Garrett Oliver’s The Brewmater’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food was both worth reading and frustrating. Oliver’s passion for beer is quite evident in the writing, and he does a solid job of explaining how beer styles evolved. It’s a solid mixture of anecdotes about his own discoveries of beer and historical discussions of the importance of beer throughout the ages. Rightfully, the book focuses on European brewing and places pilsners in the proper historical context. [I must note here that I love Pilsner Urquell, but I know that what we drink here in the States is a mass-produced facsimile of the original. But damn, it's tasty.]

There is a fair amount to criticize in the book, though. For one, it’s awfully repetitive—understandable at some level, if it’s designed to be a reference text. Reading it even as I did in fits and spurts, I tired of the unending sameness. I think that a fair amount of the writing could have been replaced with some solid tables. Also, I found it a bit amusing that the best American producer listed for many European style beers was … Oliver’s employer, the Brooklyn Brewery. Admittedly, they do great work, but … come on. Also, I found the bicoastal nature of the American beer discussion to be a bit disheartening; yes, there’s great beer brewed on each coast, but there’s also a lot of great beer brewed in Middle America. I was disappointed that Abita in Louisiana got a mention but Shiner didn’t.

All in all, it’s a decent book, but I get the feeling that Oliver’s passion translates better in person rather than on the page. That said, I must thank Scott for getting it for me, because it convinced me that maybe I wanted to try an Irish red ale, and … well, I love Smithwick’s now. [Goal for the next year: have a few pints of Smithwick's with SOG.]