motormouth95's review
5.0
Knocking back one for a great book on the history one of humankind's greatest drinks. Love the illustrations and information about different types of brews and beers.
daisey's review
4.0
I've read a few books recently about the making of alcohol (including [b:Proof: The Science of Booze|18222694|Proof The Science of Booze|Adam Rogers|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400955089s/18222694.jpg|25656359] and [b:The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks|16277245|The Drunken Botanist The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks|Amy Stewart|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404581364s/16277245.jpg|23532823]), and this book was a perfect complement to those. It was a much lighter read with the graphic novel format, but it still contained plenty of interesting historical information. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in an introduction to the history of beer or the differences in the creation of different types of beers.
* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
laurensalisbury's review
2.0
Honestly, I couldn't get through all of this. It's surprisingly dense and it's possible I'm reading it at not the right time to properly enjoy it. I'd only recommend it to the most ardent beer enthusiasts and those who enjoy classic-style nonfiction comics.
Starting the book without at least some knowledge of the brewing process makes the second chapter a slog to get through. I thought I had a passing knowledge but realized that I'd have to do additional Googling to actually get everything I could out of the chapter. Terms and processes are included sometimes without explanation and readers are expected to move forward without it.
The historical aspects of the book are theory at best but are presented as inarguable facts except for the very few spots where a footnote qualifies those claims.
While the book might be interesting enough to hold the attention of an enthusiastic beer drinker or brewer, it's too dense to hold the attention of a passing fan and too tenuously linked with history to provide as much background as it claims to.
Starting the book without at least some knowledge of the brewing process makes the second chapter a slog to get through. I thought I had a passing knowledge but realized that I'd have to do additional Googling to actually get everything I could out of the chapter. Terms and processes are included sometimes without explanation and readers are expected to move forward without it.
The historical aspects of the book are theory at best but are presented as inarguable facts except for the very few spots where a footnote qualifies those claims.
While the book might be interesting enough to hold the attention of an enthusiastic beer drinker or brewer, it's too dense to hold the attention of a passing fan and too tenuously linked with history to provide as much background as it claims to.
kimberlycarrington's review
4.0
Un cómic sorprendente e interesante, destinado a los amantes de la cerveza y a toda la gente que sienta curiosidad por su fabricación. Mezclando humor y varios estilos de dibujo, vamos haciendo un recorrido histórico por la cerveza y su evolución (cómo se cree que surgió, dónde, etc.) hasta nuestros días, pasando por su modo de fabricación y la evolución que este ha tenido. A pesar de la cantidad de datos que se dan en ningún momento se me ha hecho pesado, el hecho de que sea un cómic y que el texto se vea apoyado por viñetas lo hace todo mucho más ameno. Gracias a él puedes entender por fin las diferencias que hay entre los distintos tipos de cerveza, lo que aportan sus diferentes componentes al resultado final, etc. Ha sido una lectura agradale y amena y me parece un libro ideal para regalar.
sherpawhale's review
4.0
Informative, crisp art, covers a lot of history but doesn't feel too rushed. Also learned about the badass Carry A. Nation of the Temperance Movement, with the self-proclaimed nickname of the "Saloon Smasher" who "earned notoriety by carving a path of destruction across 1890s Kansas": " I opened the bungs of the beer kegs, and open the faucets of the barrels, and then the beer flew in every direction and I was completely saturated.
Give that lady a Netflix mini-series!
I did think it was a bit odd to draw all of the microbiological organisms as robots, considering they're alive. A stylistic choice I would not have made, but I guess they wanted to "show off the power of microbiology" and that was what the artist thought would work well.
Give that lady a Netflix mini-series!
I did think it was a bit odd to draw all of the microbiological organisms as robots, considering they're alive. A stylistic choice I would not have made, but I guess they wanted to "show off the power of microbiology" and that was what the artist thought would work well.
ivydeliz's review
4.0
A little spotty at the beginning -- I struggle with this issue a lot with comics -- but when we got to the late 1800's and 1900's I was familiar enough with history that I actually learned A LOT from the history of beer. Lots of fun facts like:
* brewing was done by women in their houses, and the very good ones were called alewives or brewsters. People started hanging out at these ladies' houses so they became "public houses" ie. pubs!
* the covered beer stein was a result of the Black Plague to avoid contagion and keep the flies out from the decomposing bodies everywhere :S
* Anchor Steam Brewery in San Francisco was the key to the American Craft Beer Revolution! Which is how the west coast has such great beer! Also, American Pale Ales are being made outside of America with exported hops. Cool stuff!
* a lot more stuff but you have to read it :)
* brewing was done by women in their houses, and the very good ones were called alewives or brewsters. People started hanging out at these ladies' houses so they became "public houses" ie. pubs!
* the covered beer stein was a result of the Black Plague to avoid contagion and keep the flies out from the decomposing bodies everywhere :S
* Anchor Steam Brewery in San Francisco was the key to the American Craft Beer Revolution! Which is how the west coast has such great beer! Also, American Pale Ales are being made outside of America with exported hops. Cool stuff!
* a lot more stuff but you have to read it :)
lmatakas's review
5.0
Just a really cool, really well designed graphic novel about beer and the history of its creation. SO COOL. Can't wait to read it in print, rather than on my computer.
mlindner's review
5.0
http://www.unshelved.com/bookclub/2015-6-19
http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/ProductDetailPage.aspx?sequence=1&group=search&keywords=The+story+of+beer&searchContext=&searchOrgID=&searchCatalogID=&searchMailingID=&sku=1607746352
http://marklindner.info/bbl/2016/03/hennessy-et-al-the-comic-book-story-of-beer/
http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/ProductDetailPage.aspx?sequence=1&group=search&keywords=The+story+of+beer&searchContext=&searchOrgID=&searchCatalogID=&searchMailingID=&sku=1607746352
http://marklindner.info/bbl/2016/03/hennessy-et-al-the-comic-book-story-of-beer/