This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that gives a tour through breweries of the Pacific Coast and Hawaii. The chapters are relatively brief, but each provide information about a particular brewery and type of beer. Richardson's love of beer and travel are evident as he captures the essence of each brewery. I can't name a single place he mentions in the book that I do not want to visit myself.
As someone new to the enjoyment of craft beer I found the book to be informative as I learn more about the different types of beer. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about beer or who has a love of the Pacific Northwest in particular. Living in the Midwest I am not familiar with many of these breweries, but they are now places I intend to look up on future travels out west.

Craft Beer Country by Kirk Richardson was received direct from the publisher. Oh no, another craft beer book picking the same breweries because they have advertising money, no matter how “not good” the beer may actually be, is probably what you are thinking. That is exactly what I was thinking because I have travelled the world and drank dome wonderful beers that never wind up in anything other than local write-ups (Moose Tooth Raspberry Wheat) anyone? Anyway this wAs not the fact as this book covered many breweries and beer I had never heard of. Everyone should be well aware that “Craft Beer Country” as referred to in the title means left coast brews, not the entire country. If you or someone you buy gifts for likes craft beers from the west coast, give this book a read.

4 stars

3.5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy. This was given in exchange for an honest review.

Kirk Richardson's new book, Craft Beer Country, is a deeply personal look at some of the best breweries and their beers in the West. He covers quite a bit of territory from Alaska down the Pacific Northwest to California and all the way over to Hawaii. Throughout his journey he interviews brew masters and samples some of their most unique and innovative offerings while telling their personal stories. He stops at both commercially well known breweries like Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, Stone Brewing and Alaskan Brewing Company as well as regional offerings like Freemont Brewing, Public Coast Brewing and Brasserie St James.

I am a very big fan of craft and independent brews and living on the west coast am familiar with many of his destinations and was interested to hear about the brewers and some of the samplings they offer in house. This is a good read for beer lovers on the West Coast or planning a trip to visit some of these breweries.

This book was received as an ARC from Mascot Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Breweries and local beer craft has become such a trend that people are growing more fascinated by the art day after day. Kirk Richardson does a tremendous job reflecting on the craft of beer and how brewmasters have redefined the craft and examining the perfect process and ingredients into brewing the perfect beer. Also, it is very rewarding and informative all of the history behind breweries and how they came to be. Also, Kirk sharing his travels also makes me feel like traveling to some of these breweries and check them out for myself.

We will consider this book for our Non-Fiction TX section at our library. That is why we give this book 4 stars.

While the craft brew industry on the Pacific Coast is large & vibrant, this book has too many faults to be of much use to those wanting to learn about it. It's a shame because it would take so little to make it a better book.

The book, written by a beer blogger, looks at several breweries in-depth, visiting them and talking to the brewmasters and founders. All the chapters but the last cover a single brewery. These are identified only by name and city. They have the feel of expanded blog articles.

Each of these chapters ends with a section of the brewer's philosophy. Most of these are direct quotes but some are stories that are indistinguishable from the rest of the chapter.

More problematic is what's missing in these chapters -- any kind of useful information about the company & its beers. Every chapter should include a section giving the reader:
address & phone of brewery
website URL
information about taproom, brewpub, and/or tours, including hours
list of their 10 most popular beers (with type)

Given information like this I could plan visits to breweries near and far. I could also seek out and try beers that looked interesting. As it is I'm out of luck. I'm unlikely to go out of my way to find a brewery if I don't know if it is open to the public (and I can't even call or look them up without more trouble), nor am I likely to look for beers from a brewery new to me if all I know they make is types of beer I do not like.

Also missing but referred to often are photographs. Although Richardson often refers to his photographer the very few pictures in the book look as if they came from the breweries' own materials. If there were pictures in the original posts, why aren't they included.

The last chapter covers dozens of breweries with what I think are actual blog posts. That's because often they cover a single event or a single beer. You learn little about the companies or their products. It was basically a filler.

A final problem with the book is that it is far too tailored to the author's tastes in beer, which run to IPA and stout. He says at one point that "beer is complex" but you would hardly know it from reading the book. He rarely talks about lagers or pilsners, about he almost completely ignores the more obscure types of beer that make it both complex and loved.

That's a crying shame because as the industry grows it grows away from the very popular IPAs to something more varied and interesting. Once again Richardson sells his reader short. Wouldn't they be better served if he didn't tell us about the IPA at almost every brewery?

The craft beer industry here is growing and varied. This book is not the one to be your guide to it.

The breweries in this book mostly seem to be on the West Coast (or in Hawaii), but I loved the stories about the brewers and what goes into making beer. The author goes to different breweries and talks about his experience touring, tasting, talking to the brewer. I came away from this book with a much greater appreciation for something that I already love and a lot more knowledge on it.