Jeff Alworth started his blog "Beervana" in February 2006. In early 2011, the blog's odometer rolled past five years and the numbers were piling up. In that time, he had written roughly 1,900 posts and over half a million words. This book is a collection of the best of those posts,including: over 130 beer reviews; reviews of 60+ breweries, brewpubs, and pubs; fifteen obscure(ish) style considerations; an all-new "best-of" section that has never before appeared in print; typos, errors, factual improbabilities; rumor, gossip, speculation; poorly-sourced reportage; and NO posts about Oregon's beer tax!
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By dann.cutter
Mar 2, 2011
A tour de force in Brew publishing... standing tall among the six or seven books in the field (okay okay, actually there seem to be quite a few - who would have thunk it, give someone beer, network access and a word processor...) Frankly, his blog is a fun read for the neophyte beer drinker to the more experienced hop head. A recommended text for anyone serious about modern craft brew in the PNW, and frankly the American experience with such. I would call this the best of the 'beer' in Beervana (thus an absolute must read if you drink beer in Portland) but it misses something; and that something was (probably intelligently removed) content that would have ran an extra hundred pages - which are some of the depth of comments and discussions which emerge from the flexible format of a BLERG (my new name for a beer blog). As well, some of the off topics which emerge (his back and forth with the Oregon beer economist, brewers, the followup work on honest pints, etc) add a flavor which is... More > somehow missing. These are 'touched' upon, but the lack of context makes their brief mentions hard to place. Probably a necessity to print, but missed none the less. The Honest Pint Project comes to mind - the post which started it all is included (and noted as such) but nothing is adequately followed up. Searched the e-version, and it is barely mentioned. Yet, the word 'Starbucks' shows up 11 times. As well, sourced from online material, there are very few website links included... amusingly, the electronic version seems to have many of the hyperlinks shown, but not included - just sad blue text, unlinked. That is not to say that it is all missing... beyond the place, beer and breweries are some of the notable posts concerning other random things to enjoy... 80 pages in fact at the end - so maybe I am off base. This is very enjoyable to read, and already sits on my iPhone for my next trip to the beer isle. In the end, WORTH THE MONEY, which is really the value statement of any review.< Less
