Beer for the Genius

Yes, you drink beer. Yes, you love beer. But how much do you really know about beer? For the sake of argument, let's suppose that you possess a fair amount of beer knowledge. Just enough to speak with some authority on the subject. Fermentation? Check. You pretty much got that covered. The difference between a stout and an IPA? Check. You know what you like and what to order when you're out on the town, and you can probably even opine on the choices of the other members of your party. And, hey, wasn't it the ancient Egyptians who first got the keg rolling, mass-production-wise? Well, not really, but you are in the ballpark.

Okay, since you're doing so well, how about we ratchet the difficulty level up a notch or three?

What can you tell your friends about how different types of yeast impact the overall flavor and quality of a given beer? Did you know that beer brewing has been around for some 10,000 years (give or take), and that the practice predates written language? And then there is the whole wide world of hops. Before people started adding hops to beer, the stuff was called ale. Do you know when (generally speaking) hops arrived on the scene? Or why hops were added in the first place? (Here's a hint: It had nothing to do with flavor.) Oh, and if for some reason you were asked, could you state, with confidence, the dollar value of the global brewing industry? (Another hint: It's very close to oodles.)

The point here is this: There is a whole barrel-aged ocean of information about beer out there; scientific, commercial, historical, sociological. Beer for the GENIUS houses all of the most important bits in one fascinating, sociable, somewhat daffy, yet easy-to-use compendium.

By the time you are done reading Beer for the GENIUS, you will be able to wow your friends and family (or annoy them, whichever) with your startling beer know-how.

About the For the GENIUS Series

The For the GENIUS series is a line of how-to books about literally any topic that people want to learn. Though written in a conversational style, GENIUS books are thorough and authoritative treatments of the subject. They are written by experts in the subject who want to share with others what they've learned.

Pure genius!

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Ins and Outs of Beer…or…High School Chemistry, Redux

Chapter 1: Fermentation and Brewing
Chapter 2: A Million Kinds of Beer

Part 2: Beer History is Human History

Chapter 3: Way Back In the Day
Chapter 4: Beer History from Around the Whole Sudsy Globe
Chapter 5: The Medieval Revolution
Chapter 6: Beer Comes to America

Part 3: Beer and Society

Chapter 7: Men's Work and/or Women's Work
Chapter 8: Beer and Commerce
Chapter 9: Beer and Medicine
Chapter 10: Beer and the Law
Chapter 11: Beer During Prohibition

Part 4: The Brewing Industry Today

Chapter 12: Contract Brewing
Chapter 13: The Craft-Brew/Micro-Brew Revolution(s)
Chapter 14: The Basics of Homebrewing
Chapter 15: Sketches of the Industry Today

Part 5: Enjoying Beer

Chapter 16: Jars, Goblets, Cans, Bottles and Skulls
Chapter 17: Tasting Beer & Tasting Other Stuff With Beer

Conclusion: Bottle It up and Put a Cork in It