Trouble Brewing in the Loire

Brits Tommy and Rose move to France to leave the rat race of London. Living in rural France, running a microbrewery has its perks and downfalls. Amusing at times. Skimmable at others (details of the beer recipes may appeal to others). Have a lot of respect for the patience of Rose. Glad he listened to her at the end. Would recommend.

humorous. ook about the travails of being a micro-brewery in France by a Briitish ex-pat. His lack of knowledge about brewing, business, and the FRENCH COMBINE FOR A FUN READ.

What a hilarious book! Barnes has a very natural voice to read, it had me in absolute stitches and also intensely worried about him at many times too! This is an entertaining book that interweaves his escapades as a brit living in France, brewing beer and raising a family. It's touching, it's honest and it is funny.

What Can Possibly Go Wrong…?
Or rather, what will go wrong next! The second in the entertaining Braslou Biere Chronicles and chaos looms around every corner. Enjoyable, witty and very readable with bags of humour and recipes too. A refreshing and rather joyous read,

There are many books popping up detailing the experiences of British people in France, here is another enjoyable one to add to the collection.
Tommy Barnes runs his own micro-brewery in rural France, occasionally he diversifies to give his views on parenting, roundabouts, speed humps and other oddities, but the book is at its strongest when he’s focussing on the trial and tribulations of his brewing and his experiences when trying to sell at the country fairs.
The author used to be a stand up comedian and his humour certainly shines through, this certainly helps as the dark shadows of Brexit and the pandemic rear their ugly heads. He has a unique, almost coarse turn of phrase and yet I warmed very much to this and somehow it made this particular personal story, all the more real.
Thanks to NetGalley and Muswell Press for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I'll begin by saying that I haven't read the first book so I had no background or context to this one. However, other than the author's occasional jibe about this, it didn't seem to make much difference. This is not just an account of the author's successes and failures with his brewing enterprise in France but also documents his life, relationships, view of self and mental health. Although I'm not a brewer or even a fan of real ale, I was drawn in by the easy writing style, wit and the fact that he became aware that the state of his brewery reflected the state of his mind, much like a desk might. An interesting book which manages to encapsulate a lot in a quick read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.