Why Beer Matters (Kindle Single)

Over the past few years, there’s been an explosion of interest in good beer. As hundreds of great new breweries have opened across the country and around the world, quality ales and lagers have been given an importance never before imagined. Despite beer's renaissance, however, no one seems to have focused on why beer suddenly matters, or what it is about beer that makes it the drink for our age. In this 6,500-word (20-page) personal essay, Evan Rail investigates several compelling aspects of beer beyond its principal role as a great drink, from its very real sense of place to its unusual relationship with the passing of time.

"...good beer writing that takes a fresh perspective.. A travel piece but not through geography, instead it echoes his own path with writing and thinking about beer.. Well worthy."
— A Good Beer Blog

"It's truly a phenomenal piece of writing. Rail explores not only his own relationship with beer—how it affects his career, his travel and his writing—but how beer affects everyone associated with it, from brewers to consumers. He takes you on a journey that spans the globe and ends up in his living room. It's a deeply personal and wonderfully beer-geeky experience, that he relates in a easy-to-come-by manner—It really is a fantastic work."
— Drink Drank

"Mandatory reading for anyone with at least a passing interest in beer."
— Pivní Filosof