[.ca] Great Beer Guide (ISBN 0751308137)

Excellent:
I've been a fan for many years of both Mr. Jackson's beer and single-malt scotch books, and I own all three editions of his scotch book. The single-malt whisky volumes especially taught me how to isolate and appreciate the different essences and flavors in a particular whisky. Having learned to pick out all the flavors Mr. Jackson mentioned, I was even after a while able to come up with new things on my own, a true testament to a fine teacher and connoisseur of whisky and spirits. I also learned a lot about beer from this book. Jackson provides tasting notes and interesting historical details about the 500 beers in this book. The beers are listed in alphabetical order by brewer rather than by type or style of beer, but that makes them easier to just look up to find the beer you want to learn about. For example, Jackson discusses the Schneider Weisse brewery wheat beer. This Bavarian distillery is the oldest one to have specialized only in producing wheat beers, going all the way back to 1607. I tried it as a result of Jackson's recommendation, and it really is superb. It's a heavier, more intense example of the wheat beer style, with lots of character and fruitiness, with clove, spicey, and pineapple-like flavors. Partly as a result of this book, I was led to try other styles and beers that I might not have tasted. As a result I feel I'm much more electic in my beer tastes than I was before, and I like and have learned to appreciate many different pilsners, lagers, ales, stouts, bocks, and many of the Belgian brews--of which there are up to a dozen or more different types--because of Mr. Jackson's erudite writing. A good example of this is the sweet Belgian lambic beers, which are not to everyone's taste but which I am now fond of, in addition to the other less sweet types. Overall, a great book to read and learn from by a great connoisseur.

a:
I'm not sure anyone in the world has sampled more brews than Michael Jackson. No, not that Michael Jackson. This one is (from what I've been able to discern) the pre-eminent beer critic in the world. "Great Beer Guide" covers several hundred beers from all over the world but avoids the "x number of stars" format and, in fact, doesn't offer a numerical rating at all. It's assumed that if the beer was good enough to make it into this guide that it qualifies at the top of it's class, whether it be a pilsner, lager, or ale, or even one of the exotics like a lambic or barleywine. The biggest draw of this book for me was the layout. Each of the 500+ pages is occupied by a single beer, which is pictured in both it's bottle incarnation and also as a draft, giving you not just an idea of what the beer looks like but also the official glassware it's intended to be served in. Some of the more unusual glassware includes a beer from Oregon that is served in a pint glass with a half-log as it's base! In addition to the pictures the text also tells you what type of beer it is, where it's from, the alcohol content by both volume and gravity, and finally a description of the beer itself (again, there is no effort made to play favorites, but if the description sounds up your alley it would be more than worth your time to track the beer down). Alas, many of the beers listed in the book have limited distribution, so depending on where you live you'll probably only have access to a reasonably small percentage of these brews. Nonetheless, I was able to track down quite a few by special order that the local liquor stores would probably have never stocked of their own accord. And who knows? If you find yourself doing a lot of travelling you might just manage to cross all of these off your list sooner or later. But I doubt it.

MUST HAVE BOOK FOR TRUE BEER ENTHUSIASTS!:
This book is a fantastic, eloquently edited edition which works well either on your coffee table or in your hand, while the other hand is holding a beer. Not for Generic Beer Drinkers ("lousy beer drinkers"), this volume is both educational and endlessly entertaining. It returns us to the real spirit of beer, and allows us reprieve from the "low carb beer" trend sweeping the land, at least in America. Hoist a glass, or many to this excellent book.

This Book in BAD in a GOOD Way:
hello: i read this book while consuming mass quanities of beer, belching and listening to rush limbaugh. jack e. jett the jack e. jett show

The best beer book i have:
This book is simply the best beer book i have. Michael Jackson's at its best...