The Audacity of Hops: The History of America's Craft Beer Revolution

I'm still reading but it is a great book so far. The writers style makes history more a story, and definitely not just dry information.

Loved the book - I think it would be a great play - starring the half dozen standouts!

Most books on beer barely cover craft's rise in America, instead dedicating most print to Big Beer. The Audacity of Hops finally provides a historical book on not only the rise of craft beer in the US, but also its ups and downs, transformations, and maturation as an industry. And it does so very thoroughly, especially through the 1980's. The author does a great job telling the story of craft by introducing the numerous influential characters, starting with Fritz Maytag, who seemingly impacted nearly every brewery through at least the 1990's. I knew Anchor was an important player in the rise of craft beer, but had no idea how much until this book. I think even if you do know a lot about Fritz's impact, you'll still learn a lot. And that's true for the whole book - whether you're new to craft beer and want to know the history or think you know all there is to know, I'm sure you'll find this book very informative. It filled in many gaps in my knowledge of craft beer in America, especially before I came of age. Even storylines I knew, this book supplemented with more behind-the-scenes context and detail. It took me a while to finish, as it does drag on at times and jumps around a lot from one person to another, which can be hard to remember at times. But I kept wanting to come back to it to learn more. I guess it was a read in small bites. There were a few surprising omissions, supplanted instead by stories about journalists and beer critics which could have been left out in my opinion (except for the really important ones like Michael Jackson). The story of Avery Brewing is probably the one I wish most was in the book, followed by Celis Brewing (only mentioned briefly). I also would like to have heard more about the rise and influence of GABF, which is covered some in its early days, but falls to the wayside over time. More about the rise of sours, expansions of West Coast/Rocky Mountain breweries to the east, and the rise and slow fall of Gambrinus Co. would also have been welcomed too. Truth be told, the 2000's and 2010's seemed a bit rushed, with a change in the focus from the brewers and breweries to the market side of things. Regardless of the stories I yearned for more of, I would do it all over again and highly recommend it to any fan of craft beer. So grab a 6pk of Anchor Steam and enjoy!

Great read

Great informative book. If you love craft beers and history this is the book for you!

Great thorough tome on the history of craft beer. It can be a bit long at times, but it's a great look at the pioneers of the craft brew movement.

I love history. Heck,I teach it for a living. I love craft beer. I even home brew it. What I don’t love is this book. The book has a jumbled timeline and expects you to remember every single of the 50+ people it even mentioned one time 10 chapters ago. The author has definitely done his homework/research for this book. He also has to show off he worked for The NY Times by using fancy $10 words almost every other sentence. Beer is simple. This book is not.

I bought this as a gift for my dad, an IPA and craft beer lover. He knows almost all the history of beer brewing, so it was a challenge to find a book he didn't already know cover to cover. He told me he has learned a few things already!