I have heard the oft-repeated phrase, “It takes a lot of beer to make good wine” and quietly smiled to myself. Man does not live on grapes alone and nor do winemakers get their quaffable sustenance from just the vine.
Dammit. Sometimes a beer hits the spot. I am no winemaker and I know this. Heck, some people swear to a diet of Guinness as a meal replacement program.
As I sit here and write this I am sipping on a Bell’s Hopslam—an amazingly rich and delicious IPA from Bell’s Brewery in Michigan. For other hopheads, it is very comparable to the Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA, another fantastically delicious butt-kicker of an Imperial Pale Ale and a beer considered by many to be the best in the country.
Frankly, if I were more fickle and more prone to “finger in the air” weather casting to see which way the wind was blowing, I might start a craft beer blog because there are many cool things happening in the world of craft brewing.
I bring this juxtaposition of beer versus wine up because a book, fascinating by its very premise, is due to be published at the end of the month and it is one of the most anticipated books of the year for me—and this is no slight to Tyler Colman, Neal Rosenthal, or Alice Feiring.
Just as wine consumption nestles into its steady manifest destiny in the US, and wine bloggers piss and moan about varying degrees of this thread or that notion in the world of wine, the craft brew world continues to grow at its own steady pace and an author prepares a frontal assault on the wine world.
This is curious because, frankly, I think most people view our wine culture in the states as something that is not yet where it needs to be. Yet, in the world of beer, apparently, we are number one with a bullet.
The new book called. “Grape vs. Grain” promises to:
Why is wine considered more sophisticated even though the production of beer is much more technologically complex? Why is wine touted for its health benefits when beer has more nutritive value? Why does wine conjure up images of staid dinner parties while beer denotes screaming young partiers? Charles Bamforth explores several paradoxes involving these beverages, paying special attention to the culture surrounding each. He argues that beer can be just as grown-up and worldly as wine and be part of a healthy, mature lifestyle. Both beer and wine have histories spanning thousands of years. This is the first book to compare them from the perspectives of history, technology, nature of the market for each, quality attributes, types and styles, and the effect that they have on human health and nutrition.
One of the blurbs on the book jacket says:
“Grape vs. Grain offers a thorough, comparative look at mankind’s two most beloved and culturally significant beverages that will surely change the mind of anyone who thinks of beer as wine’s less-sophisticated ‘poor relation’. Charles Bamforth’s jovial approach to the subject is as clean and refreshing as a Blanche de Bruges on a hot summer day. Not only did I learn a lot from this book, I enjoyed reading it too; I’d love to sit down and share a pint with its author!”
-Alan Tardi, Author of Romancing the Vine (Winner of the 2006 James Beard Best Wine and Spirits Book)
I ordered the book on pre-order from Amazon.com and have not yet read it, but I understand that pre-release copies of the book went out to the craft beer blogosphere, so I fully expect a book that ardently justifies brewing in the pantheon of drinks, especially against the history of wine.
Just goes to show you that even though, as consumers, we may be critical pundits of the wine industry for its wayward and antiquated ways, yet we are still the object of admiration from other segments, notably beer.
I am anticipating this read, and so should you. Grape vs. Grain? I like a beer now and again, but it does not hold a candle to the wine lover in me.