Beer appreciation in the world of books
People who see my stack of beer books are always surprised. Yes, there are quite a few about brewing techniques, the history of beer styles, how to taste beer, the craft beer revolution, and so on – you get the picture. My partner, who is a doctor, often tells his friends, jokingly, that “there are more books about beer than about medicine on our book shelves”.
What is missing on the over-flowing book shelves, however, is beer books by Scandinavian writers. Just recently, I found out that Sweden in fact has some of the world’s best beer books. Peter Eronson has won a number of awards for his works, including gold and silver at the World Gourmand Cookbook Awards, for his Beer, Brewing & Bastards, co-authored with Jonas Darnell.
Another interesting read would be Mikkeller’s Book of Beer by Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Pernille Pang, from Denmark. It shows how to become a beer connoisseur and how to brew exciting, great-tasting beer at home. Craft beer lovers are probably aware that Borg Bjergsø has an estranged twin brother, who is based in New York with his brewery, Evil Twin. And yes, of course, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø has written beer books, too: his Where to Drink Beer lists more than 1,600 of the best places to go for a beer around the world, while Food & Beer, co-authored with Canadian chef Daniel Burns, describes great food and beer pairings.
But there is a lot more! For instance, Gustav Foseid, Norway’s 2011 champion in home-brewing, has written Ølsmaking (Beer Tasting) and Håndbok i Ølbrygging (Handbook in Brewing). And Norwegian beer queen Sigrid Straetkvern has written the delicious Øl Med Kniv & Gaffel (Beer With Knife & Fork), which was nominated for Cookbook of the Year by Apéritif a few years ago. So the pubs and bars may be closed for the time being, but there is still a lot to discover in the world of beer.
Malin Norman is a certified beer sommelier and a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers. With a background in international marketing, she has a particular interest in consumer trends in the beer market. Malin writes about beer for Scan Magazine as well as international beer magazines, and also creates beer-related content for global producers.