Grape vs. Grain: A Historical, Technological, and Social Comparison of Wine and Beer

Just got this book as a Valentine's Day present from my wife. Great book. I never totally understood the differences in the production processes for beer and wine before and this book took me through them in a very easy to understand manner. I especially enjoyed the chapters on the quality. I learned that the compound responsible for my beer reeking of butterscotch at times (diacetyl) is the same flavour I love in California Chardonnay wine and these wines are often known as "butter bombs". The differences between the various types of beers was also interesting and learning which foods go with which beers was the chapter that was the most helpful to me. This was an area where I was never quite sure and now I can pair beers with food with much more confidence.

There are many books on both wine and beer, but this "Grape vs Grain" captures a unique position that is not covered in other books on the topic. Why in North America does wine have such a romantic upscale mystique about it, while beer tends to have a more pedestrian, everyday, common man image? This book explores the history and production of both products in a warm and entertaining manner. I especially enjoyed the chapter on health benefits and learned that I would need to consume between 750 and 1500 bottles of red wine a day to get the amount of resveratrol needed to counteract atherosclerosis! There are many more such fascinating facts in this book and it makes for a very enjoyable read.

I received this book as a Christmas present from my husband (suspect he bought it so he could read it as well) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We always love to argue about whether we should order beer or wine when we dine out . Which is the better beverage to order and why. This book goes into great detail on the merits of both beverages. The book is written in a charming and at times humorous manner. It taught me about the history and production of both products and has given me extra ammunition for our still ongoing debate, especially in terms of health benefits. Thanks to this book I am now much more adventuresome in terms of the types of beer that I order when we go out to dinner. I am matching the styles with foods and have found that being called a beer snob by my spouse, when I ask for the beer list in a restaurant, is just as much fun as being called a wine snob. Thank you Professor Bamforth for a great book.

I think some of you may be missing the point a bit. The author, I believe, is trying to make the arguement throughout the book that the wine industry has, undeservedly, stolen the moral high ground when it comes to comparing beer and wine. The arguements Bamforth puts forward are really asking why has the wine industry been able to do this, while the beer industry has not (either intentionally or not)? He points out that there really is no proof that wine is any healthier than any other type of alcohol, that the retail mark up of wine is disproportionate to what is costs to produce and he questions the hole notion of "vintage" as an excuse for lack of consistencty. Bamforth just dares to say the beer deserves its place at the table just like wine. A great read.

Please, take this book for what it is worth. It's written by a brewer, so obviously it is going to be skewed to brewing. The author never denies this. Look at the first paragraph. This books is great at showing why wine has gained the social status that it has and why beer has not, but should have. Wine has always been considered a rich mans drink, and beer is considered to be a poor mans drink. This book goes to show why this is not true. Beer is just as social and respectable as wine and should be considered so.