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Summary: "Beyond Living by Beer Alone"
Review: NEW YORK TIMES review of "Ultimate Beer" by Michael Jackson."I've never quite understood the term "beer drinker." Does it mean someone who drinks only beer, or can you qualify if you also drink water, wine, coffee, tea and milk? And more, is there another, new category, the boutique-only beer drinker? Michael Jackson's book "Ultimate Beer" should appeal to all three types. Mr. Jackson, an engaging British writer, has already established himself as a - perhaps the - hops authority, through a number of books and television programs. Burly and bearded, he has an enthusiasm that is infectious; one would follow him to a pub or tavern anywhere. Another in the large format, visually stunning Dorling Kindersley series of food and beverage books, "Ultimate Beer" is chock full of almost-life-size color photographs of beers from around the world, and text that is equally cosmopolitan. The author gives brew-by-brew descriptions of hundreds of beers by aroma, flavor and finish - "look, swirl, sniff, sip" - not just as something to order bellied up to a bar, but as a beverage to match with food. His descriptions are so vivid I can understand how well La Choulette - a light, spicy beer made in Northern France - would go with lamb, or how pleasant it would be to wind up on a cold winter's night with a night-cap of Old Knucklehead, a barley wine-style ale from the Pacific Northwest. There are beers for almost every food and each season, Mr. Jackson contends. Now in his mid-50's, he has spent years pursuing the perfect match. The current book includes an intriguing section on cooking with beer. In the way that recipes often specify a particular wine, Mr. Jackson's recipes call for a particular type of beer. And just as one might use Burgundy in a red-wine stew from that region, Mr. Jackson often matches foods and beers by geography. A ham basted with dark lager, for instance, calls for a rich, malty dark lager in the German dunkel or schwarzbier style. (In a basting liquid of dark lager, the malt sugars caramelize, creating a crust and sweet flavor.) A fruitcake recipe calls for a spicy dark beer, which contributes both moisture and flavor. One for mussels in India pale ale steams the mussels in a dry, savory and acidic brew from a shellfish region, the Pacific Northwest. And a recipe for dark chocolate truffles with an equally dark rich porter should convince any doubters. Chocolate and beer? It's astoundingly good. The author's close attention to complementary flavors not only is intriguing, but also makes a big difference in the final result. (Don't bother trying the truffles with a lightweight American lager, as I did.) Mr. Jackson, incidentally, seems to enjoy cooking as much as he does drinking. Instead of joining him at a pub, maybe you'd rather follow him home around supper time. SUZANNE HAMLIN Wednesday, October 14th, 1998
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Poorly researched and badly organized, this book is a huge disappointment. One of the most superficial works on this subject that I've read. Jackson seems to be resting on past successes and offers little new or fresh in this failed effort.
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Summary: Hardly Ultimate
Review: Self-Appointed beer expert Jackson churns out more amateur fluff in this shallow study. Hardly ultimate and hardly scholarship - at least not on the level of Gunderson, Klein, or Passel. Very disappointing to true established experts.
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Summary: Jackson is back
Review: Thank heavens another Jackson book is out. We can only hope that it will displace that last slot containing Bob Klein dribble on bookstore shelves. Apparently someone has been placing false posts in support of Bob Klein. Whoever is doing this please at least attach your email in the future. I think the brewing community would like to have a word with you.
Rating: 
Summary: Great starter book.
Review: This book is definitely aimed towards the person who's just starting to dabble in expanding his taste in beers. It's got lots of beautiful photographs and descriptions of beer from around the world. It organizes the beer by type, which is really helpful in focusing your likes and dislikes. It also lists beers by their season of release and by the type of food they go with. The book is extremely user friendly, and as I've already said is generally beautiful. It's a perfect coffee table book. While it should not be your primary reference for all things brewed, it is great for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Great starter book.
Review: This book is definitely aimed towards the person who's just starting to dabble in expanding his taste in beers. It's got lots of beautiful photographs and descriptions of beer from around the world. It organizes the beer by type, which is really helpful in focusing your likes and dislikes. It also lists beers by their season of release and by the type of food they go with. The book is extremely user friendly, and as I've already said is generally beautiful. It's a perfect coffee table book. While it should not be your primary reference for all things brewed, it is great for beginners.
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Summary: Very enjoyable and informative
Review: This is a large, coffee-table sized book on nice, glossy paper with beautiful photos and graphics. Those of you who know Jackson as a beer and scotch writer need no introduction to him, but for those of you who won't, Jackson has authored numerous books on single-malt whisky and beer and starred in and wrote the "The Beer Hunter" TV series, where he travelled the world in search of great beers. Jackson puts his vast knowledge of beer to work in this very attractive work. There is a tremendous amount of enjoyable detail, history, tasting notes, and other information in this book. In contrast to some of his other books, this one is more topically organized--that is, there are sections on many of the different types and styles of beers, "Winter Warmers" (i.e., the bock beers), "Strong Ales," and "Belgian Wheats"-- and so on. Also interestingly, the later sections are on picking beers to go well with foods, and there are separate sections on seafood, beef, poultry, etc. These sections take up perhaps one-third of the book. The layout and writing is well organized and fits well with the graphics on each page. Each section has an introductory paragraph or two to introduce the style of beer, giving the basic facts and some history. Then the rest of the area on each page shows photos of prominent examples of each beer with descriptions, including historical info on the brewery and tasting notes. Over 450 important beers are pictured and discussed, making this a veritable treasure trove of fun information on all types of beer. Overall another great beer book from Jackson, and if I had to pick one beer book from him to have, this would probably be it.
Rating:
Summary: A great coffee table book, not an educational tome.
Review: This is a very handsome coffee table book that is great for casual reading while enjoying a fine beer. It is not a volume to raise your beer IQ by any appreciable degree. The "True Established Expert" should probably search for ale wisdom elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Not "Ultimate", but still useful
Review: This probably shouldn't be any beer lover's primary reference - the main emphasis seems to be on the pictures. Not, however, that there is anything wrong with that. The illustrations are mouth watering and worth the cost of the book. The text seems to aimed toward novices.
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Summary: Perfection for us beer lovers.
Review: Wow! I can't imagine a better book than this is you love beer. The photographs are incredible and the text doesn't put you to sleep with a lot of unecessary detail. The book is arranged by specific catagories so finding what your'e looking for is superbly easy. And the index is incredibly extensive. Included with the decriptions are recipes, and tasting techniques which are quite informative. This book will definately get you to try something new. Highly recommended.
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