The Microbrew Lover's Cookbook

I have bought a lot, perhaps too many, books on beer with food. My first was The Brewmaster's Table, by Garrett Oliver--which I highly recommend. That book was entirely about craft beer and Oliver's opinions on pairing beer with food. Harlow's book differs from Oliver's in that it is actually a cook book--and a darn good one at that. Rather than the wealth of information that Oliver provides regarding specific breweries and their beers, Harlow focuses his energy partly on pairing general styles of beer with food, but mostly on the recipes that he feels lend themselves to pairing with beer. Compared to most of the other books I have purchased in this genre, Harlow does not waste our time with crappy recipes where cooking WITH beer is the focus. Thus, few of the recipes contained actually use beer as an ingredient--which I appreciate. Further, the recipes are regionally diverse. Sure, the longest chapter is the one with "American" recipes, but it is only one of six total chapters of recipes. Other regions whose cuisine Harlow provides us with include the Germanic region, the Mediterranean, East and Southeast Asia, India, North Africa, and Latin America. Within these sections, Harlow provides useful tips and techniques for cooking in general, and interesting ideas regarding beer. In other words, there is a lot of extra information here that is interesting and/or useful, not just recipes. While these interspersed bits of info are not included in the table of contents (which lists, in order, all the recipes contained in each section), they are referenced in the index, which is extensive and well-organized. The first 20 or so pages of the book are divided into a few sections: an introduction on the current state of brewing in the world; "Brewing in the West," a brief history of brewing in the US; "The Brewing Process," giving a beginner's outline of the process and then a Glossary of terms including beer styles and tasting terminology, with perhaps too brief entries for each; and "Beer at the Table," which is a very well written passage on pairing beer with food and the things to think about when deciding a pair. I liked this section a lot because he had a more cuisine-oriented approach than Oliver--it's just good to have both sides!--and he breaks down the sensory components of flavor and how beer contributes to each. If you're at all pondering whether or not to get this book, think no further. BUY IT! It was published recently (2002), has 150 recipes, and will definitely be of use to you if you're at all interested in any of the above-mentioned subjects.