyable to read! I learned a lot about beer and gave me a new respect for micro-breweries.

Ellie Alexander also writes the Bakeshop Mysteries. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.elliealexander.co/ I am definitely going to check out her Bakeshop series while I wait for the next Sloane Krause book. Death on Tap is the best cozy I've read in a long time. Excellent writing and research!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy from St Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less

Oof. Perhaps Cozy Mystery is not my genre. The writing felt very blocky and stilted, with a lot of telling and very little showing, as they say. The whodunit was not suspenseful or tricksy, just the protagonist wondering chaper after chapter if the rest of the characters could have done it, then finding out one of them did. The beer brewing info was interesting, but I didn't really need a play by play on every food recipe the character made. Worst of all, though, was the internalized misogyny woven throughout the book. The other female characters were either slut shamed, constantly criticized for their makeup, hair, and clothing choices, and portrayed as gossiping nags (April & Hayley), characterized as efficient, tough, and masculine show more (Chief Meyers), or an idealized mother figure (Ursula). Just not my cup of tea. show less

First book in Ellis Alexander's second series (the first being the Bakeshop Mysteries), is a winner. The microbrewery scene is different and interesting, and Ellis Alexander knowledge of the topic shows through. The characters are well-drawn, and Sloan Krause--our protagonist--is memorable, likable, and her debut bodes well for rest of the series. We'd also want Garret back too, and as to Mac? Well, annoying, and arrogant he makes a good foil for Sloan's smart, intelligent personality. Cindy Brown's review says it all as to Sloan: "Brewmaster Sloan Krause is the perfect cozy protagonist: vulnerable enough to keep her heart guarded, yet capable enough to rewrite ales with the big boys, whip up beer-inspired treats an, of course, solve a show more murder." show less

After catching her husband with another woman, Sloane Krause goes to work for a nano-brewery in Leavenworth, Washington. When another brewer turns up drowned in the brewery's vat and her husband appears to be the leading suspect, she knows he is incapable of murder. She searches for clues that might eliminate the suspicion from him. The book contains many details on craft brewing. I'd read a short story in this series previously and liked the setting and characters, but the short story I'd read contained spoilers for this story, so I already knew some of what was going to happen. It's a good start to the series, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd read this story before the short story!

Death on Tap by Ellie Alexander is the first book in A Sloan Krause Mystery series. Sloan Krause is working on a new brew and quickly runs to her office at Das Keller to get her notes. She opens the door to discover her husband, Mac playing hide the sausage with Hayley, the new barmaid. Three weeks later, Sloan is ready to start her new job at Nitro, a new nanobrewery in Leavenworth, Washington (a Bavarian themed town). Garrett Strong inherited the building from his great aunt Tess and has completely renovated the inside (looks like a sterile science lab). The morning after the soft opening, Sloan goes to toss some hops into the fermenting tank and discovers Eddie Deluga face up in the Pucker Up IPA brew. Mac ends up at the top of Chief show more Meyers suspect list. Mac may be a cheater, but he is no killer. To clear Mac of suspicion, Sloan sets out to discover who could have wanted to harm Eddie.

Death on Tap is unique in that it dives into the world of beer brewing. I have not experienced another cozy mystery with this theme (unique). It is obvious that the author did her research into the topic. We get to learn a great deal about what goes into creating, distributing and selling beer. The mystery did not take place until I was 24% of the way into the story. By the time Sloan found the body, I already knew who committed the crime (secondary mystery is equally easy to unravel). The mystery takes up a small portion of the story. More of the book is devoted to beer brewing, regulations, etc. I admit that it is interesting (even though I do not drink the stuff), but I would have liked a better mystery. I like the sound of the Bavarian town of Leavenworth (loved the descriptions of the town and buildings). It reminds me of German Village (in Columbus, Ohio) where I grew up. It had me longing for a real German bratwurst (not the type you find in your local grocery). My rating for Death on Tap is 3 out of 5 stars. I found it odd that Garrett Strong is having the soft launch of Nitro without any staff (except Sloan), no planned menu, no remodeled kitchen, no furniture or décor (Sloan mentions having to find tables and chairs), and a limited beer menu. For a man with a business/corporate background, it shows a distinct lack of planning. I was not a fan of Mac Krause and his constant use of the word “baby” when talking to Sloane (big pet peeve of mine). The pacing was slow in places causing me to lose interest (more about beer). I know that the author needs to set the stage for readers, but I do not believe we needed quite so much detail (it seemed like Ms. Alexander wanted to put in everything she learned while researching the topic). Many details are repeated frequently throughout the story (hops, Sloan’s lack of family growing up, description of Sloan’s farmhouse, etc.). It will be interesting to see what direction the author takes with the next book in the series (I hope a divorce is in the works for Sloan). show less

Sloan Krause is a brewmaster at her husband's family's brewery, Der Keller. On a day off, she decides to work anyway, and walks in on her husband while he's having sex with the new waitress. She leaves and immediately throws him out of their home, then finds a new job at a rival brewery that has just started up. Garrett Strong is a quiet man who keeps his cards close to his chest, but after tasting his new brew, Sloan realizes he knows what he's doing.

