Reddit reviews Amber, Gold & Black: The History of Britain's Great Beers

"Amber, Gold and Black" by Martyn Cornell is a pretty great look at the history of English brewing. Very thorough and well-written.

Martyn Cornell isn't just some guy, he's a really well respected writer on British beer history, as you can tell from the reblogs this has got. He probably the definitive book on the subject. It looks as though the scholarship in the Oxford Companion is very poor.

Background info: Palo Alto Brewing is owned by Kasim Syed, the owner of an excellent beer bar, The Rose and Crown, located in Palo Alto, CA. Until recently, the beer was brewed at Devil's Canyon Brewery but was shifted to Firehouse Brewery (they make some good stuff, too - check out Hops on Rye, if you're in the area) and is now being bottled and sold in six packs. Syed brews the beer, rather than contracting it out to Firehouse; he just uses their equipment (CA brewery licensing allows for this).

I picked it up my bottle in San Francisco for $2, but I didn't note the six pack price (probably ~$8-10). I assume distribution is very limited, at this point. Palo Alto Brewing beers have previously been mostly limited to kegs at The Rose and Crown. I believe this new version of Hoppy Ending debuted during SF Beer Week, but this is the first time that I have tried it.

• Pours a transparent light gold with a big creamy white head. Crescents of foam cling to the walls of the glass after each sip. Spot on for an APA.
  
• The aroma is honey, caramel, tangerines and pine needles. Nothing too strong, nothing too weak.
  
• The taste is just a touch too sweet at first with some crystal malt notes, but it finishes with some dry yeastiness, hop bitterness and lingering honey.
  
• Mouthfeel starts smooth and kinda creamy but is fading and getting watery before I can finish my glass.
  
  Having purchased the bottle due to an impulsive need to try new local beers, I expected practically nothing and was pleasantly surprised. This is a very quaffable APA with good hop flavor and balance.
  
  On a sidenote, why is the hop cone receiving the massage? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
  
  Also, I threw in some beer bookporn. I just received a copy of Martyn Cornell's Amber, Gold & Black and can't wait to read it.

Amber, Gold & Black: The History of Britain's Great Beers by Martyn Cornell is a book about the history of Britain's beers. From the comments, I gather it's a well researched book focusing on the roots of styles.

Note: I decided to jot down my findings here (one comment per book) and see if anyone else have any thoughts about them.

He doesn't really need to. There's lots of references to sources for this in his previous blog posts, and in his book. The Wikipedia article on IPA is mostly based on his book, anyway.