Books on craft beer and the craft beer movement abound, and readers may feel underwhelmed at the prospect of another. But Frank Appleton's memoir, Brewing Revolution: Pioneering the Craft Beer Movement, is different. For one, his focus is on British Columbia, rather than the much-discussed scene in the United States. And Appleton's unapologetic, lively personality communicates a story both personal and national, even global, in scope. Brewing Revolution also expands into an impassioned indictment of mass-market adjunct lagers, as well as a manual for the next generation of brewers.
Appleton, a native of Manchester, England, applied his studies in microbiology to food science and later, after immigrating to Vancouver, B.C., to brewing. He began in one of Canada's "Big Three" brewing conglomerates, where he developed a scorn for adjunct ingredients (or "added junk") like corn, rice and corn syrup, where traditional, quality brews use only malted grains like barley. When an article he wrote comparing adjunct lagers with "tasteless white bread and the universal cardboard hamburger," and calling for a do-it-yourself response, drew the attention of an ambitious pub owner, Appleton's career as a consultant began.
He tells the story of a country's craft beer movement and of his life work, but it doesn't stop there. In his enthusiasm, Appleton can't help but offer troubleshooting advice for ambitious brewers and a healthy review of brewing techniques, including the niceties of equipment, yeast cultivation and malting. As a history of a movement and a personal memoir brimming with zeal, Brewing Revolution is educational, entertaining and, perhaps most of all, thirst-inducing. --Julia Jenkins, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia