It is my pleasure to announce that a contract is impending with Bloomsbury Academic Inc. to write a book bearing the working title of A Craft Brewed to Perfection: A Cultural History of Beer.
Writing will begin immediately, with my deadline coming in 18 months. The book is slated to be an overview of beer as an artistic, scientific, geographical and cultural marker in society; some new, some old, some borrowed, some blue; and in short, indicative of the directions I’ve been headed in life since that first clerking gig at Scoreboard Liquors in 1982.
The book’s outline already is underway, and I’ll provide updates as work progresses.
Profuse thanks to my friend and former IU Southeast history professor Frank Thackeray for his encouragement of this project, and priceless accompanying words of recommendation. Without Frank I’d be nowhere, both as pertains to the forthcoming book itself and my knowledge of the world at large. I’m forever grateful that he saw something in me 45 years ago, and never hesitated to encourage it. At times, I even paid attention.
And bountiful and enormous bundles of love, kisses and esteem to Diana, who is my rock. None of this is possible without her, and I promise to continue my duties as house husband amid the forthcoming writing endeavor as she continues her career as a social worker assisting veterans for the VA. What Diana does is critically important to all of us, something worth remembering at this muddled juncture in the nation’s history.
Also, as an aside for those of you who recall the “One Night with the Publican” beer tastings I formerly held during my tenure at New Albanian Brewing Company (it has been ten years since my departure, by the way), kindly note that I’ve been chatting with owner Greg Brown at Harbor & Hops (3010 Gottbrath Pkwy., Jeffersonville), who had the idea of launching similar tastings on a regular basis at his establishment in 2025.
Greg’s proposal is coincidental to the book. However, in the context of the book there is obvious merit to the notion of a return to speaking before live audiences, as I miss the give and take of beer chat since being numbly ousted at Pints&union in 2023.
Beer tastings like these are the best feedback, revealing what the participants know about beer, and how best to assist them in reaching a greater understanding of the major themes. I almost always came...Read more
