Michael Jackson (2)Critiques

I almost hesitate to critique this book, since it is so old and so clearly revered by whisky fans.

I can see why it is such a classic of the field. It's beautifully made, and must have been trying comprehensive for its day. It goes without saying, of course, that the whisky world has changed immensely over the last 15 or so years. That is no fault of the book.

The intense reverence for Scotland is inevitable, I suppose, but there are clear factual errors and exaggerations that are simply eye roll inducing. No, Scotland is not the world's biggest barley producer...

The rest of the world is treated largely as a footnote, or as an exercise in tired cliche (American pioneer spirit, or "losing face, a fate worse than death" in Japan).

There may not be more beautiful whisky books, but there are plenty of ones with all the same information, without the outdated attitudes.

3/26/22

This Michael Jackson was one of the foremost authorities on beer until his death from Parkinson's in 2007. His beer companion takes you on a tour of beer styles around the world, giving you the history and characteristics of the style, along with notable producers. Early on in my beer education I studied this tome so that I could recognize some of the best beers when perusing a store or a good bar's beer list. This book has been slightly superseded informationally by [book: The Brewmaster's Table], but still has plenty more pictures and maps. I'm glad to have both books.

I found this in an antique shop and the cool thing was it was signed by the author (“To Eden and Kevin, Cheers!, 10 Nov, ,99”… so I haven’t decided if I’m going to change my name to Eden or Kevin). Jackson was quite the researcher. I’d heard of him but not read any of his books. This is the second edition, 1997, full of beers of the times. Jackson died in 2007 and might well have been surprised at the explosion of crafts in America. Details on styles - the history of the style, origins, regions historically produced and and section for selected noted producers of the style, some quite detailed. Cool book.

Sticky notes:

In his introductory section - Never ask for a "beer" - Jackson said

"Do you ever drink wine?" people ask me, as though beer were a prison rather than a playground [...] Whatever is argued about other pleasures, it is not necessary to be monogamous in the choice of drink. Beer is by far the more extensively consumed, but less adequately honored. In a small way, I want to help put right that injustice.

"as though beer were a prison"! I really like a good red wine, but beer is so much more varied in flavor and experience, so ... I choose the experience!

And on barleywine, or, rather barley wine, Jackson recalls

When the style became popular among revivalist brewers in the United States in the 1980s, the various authorities governing labeling were uncomfortable about a beer being described as a wine. This led to the cumbersome description "barley wine-style ale" on some labels

Some Puritans are still in charge of the label approvals and the cumbersome practice continues.

One funny truism, on "The uses of beer": "Some people drink beer to get drunk, though it is an inefficient means of doing so." Quite inefficient, though there are some higher gravity beers out there now that rival the wine levels.

The rest of the sticky notes are for my use (producers to look up, regions to investigate someday) and of little value in a "review" so cheers and here's to beer!

A world guide to beer - how to recognise them, where to find them, when to drink them, the rare brews, the classic brews, the history.

I got this on a recommendation from a co-worker, and I must say, it's pretty great. Beers by type, by season, by occasion, and by food. Well-written, interesting, erudite, and all-around a great reference. I've already tried some beers based on the descriptions in here, and been very satisfied.

STORA BOKEN OM WHISKY Den första övergripande guiden till världens whiskysorter, rikt illustrerad med färgfoton och kartor. Här finns fascinerande beskrivningar av de traditioner och geografiska förhållanden som skapar variationen hos denna ädla dryck. Och här finns rikhaltiga smakguider till 300 olika sorter, däribland alla de skotska single malt-sorterna, som blir allt populärare. En underhållande, auktoritativ och oumbärlig bok för alla som är intresserade av whisky.

STORA BOKEN OM WHISKY är den första verkligt översiktliga boken på sitt område. Den är illustrerad med över 200 färgbilder och beskriver detaljerat de destilleringsmetoder. traditioner och geografiska förhållanden som påverkar smaken på whisky (eller whiskey) i alla viktiga produktionsregioner i världen. Michael Jackson har sinne för dryckens intressanta historia och förklarar varför den fascinerar både med sin mångsidighet och med sin nobless, som inte står den finaste armagnac eller konjak efter.

STORA BOKEN OM WHISKY är inte bara unik i sin bredd och internationella utblick utan även i sin ingående klarläggning av de allt populärare skotska single malt-sorterna. Så många sorters maltwhisky har aldrig avhandlats tidigare och inte heller har så många smaker beskrivits. Alla Skottlands destillerier är inprickade på kartor och dess whiskyregioner definieras på ett nytt sätt, såväl de större, traditionella områdena som öar och floddalar, som ofta har sin egen specifika stil.

STORA BOKEN OM WHISKY innehåller dessutDom 38 sidor med smakguider där mer än 300 etiketter återges. Utöver att dessa smakguider redogör för egenskaperna hos skotska single malt-sorter inspirerar de läsaren att försöka upptäcka skillnaden mellan Bushmills "irländska" karaktär och Bardstowns bourbon, Tullahomas sour mash och Sanraku Oceans single malt. Med kännarens smaklökar och reseskildrarens ögon fäller Michael Jackson sina omdömen, objektiva men färgade av smittande entusiasm och lika givande för den som redan förförts av whiskyns charm som för nybörjaren.

