Beer Lover's Companion: A Guide to Producing, Brewing, Tasting, Rating and Drinking Around the World (Essential Connoisseur)

Beer, glorious beer! Josh Leventhal's Beer Lover's Companion pays tribute to ales and lagers, bitter and bocks from every corner of the globe. Written with amateur quaffers in mind, this tall, slender book helps distinguish between dozens of beer styles such as brown ales and black beers, cream ales and wheat beers--and each brew is put through a taste and strength test. This book will certainly make your next hop to the local public house a much more pleasant experience!

The book's strength lies in its section on international beers. Each country is divided by region, exemplifying the breweries and brews of each local area. In Britain (well known for its many fine beers), over 50 breweries are showcased. John Smith's Brewery, famous for its Webster's Yorkshire Bitter, has been in the hops business since 1883. Boddingtons in Manchester has been brewing even longer, since 1778.

Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs of various bottles and brews, this is the perfect book to pack for international beer pilgrimages. --Naomi Gesinger