Get A Read On The World Of Beer

On a chilly evening, there’s nothing like curling up on the couch with a good book. Or a good beer. Or maybe a good beer book.

As the microbrew craze continues to gather steam, new beer books seem to be appearing as frequently as new breweries these days. A couple of particularly ambitious efforts recently crossed my desk.

In “Beer Here: A Traveler’s Guide to American Brewpubs and Microbreweries” (Citadel Press, $16.95), Stuart A. Kallen attempts a daunting task indeed: a comprehensive listing of American breweries and brewpubs in an industry where new players pop up (and sometimes vanish) virtually overnight.

While such an effort is doomed to be outdated from the outset, Kallen turns in a valiant effort, providing valuable information about all but the very newest brewers.

Beyond that, he offers some of the most concise, entertaining summaries I’ve seen of such topics as beer history, brewing methods and beer styles. And a series of appendices include such information as the basics of beer tasting, how to avoid (or at least minimize) hangovers following overly enthusiastic sampling and a list of “contract brewers” who hire bigger breweries to make their products, so beer snobs can keep score.

Speaking of beer snobs, Bob Klein’s “The Beer Lover’s Rating Guide” (Workman Publishing, $9.95) is just what the name implies: one man’s opinion of more than 1,200 beers from throughout the world.

That may sound comprehensive, but there are some irritating inconsistencies. For example, Klein lists Full Sail’s golden ale, but not the arguably superior amber. Dos Equis Special Lager is there, but the regular, darker Dos Equis is missing.

Some of the ratings might make you wonder what you’re missing. Grant’s Scottish Ale, a 2.0? Pyramid Pale Ale, a 2.5? And the 0.2-1.3 for Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot Barleywine, which Klein deems undrinkable without aging for a few years, seems to say more about the maturity of his taste buds than the beer.

Of course, arguing with the author is all the fun in this sort of thing. And it’s difficult to disagree too much with someone whose highest-rated beer is Rogue’s superb Shakespeare Stout (4.8), and who gives a 4.4 to Hale’s hoppy India Pale Ale (although the regular Hale’s pale pulls only a 2.2) - even if he does say Hale’s is brewed in Colville, which hasn’t been true since 1991.

Klein also should be commended for moving beyond micros and imports to the mass-produced domestics most people drink. His take on the Big Three: Miller, 2.4; Coors, 1.4; Budweiser, 1.1. Arguments, anyone?

Honey don’t

Just in time for frigid weather, Blitz-Weinhard has finally come out with its long-promised Henry Weinhard’s Honey Hefeweizen. While I’m not a big fan of wheat beers unless the thermometer is headed up, not down, I do have a healthy respect for Henry’s (whose Red Boar Lager is one of the better buys around).

Which is why I was disappointed with the Honey Hefeweizen. It’s not a bad beer, and I liked it a bit better on each of the three occasions that I tried it. But whether it’s the honey, or the higher carbonation, or who knows what else, it’s nowhere near as crisp and clean (or expensive, admittedly) as such microbrew competitors as Thomas Kemper’s hefeweizen.

I’m afraid Hank’s is one honey I would have to give a “B,” at best.

Battling brewers

Speaking of the Kemper hefeweizen, it took the bronze medal in the American wheat beer category at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver two weekends ago, while the summer seasonal Thomas Kemper White was second among Belgian-style specialty ales.

Other major Northwest microbreweries bringing home medals included Deschutes, bronze in brown porters for its Black Butte Porter, and Portland Brewing, silver in blonde ales for its Oregon Honey Beer.

California’s excellent Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. took home two golds, for its Pale Ale and its Bigfoot Barleywine (take that, Bob Klein!)

Ballpark brewpubs also fared well, with Baltimore’s Wharf Rat at Camden Yards winning a silver medal for its Olivers Christmas Ale, and Denver’s own Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field snaring a silver for its Wild Pitch Hefeweizen and a bronze for its Rightfield Red Ale.

Bitter up

Whatever their World Series allegiances, true beer fans should be disappointed that the Dodgers, with Japanese pitching phenom Hideo Nomo, stumbled so quickly in postseason play. According to the Los Angeles Times, “nomo,” in Japanese, translates to: “Hoist one, mac.”

, DataTimes MEMO: On Tap is a monthly feature of IN Food. Rick Bonino welcomes reader questions and comments about beer. Write to: On Tap, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446; fax 459-5098.