Porter, stout, barleywine, and black ale styles have served mankind for centuries and are the main very dark, very malty beers brewed around the world. Today we have many variations of these old styles, including those augumented with fruit, chocolate, barrel-aging, and other flavors. Mr. Hatch provides detailed descriptions of the styles and substyles with reviews of numerous labels under each category. At 196 pages this dark beer guide is larger than most books covering all beer styles. Written by the secretive BrewBase panel, these reviews are full of history, humor, and sometimes very frank opinions. Each brew is rated on a 5-bottle system with 5.0 being perfect. Awards of Merit are given to exceptional, more-than-perfect labels.

The handbook of stouts and porters is the ultimate, complete, and definitive guide to some of the most complex and original beers available in the market today. It has an extensive history of the two styles, has all the up-to-do info on the current brewing trends, and has hundreds of reviews, along with profiles and other food and tasting tips. Some of the leading edges of the new craft beer revolution have found their expression in unique stouts and porters. Big, round, and roasty, these are huge, brawny beers that have gathered a following. Imperial stouts in porters barrel aged, highly hopped, or aged in bourbon, whiskey, and wine barrels. The history and development of stout and porter and intertwined. Porter was originally an English dark beer style, made popular by street and river porters of London in the 18th century. Because of its huge popularity, London brewers made them in a variety of strengths, and the term “stout” was used for the stronger, fuller bodied porters. They were labeled as “stout porters” but eventually, porter was dropped from the label and stout became its own unique dark brew, distinctively made with roasted barley. Porters are conceived as sweeter on the nose and palate and remain firmly in the brown spectrum.

Classifying the world's great lagers, ales, stouts, porters, wheat beers, and sour beers is a complex and tricky thing. This new innovation system to 165 different substyles is different in a number of ways. It can be used royalty free (under specific guidelines) by any author in their articles, books, blogs, and such. Most existing systems do not accommodate the new variations on styles such as the Fruited Double Rye IPA or FRIPA or the Chocolate Mole Stout (CHMST). It is available in many formats including this PDF ebook, a website, JPG image, HTML table, and a variety of searchable and sortable spreadsheets like Open Office Calc and Excel. A new set of abbreviations makes it handy to use the system in reviews or describing hybrid brewing styles or when blending your own beer. A set of suffix codes specify specific treatments like as (B) bourbon wood aging, (UN) unfiltered, and (BO) for bottle conditioned.

"The book includes: More than 300 porters, Baltic porters, specialty porters, stouts, coffee stouts, Imperial stouts, milk stouts, Irish stouts, and many, many more; the rich history of porters and stouts; a special section by beer superstar Joshua M. Bernstein on the new wave of culinary beers, black beers, and many other variations; an introduction by highly acclaimed, world beer expert Stephen Beaumont"--

Join authors Dick Cantwell and Peter Bouckaert as they tell the story of the marriage between wood and beer from Roman times through medieval Europe to modern craft brewing. Cooperage is a long and venerable craft and here the authors give a description combining the evocative and technical. The smells, the heat, choosing the wood, drying, fashioning staves, steaming, firing, and assembling into a perfect container—at least perfect until the bunghole is drilled to accommodate the precious contents. Barrels and foeders have gone from an oddity of traditional breweries to a commonplace feature at the heart of the craft brewing industry. It is estimated that 85% of US breweries now use wood as part of their process. Maintaining wooden vessels requires care and meticulous organization of cellar space. The authors discuss the vagaries of temperature, humidity, seasonal changes, mold, and evaporation, and how breweries new and old deal with these challenges. The basics of selecting, inspecting, cleaning, and maintaining barrels are detailed. Finally, of course, the wood must be united with the beer. The complexity and variations that govern how wood imparts flavors to beer can be overwhelming. The authors guide the reader through wood's characteristic flavor compounds and the nuances of toasting and charring. Oak is the focus, American, French, and Eastern European, but other woods get their due. As well as intrinsic flavors, the microflora that take up residence in a barrel or foeder are the living, beating heart of a barrel-aged beer, able to create sour and unique beers of fascinating complexity. The authors pepper the text with stories and experiences from some of the giants of the craft brewing scene, discussing how they monitor their barrel programs and taste and blend their beers to create something truly special. All this will inspire professional and amateur brewers alike. At the end of the book the authors give some helpful advice on wood aging for homebrewers, including the uses for chips, cubes, spirals, staves, powders ... and the odd chair leg. Get ready to embrace the mystical complexity of flavors and aromas derived from wood.

Brew your own clones of Magic Hat #9, Ithaca Brown, Moose Drool, Samuel Adams Boston Ale, and 196 more commercial beers! Revised, improved, and expanded, this second edition of CloneBrews contains 50 brand-new recipes, updated mashing guidelines, and a food pairing feature that recommends the best fare to match every beer. With basic brewing equipment and a bit of know-how, you can duplicate all of your favorite lagers and ales from home.

What we eat, where it is from, and how it is produced are vital questions in today's America. We think seriously about food because it is freighted with the hopes, fears, and anxieties of modern life. Yet critiques of food and food systems all too often sprawl into jeremiads against modernity itself, while supporters of the status quo refuse to acknowledge the problems with today's methods of food production and distribution. Food Fights sheds new light on these crucial debates, using a historical lens. Its essays take strong positions, even arguing with one another, as they explore the many themes and tensions that define how we understand our food—from the promises and failures of agricultural technology to the politics of taste. In addition to the editors, contributors include Ken Albala, Amy Bentley, Charlotte Biltekoff, Peter A. Coclanis, Tracey Deutsch, S. Margot Finn, Rachel Laudan, Sarah Ludington, Margaret Mellon, Steve Striffler, and Robert T. Valgenti.