"Bostwick brings the requisite levels of geeky erudition and enthusiasm to that once most mundane of beverages, beer." -- Lisa Abend "An amiable writer and the very best sort of literary drinking buddy. Bostwick will explain why you like Cascade hops (it's the "spritzy grapefruit blossom nose") and why you should never pass up an opportunity to sample a beer made with Maris Otter barley. We can't all go drinking with the beer critic for the Wall Street Journal, but reading The Brewer's Tale is the next best thing." -- Amy Stewart "The Brewer's Tale is a well-written and well-researched papyrus-based time-travel machine that takes readers through the history of mankind's most impressive creation: BEER!" -- Sam Calagione, founder and president, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery "The Brewer's Tale will teach you more about beer than you ever thought possible, but it is much more than that. Erudite, curious, and witty, Bostwick ranges effortlessly back and forth across the centuries, spinning an epic that stretches from the temples of Mesopotamia to the beer halls of St. Louis, from cattle cults to Dogfish cults, with countless fascinating detours, digressions, and illuminations in between. By the end, he'll have you convinced that raising a bottle, can, or pint may be the most deeply human thing you have ever done." -- Brett Martin, author of Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution "A cultural history that reads like the collaborative work of a garrulous raconteur, pith-helmeted anthropologist, experimental chef, white-coated scientist, and your favorite drunk uncle. Witty, carefully observed, and deeply reported, The Brewer's Tale is as much about social rituals and the ordering of our worlds as it is about the pint or six we all like to down on occasion." -- Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction "A do-it-yourself journey across the storied life of beer."