She's fairly happy in her new position, helping him with the menu and anything else that needs to be done. But when they finally open for business, a rival brewmaster, Eddie, who is surly by nature seems even more so this evening, and it doesn't help that when Sloan arrives the next day show more she finds Eddie's body in one of the vats.

Seeing as how her husband's prints were on the vat, and his lighter was found near the body, he's arrested for the murder. But Sloan knows that even though he cheated on her, he's no murderer, and she's decided to try and find out who might have wanted the rival brewmaster dead. If she doesn't, Mac will be railroaded for the crime, and leave her son without a father, which she isn't willing to do...

First off, even though the blurb states it, Eddie was not found with the recipe in his hand. In fact, that tidbit - where it was found and by whom it was taken - wasn't even mentioned until much later in the book. Just getting it straight.

Anyway, this book was fine for a first effort, but I found a few things that bothered me. All Sloan does is drink beer, but no mention is made that she even has any kind of a "beer belly." Not even a little "pooch." People who drink beer constantly - and she doesn't go to a gym to work out - would have some physical traits if they didn't do something about it. She drinks a lot of beer. In fact, that's all anyone drinks in this town. She gets stressed, someone hands her a pint of beer. There's a lot of stress in her life. Point made. She mentions once that her husband Mac is starting to get a belly, but never even mentions anything about herself - even though we never see Mac take a drink.

Secondly, she makes food for Nitro but I have issues with that. She pulls chicken out of her fridge and cooks kebabs - for how many people? A hundred? Two? How many chicken breasts did she have in there? 40 or 50? Because ten or so kebabs is not going to feed all the people that showed up for opening night. And it would take a long time to cook for that many people than what she supposedly did. (Who keeps that much food at home, anyway, on the off chance they might have to cook for that many people?)

Plus, she only makes things with beer. Who eats cupcakes, shortbread, and brownies made with beer? And since when are they served at a brewery? Personally, I don't drink, but I eat at a brewery or two in town, and they've never had common desserts like that at a bar. Who would buy a cupcake or cookies at a bar? This didn't ring true. Maybe a fancy chocolate cake (three layers, heavy frosting) or a streudel (which would be more in line with a brewery) but not shortbread. Never shortbread - unless the breweries of Washington have no imagination and the diners are willing to pay $5 for a brownie. I don't see it. (Or maybe I just eat at upscale breweries that don't serve food you can buy at any convenience store in town).

I also see that we're probably at the beginning of (ho hum) another love triangle. Her husband cheated on her; and since she forgave him, he'll probably do it again. The best she can do is cut her losses and tell him goodbye. Honestly, I abhor love triangles, and if it goes that way in the second book, I am done with the series - especially since he cheated on her. Honestly, I am so tired of books that have love triangles. In real life, women don't usually have two boyfriends hanging around; and if the situation were reversed and this were a man with two women, you'd think him no better than a gigolo. Garrett is obviously the better man - look at what he did when she was at the hospital.

The book was a light on the mystery and heavy on brewing information. The brewing information wasn't boring, I'm not saying that at all; but I didn't think the mystery was all that interesting. Yes, we had a dead body, and yes, we were finding out who wanted to commit the crime, but I didn't see that any of the suspects had a real reason to kill him. Just breaking up with someone isn't enough to want them dead, in my book. Any there was no real investigation going on by anyone.

Most of the book was on Sloan trying to help get Garrett's business off the ground, and worrying about Mac's family and how they were dealing with things. It was okay, but not engrossing in any way. They aren't that interesting of a family. The parents are lovable, I get it; but they handled the brewery long before Sloan arrived and she should allow them the benefit of the doubt. The book wasn't supposed to be about Mac's family, but that's what I felt it was about.

Anyway, it was fine for a first in the series book, but not anywhere near the I-can't-wait-to-read-the-next-in-the-series feeling I like to get from a book. However, I will read the second and see if it improves at all...or if we have, as I said, a love triangle - which will end the series for me. show less