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ckrush's review against another edition
5.0
Would love a beer pairing list to go along with each section.
vonwortchiller's review against another edition
5.0
Great book! Candid and honest! From a technical standpoint, I painfully enjoyed the details concerning the Bourbon County batches that suffered from a bacterial contamination which imparted the beer with an unwelcome sour twist.
jabarkas's review against another edition
4.0
Man this was a great read. When I first started it, I didn't necessarily expect to get anything much out of it. I knew the story I thought. Bud buys Goose. Greg Hall pees in a cup at Bangers & Lace. Some of the beer gets shitty, but the stuff they sell in big bottles stays awesome. Turns out, all of that stuff is true, and I did already know it. It also turns out that there was so much more to the story. So much so that the endlessly fascinating context provided by this book feels like it barely scratches the surface, and it's some of the deepest and best reporting I've ever read. Noel captures the personal and political aspects of one of the most fascinating industrial sagas of the 21st century in enthralling detail, and opens up the world in a way I really hope more people take the time to read and understand.
Would strongly recommend to anyone interested in beer, industrial politics, or Chicago history.
Would strongly recommend to anyone interested in beer, industrial politics, or Chicago history.
queenholly's review against another edition
3.0
I'd like to slap the author silly for his overuse of the word "iconic". I was a die hard beer nerd during a lot of the years covered in this book. I consumed a lot of the beers mentioned, went to some of the festivals, and felt betrayed when I heard about the RateBeer buyout. At one time I was one of RB's top ten women raters. It was interesting to read some of the history of craft beer, and fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge.
jeffmauch's review against another edition
5.0
History and craft beer, what more could i ask for from a book? Sure, when I say history, I mean very recent history, but so what. I was sort of shocked by the depth of information that is presented in this work. I consider myself somewhat well versed in craft beer and some of it's history, but I learned a lot here, particularly when it came to the tactics used by Anheuser-Busch. I've always sort of considered them the enemy because they are competing with an industry I'm passionate about, but the depth to which they tried to stifle craft beer were shocking. I knew about most of their acquisitions and good portion on their fake craft beers, but it was really the distribution tactics that were the most sinister and questionable. Goose Island's history was interesting as well, especially with so many people that were involved it its creation and sale contributing to the book, it really gave a great perspective on their role in both craft beer and with Anheuser-Busch. If you're even remotely a fan of craft beer or intrigued by corporate competition, give this one a whirl, it's a good read.
petertruog's review against another edition
4.0
Much more enjoyable than anticipated. Great narrative-based storytelling, and makes you really question what it means to be a craft brewer, and to challenge the pros and cons of craft brewers selling to macro brands. Also just some great characters and stories from the world of small and big beer.
ajkhn's review against another edition
4.0
It's a nifty enough book to read a few minutes at a time on my phone -- more as a social media replacement than as an honest-to-god book. I don't mean that as a dig; Noel is a good and concise writer, and he does a good job of keeping what could be an enormous cast of characters manageable.
I could never figure out if Noel was making fun of the Hall family or not. John Hall is...well, he's a Hinsdale executive who found out he could make a lot of money selling beer. There aren't a lot of heroes, just cynical entrepreneurs and the folks they strung along. I'm not sure if Noel knows that or not, if I'm reading this book against the grain or not.
The fact that the book is clear-eyed is great. It's not a diatribe either way. I think it could have been more interesting if it went into the second and third wave of brewers in Chicago, but it was clear that they wanted to keep the book national and not a Chicago story. It's an interesting book, that maybe could have been a bit more interesting (for me) and be less of a best-seller. It's all the same, a good book if you're interested in how the phenomenon of craft brewing began.
I could never figure out if Noel was making fun of the Hall family or not. John Hall is...well, he's a Hinsdale executive who found out he could make a lot of money selling beer. There aren't a lot of heroes, just cynical entrepreneurs and the folks they strung along. I'm not sure if Noel knows that or not, if I'm reading this book against the grain or not.
The fact that the book is clear-eyed is great. It's not a diatribe either way. I think it could have been more interesting if it went into the second and third wave of brewers in Chicago, but it was clear that they wanted to keep the book national and not a Chicago story. It's an interesting book, that maybe could have been a bit more interesting (for me) and be less of a best-seller. It's all the same, a good book if you're interested in how the phenomenon of craft brewing began.
niccos's review against another edition
5.0
A great narrative covering the history of craft beer and honing in on the stories of two foundationally different breweries uniting under seemingly impossible circumstances. An informative, page-turning read which avoided becoming preachy, which isn't to be understated with this type of book