Beer For Dummies, 2nd Edition

With the profusion of craft breweries and a torrent of beer styles and brand names, the need for beer education is a reality. These days, everyone who enters a grocery store, even a small one, encounters beer labels that are slightly mysterious. Just as there are wine sommeliers to help you make educated wine choices, there are beer experts offering their expertise at restaurants and retail stores.

Now, with Beer For Dummies, 2nd Edition (Wiley, 978-1-1181-2030-9, January 2012), you can learn the ins and outs of the beer world yourself. This robust revision includes everything you need to educate your palate--from recognizing the characteristics of ales, lagers, and other beer styles to understanding the varieties of hops and other key ingredients. Author and beer connoisseur Marty Nachel shares his expertise simple tips for pouring, storing, and drinking beer like an expert brewmeister and reveals his picks for the best beer festivals, tastings, and events around the world.

Updates from the first edition include:

• New coverage on the various styles of beer found around the world including: real ale, barrel aged/wood aged beer, organic brews, and extreme beer.

• The latest tips and information for discovering which beer to drink when: Which is the beer for the moment? Is this beer light, crisp, and refreshing? Is this one sweet, that one dry and bitter?

• Updated profiles on the flavor and body of each beer, explaining why beers taste the way they do, as well as their strengths and ideal serving temperatures.

• How to spot the best beers by looking at the bottle, label, and appearance in the glass after pouring.

• Cooking and dining with beer: the essentials about beer-and-food pairings as well as the best ways to implement beer into their cooking repertoires.

• Touring and exploring with beer: Travel agencies have designed entire tours around beer and breweries. From Indiana to Ireland, readers can discover where to travel to fully experience the rich and vast world of beer.