Beer Is Proof God Loves Us

Beer Is Proof God Loves Us is a funny, engaging, and downright joyous examination of the whole world of beer and brewing. Your guide, Charlie Bamforth, may be the world's #1 expert on every aspect of beer. After a worldwide search, he was selected as the first Anheuser-Busch Professor of Brewing Science at the University of California, Davis. Now, he presents the most compelling social history of beer ever written: where it came from, where the brewing business stands now, and what the future holds. In this far-reaching book, he reveals:

· The extraordinary complexity and artistry that can be found in great brewing

· The factors that impact beer quality and wholesomeness

· Centuries-old cultural values embedded in good beer

Bamforth also explains what the rise of new craft breweries means to beer drinkers and what the latest global trends will have on beer consumption. The book concludes with a look to the future, illustrating how environmental issues will change the brewing industry and addressing radical new approaches to brewing, such as Happoshu and malternatives.

Preface xiii

Introduction xv

Chapter 1: Global Concerns 1

Chapter 2: The Not-So-Slow Death of a Beer Culture 23

Chapter 3: Barbican, Balls, and Beyond 39

Chapter 4: On The Other Hand: The Re-Birth of a Beer Ethos 49

Chapter 5: So What Is Quality? 65

Chapter 6: Despite the Odds: Anti-Alcohol Forces 79

Chapter 7: Societal Issues 93

Chapter 8: Looks Good, Tastes Good, and… 101

Chapter 9: Whither Brewing? 115

Chapter 10: God in a Glass 123

Conclusion 129

Endnotes 133

Appendix A: The Basics of Malting and Brewing 213

Appendix B: Types of Beer 219

About the Author 223

Index 225

Charles W. Bamforth has been in the brewing industry for 32 years, including 13 years in research, 11 in academia, and 8 with the famed brewing company Bass. After an international search, he was selected as UC Davis’ first Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences. His Web site gives fuller details of his career and much interesting information about beer and brewing, besides: http://www-foodsci.ucdavis.edu/bamforth/.

Throughout his diverse career, he has embraced every dimension of beer, from raw materials and processing, through quality, to beer’s impact on the body. This makes him unique among “beer people” worldwide. He has published many research papers in the peer-reviewed domain, but also those targeted at the layperson, seeking to engage awareness and debate about beer as a product and as part of social fabric. This is his ninth book on beer (one of his earlier ones is in its third edition), and he is generally considered to be one of the world’s leading writers and speakers on beer, from an authoritative, but also humorous and engaging, perspective. In recent years his major research thrust has been on the wholesomeness and public perception of beer.