Book Review: Travels With Barley

Image: BeerBooks.com

After reading Travels with Charley for the second time, the next book on my to-read list was obvious. Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America by Ken Wellsis an analysis of American beer culture told through the author's quest to find the "perfect beer joint" along the Mississippi River.

Wells intersperses his road trip/dive bar narrative with "diversions" - chapters about places, people, or beer he has encountered beyond the flood plain. The book is stuffed with facts and figures, everything from how many breweries there are in Portland, Oregon (26) to how many acres of hops Anheuser-Busch is growing in Northern Idaho (1,800). At times it seems there are more numbers on the page than words, but the figures are almost always vital to his analysis. The reader definitely develops an appreciation for the behemoth that is Anheuser-Busch, as well as the small but far from insignificant homebrewing movement.

Wells leaves no tap untested in this clear and entertaining examination of beer in America. As a beer enthusiast, there were several topics covered that I was already aware of, but much of the book was new to me. I enjoyed Wells' encounters with a host of colorful characters along his journey, as well as the inside look into hops farming, homebrewing, and beer history. From the hardcore Bud proponents to the homebrewing aficionados, anyone who has ever enjoyed a cold, frothy (or even a warm, flat) pint will take something away from this book.