Hops and Glory

Amongst the big bonanza of beer books I got for Christmas was Hops and Glory. The lovely Lisa got it for me even though it wasn't on my wish list. She's clever like that. Particularly clever in fact, as the author says it sold out in mid December*. Being a cheapskate I'd been holding out until the paperback edition arrived but I'm glad I didn't as it's a cracking read.

For my non-beer nerd readers that haven't heard all about it already it tells the story of a beer writer recreating a historically authentic India Pale Ale (IPA) and trying to take it to India by the pre-Suez canal route over land and sea. Along the way we're also treated to a range of stories, including how Burton-on-Trent came to be Britain's beer capital,  the history of the British Raj and the effects of ageing on beer and wine. Even my current brewing hero Horace Brown gets a mention. There was even hardly anything I thought the author had got wrong, unlike some beer writers I could mention. 

I'd recommend people get a copy quick before they all go. Or failing that be a cheapskate and wait for the paperback.   




*Though Amazon don't seem to have noticed yet.