It`s an extraordinary tale of yeast-obsessed monks & teetotal prime ministers; of how pale ale fuelled an Empire & weak bitter won a world war; &, of exploding breweries, a bear in a yellow nylon jacket & a Canadian bloke who changed the drinking habits of a nation. It`s also the story of the rise of the pub from humble origins through an epic, thous&-year struggle to survive misunderstanding, bad government & misguided commerce. The history of beer in Britain is a social history of the nation itself, full of catastrophe, heroism & an awful lot of hangovers. `a pleasant antidote to more pro-faced histories of beer`
- ” Guardian”. ` Like a good drinking companion, Brown tells a remarkable story: a stream of fascinating facts, etymologies & pub-related urban phenomena`
- ”TLS”. ` Packed with bar-room bet-winning facts & entertaining digressions, this is a book into which every pub-goer will want to dip`
- ” Express”.