Sunday October 3rd, 2010 Cheers to Beer!

Now, I know cricket isn’t very big here in Thunder Bay, but as the purpose of this column is to promote the library’s beer making materials, it makes perfect sense to begin with a discussion on cricket – right? Australia, you see, has two great legendary beer drinkers. The first is David Boon, or “the keg on legs” as he is affectionately known – a highly esteemed national cricket player. When the Aussie team was flying to London for the 1989 Ashes series, our boy Boonie, consumed 52 cans of full strength beer.

Our other beer-chugging legend is former Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, also one of Australia’s biggest cricket fans. Whilst studying at Oxford in 1955, he entered the Guinness Book of Records by downing 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. As Bob says: ‘This feat was to endear me to some of my fellow Australians more than anything else I ever achieved.’ Way to go, Bob!
Canadians, too, love their beer with an astounding passion. How can it be avoided when so many of us in the colonies are descended from that outstanding drinking race, the Irish - it’s genetic! J. P. Donleavy, in The Ginger Man, describes Ireland as the largest brewery in the world. At any time, any place, you’re never more than twenty paces from a pint.

And here in Thunder Bay - what a wonderful place to live. Apart from the glorious scenery, I have to say, the thing that most impressed me when I first arrived was the Beer Store. Where else in the world, but Ontario, would you find a whole store devoted solely to the sale of beer? I was chuffed. I’d come to the right place. I was home.

Beer consumption and beer making have been with us for eons. Beer, in fact, was the first known alcoholic beverage, and was as ubiquitous then as it is today – everyone was into it: the Sumerians, Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese: they just used different grains to produce that blessed amber brew. For an in depth look at the history of beer, Beer: A History of Suds and Civilization from Mesopotamia to Microbreweries, by Gregg Smith is an interesting read. Or maybe try, Cheers!: An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada, by Nicholas Pashley.

Interest in beer making has by no means waned. Just ask any university student, or your enthusiastic backyard gardener seeking new ways of utilizing their excess crops. Here at TBPL we have an interesting range of materials for anyone who just appreciates a good brew or who is interested in learning how to make their own.

If you want to eat your beer as well as drink it, take a look at Brew Cuisine: Cooking with Beer, by Judith Gould and Ruth Koretsky. Or try Zymurgy for the Homebrewer and Beer Lover: The Best Articles and Advice from America’s #1 Home Brewing Magazine, edited by Charles Papazian. This book includes award-winning homebrew recipes as well as tips on making exotic brews, and analyzing your water to see how it affects your brew results.

We also have encyclopedias, companions and guides that cover the topic of beer in broader terms. Try The Encyclopedia of Beer, edited by Christine P. Rhodes, or Stephen Beaumont’s Great Canadian Beer Guide, for something a little closer to home. Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion: The world’s Great Beer Styles, Gastronomy and Traditions, explains, amongst other things, how to make beer out of fruit – a contradiction in terms it would seem, but apparently not.

And no discussion on beer would be complete without mentioning the Germans. Oktoberfest, a 17-day-long festival occurring every year at this time, is an enormous part of the Bavarian culture. Attracting around 6 million people it’s the biggest beer party around, and has given birth to literally hundreds of beer drinking songs. We have cd’s in our collection to help you get into the German beer drinking mood. All the Best from the German Beer Garden, for example, contains classics such as Der Schonste Platz Ist Immer an Der Theke (The most beautiful place is always on the counter).

So here’s to beer. Cheers!

Rosemary Melville
Library Technician