Book Review: The Meaning of Beer by Jonny Garrett

The Meaning of Beer by Jonny Garrett book cover

Beer has a long history, perhaps longer than wine, either way, both have ancient roots. I received The Meaning of Beer by Jonny Garrett to review and was surprised at how beer has been intertwined with so many aspects of society. Jonny sifts through thousands of years of the evolution of beer, its effects on society, and innovation to today, and discusses the possible future of beer. His writing style is very personal and straightforward. No need to be a cicerone to understand this book.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

Civilization – Or how beer built our first cities and cultures
Science – Or how beer spurred us on to new technological heights
Politics – Or how beer has influenced the way the world is run
Identity – Or how beer defines who we are as individuals and nations
Culture – Or how beer is a key part of everything from TV to sport
Cuisine – Or how beer changed what and how we eat
Community – Or how beer brings people together
Entertainment – Or isn’t beer supposed to be fun?
The Future – Or how beer will continue to change – and even save – humanity

Wild grains, such as barley and wheat, are needed for the production of beer, so Jonny brings you to the ancient Middle East where he discusses how a simple version of beer was made by Sumerians for example and how beer was used by Egyptian pharaohs in their temples.

Beer-making advanced with the advancements in science, as Jonny describes in this book. Refrigeration, the pH scale, pasteurization and more all have some relationship with the production and distribution of beer around the world. For example, some beers needed to be matured in cool, natural caves or manmade cellars beneath breweries, so could only be made in the autumn. The development of refrigeration allowed beer to be produced any time of the year, and mobile refrigeration allowed the shipment of beer from the brewery to pubs across the country and now around the world. Brewers’ yeast holds a special place in the advancement of beer and in discussions throughout this book.

Jonny also discusses the history behind different styles of beer, which I appreciate. He covered, for example, Trappist beers originally made by monks (delicious if you have not had any), Bavarian lagers, Czech Pilsner beer, Carlsberg’s beer and the innovations by the brewery in Copenhagen, and much more.

Beer and politics go together. In any pub at some point, someone will bring up politics. This has happened from the past to the present in pubs. One of the more infamous intersections of beer and politics that Jonny discusses is Hilter who spent much time in the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Bavaria, developing his views that formed Nazism. On more pleasant thoughts, Jonny discussed how the British House of Commons has/had many pubs within the building for the MPs, and how these pubs allowed for a venue for members to discuss upcoming votes before taking an official vote.

One last example from the book is how beer influenced advertising around the world. The first trademark, a red triangle, in Great Britain was for Bass Brewery in 1876. Beer advertising shows up prominently in American baseball stadiums as well as on television for a myriad of sports. An interesting tidbit from the book is in 1990, how many baseball, football, basketball, and NHL teams were sponsored by Anheuser-Busch. It’s amazing. I will let you read more on that statistic.

I could go on for many more paragraphs about this book, but I invite you to buy a copy, pour a pint or two of your favourite beer and read this book at your leisure. You will come to appreciate beer a bit more and thank beer for some of the important innovations that we take for granted.