Unending terror--in his twenties, that is what Chicagoan Peter Roche endured in every waking moment. Shattered by his father's harrowing death from cancer, and the incomprehensible destruction of his lifelong friendship with John Lemaster, Roche launched a quiet offensive against total fear, searching desperately for a last sign of hope along the darkening road to helplessness. With the aid of Dr. Alexander Conlon, Peter begins his quest for peace and safety, a quest that leaves him wondering if the good doctor will prove to be a force for sanity or yet another sign of the disintegration that he so fears. In a world where love and hate seem indistinguishable, and hope and fear are one, Peter's wife Allie is by his side. She challenges him with her realness, and emotions that are intangible, and offers hope to find the minuscule safe point balanced precisely between longing for life and fear of death. For Peter, his father and John Lemaster embody the spiritual forces that, in tension, have forever made poetry work. Words...thoughts...images...all are real to him, stretching him between the Powers that insist on keeping the self together and those that demand its total dissolution. In this stunning, visionary novel, Peter confronts his past, seeking a way to distinguish the very poetry of life, from mere words and madness. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

"In lively and witty fashion, celebrated British beer writer Pete Brown presents a complete natural history of beer and shares the incredible story behind each of its four ingredients- malted barley, hops, yeast, and water. Miracle Brew explores the origins of fermentation, the lost age of hallucinogenic gruit beers, and the evolution of modern hop varieties that now challenge wine grapes in the extent to which they are discussed and revered."--Book cover.

This comprehensive guide covers all aspects of beer and brewing in Oregon, one of the leading states in the craft brew revolution. • Features 190 breweries and brewpubs • Each brewery profile includes beers brewed, special features, visitor information, and the author's "Pick" of the best beer to try • Includes information on up-and-coming breweries, local beer events, and more

A complete, practical, and entertaining guide to using the best ingredients and minimal equipment to create flavorful brews—including wildcrafted meads, bragots, t’ej, grog, honey beers, and more! "A great guide . . . full of practical information and fascinating lore."—Sandor Ellix Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation Ancient societies brewed flavorful and healing meads, ales, and wines for millennia using only intuition, storytelling, and knowledge passed down through generations―no fancy, expensive equipment or degrees in chemistry needed. In Make Mead Like a Viking, homesteader, fermentation enthusiast, and self-described “Appalachian Yeti Viking” Jereme Zimmerman summons the bryggjemann of the ancient Norse to demonstrate how homebrewing mead―arguably the world’s oldest fermented alcoholic beverage―can be not only uncomplicated but fun. Inside, readers will learn techniques for brewing: Sweet, semi-sweet, and dry meads Melomels (fruit meads) Metheglins (spiced meads) Ethiopian t’ej (honey wine) Flower and herbal meads Bragots Honey beers Country wines Viking grog And there's more for aspiring Vikings to explore, including: The importance of local and unpasteurized honey for both flavor and health benefits What modern homebrewing practices, materials, and chemicals work—but aren’t necessary How to grow and harvest herbs and collect wild botanicals for use in healing, nutritious, and magical meads, beers, and wines How to use botanicals other than hops for flavoring and preserving mead, ancient ales, and gruits The rituals, mysticism, and communion with nature that were integral components of ancient brewing Whether you’ve been intimidated by modern homebrewing’s cost or seeming complexity in the past or are boldly looking to expand your current brewing and fermentation practices, Zimmerman’s welcoming style and spirit will usher you into exciting new territory. Grounded in history and mythology, but―like Odin’s ever-seeking eye―focusing continually on the future of self-sufficient food culture, Make Mead Like a Viking is a practical and entertaining guide for the ages. "Adventurous mead makers or brewers who want to move beyond the basics will find plenty to savor here."—Library Journal

Commercial relations between the North Sea area and the Baltic contributed in a fundamental way to Holland's economic dominance in the seventeenth century. They were embedded in a region where numerous expressions of a common culture facilitated the mobility of people and commodities or the spreading of tastes and ideas. The German Hansa played a very important role in this process, but also after its decline, economic contacts between the North Sea region and the Baltic continued and with them a prolonged process of cultural interaction. This volume describes the interconnections of the various aspects of the common economic culture in the region between ca. 1350 and 1750.