DEN LEDANDE skotska tidningen Glasgow Herald har kallat MICHAEL JACKSON för ”den oförliknelige vägvisaren i whiskyns värld". Han fick smak för whisky när han arbetade som ung journalist i Skottland och sedan dess har han skrivit flera böcker om olika drycker och deras behag, till exempel The English Pub, The Pocket Bar Book. Malt Whisky Companion samt The World Guide To Beer, internationellt erkänd som klassikern på området. Han medarbetar i tidningar och tidskrifter som Guardian, Washington Post, Food & Wine och Playboy. Han är bosatt i London.

I don't mind the odd beer so this "Beer Book" came in handy, listing and reviewing a decent number of beers from around the world.

Although it's a bid odd for a book to have more space dedicated to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg compared to all of Africa, there are short reviews and ratings of many beers (although in many cases what sounds like a positive review is not matched by its rating; eg. Irle Edsel-Pils "has a very clean palate and is very mild" but only 1 star) and while this 1996 edition is no doubt slightly out of date, it can still provide some use, even if it's just to remind everyone that Emu Export is only worth one star.½

An excellent resource for scotch lovers.

Exhaustive, beautifully illustrated, and lovingly written companion to the world's beers. Sadly, the author is no more, and some of the beers are no more as well. Books like this tend to be a bit frustrating, however, since it would be virtually impossible to actually drink all of these, as much as you might like to!½

I like a decent malt, so this was a welcome Christmas present one year. My preference is one that's smoky

Jackson was the great beer writer. As a means of introducing standards to his own ratings and writings, he pioneered the use of stylistic categories withing which to judge beer. But his own palette, not arbitrary categories, was always the ultimate judge of a beer--was it any good? Unfortunately far too many of those who have come after him have been unable ever to shake the tyranny of style. There question is always does it fit within its purported style. Not do I like this. Jackson, on the other hand, was willing to invent new styles to accommodate beers that were superior but sui generis. And his ability to describe the taste of a unique beer in prose (rather than lists of words cribbed from scoring sheets) was unsurpassed.

Being this is my first ever public book review & having just got the Malt Whisky companion I thought serendipity (or words to that effect). This is the first edition since Michael Jackson died in 2008 & has been updated by Gavin D. Smith,Dominic Roskrow & William C. Meyers.
All pledged with the intention of carrying on the great mans legacy.
If you want a book on Malts that will tell you whats lousy look
elsewhere, thats not what this is about, if you want a book to guide you
point you in the direction of a whisky to try, whether its scottish, japanese,
american or from some far flung place you'd never associate with the
dram this is your book.All the hard works been done for you if its in the book its good.
Michael believed in the addage that if its bad just don't mention it,
so when you look at the scoring system he barely marked below 60 which
is an ok malt, 80's a fantastic malt & in the 90's we are talking divine
inspiration. This book fullfills its brief admirably, it guides, you doesn't
choose for you if you want more indepth information go elsewhere, but
if you want a book to point you in the right direction this is it . It does exactly what it says on the cover.

http://parrishlantern.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/michael-jacksons-malt-whisky-compan...

Michael is gone now. He did leave some useful info in this and other of his writings. I've copies of this particular book in both Swedish and English - that sure helps me to move between the two languages when it comes to whisky. Bless you Michael.

Good enough for me to pull off the shelf every so often to read through again. The overview of the history and distilling process is good but I wish that more bottles were described and rated. In most cases, each distillery will only have one or two bottles of their whiskey mentioned.

First read this when I was getting into beer from the library. I was glad very recently (August '09) to treat myself to a copy of this book from Powell's. I'm sure many of the beers and places have drastically changed in the 20 years since this book was published, but still the variety of beer and the obvious enjoyment Michael Jackson took in them is evident.½

Succinct, precise and informative.

Solid, not too complicated so ready for the average beer drinker; this is an easy-to-use reference. Beautiful, big pictures. Coffee table book or beginner's guide.

more awesome beerness.

so much info. basically an encyclopedia of beer. mmm...beer. yesss. dear bridgeport IPA: i love you.

A great reference for any one serious about Single Malt Whisky!

This is not the Michael Jackson you are thinking of. This one is a world renowned expert on beer, and this is his ultimate guide to the ultimate beverage. It took me a while to get through it, just because there is a lot of information to absorb. He delves into a little bit of history on the various styles, as well as the intricacies on how beers can vary widely within a particular style. This one is a must for a beer lover like me.

Michael Jackson's a whiskey & beer master, there simply isn't any other way to put it. This is a huge compilation of just about every sliver information you could possibly ever want to know about the of making and distributing whiskey the world over. Easily the best source of whiskey I've ever come across. A coffee table style book that you'll read cover to cover. Particularly interesting was stories about some of the older style American Whiskey makers who've since gone belly up and about the numerous Japanese Whiskey Distillers.

More a reference book than a read.

Great book on the history of whiskey and one that you actually want to read rather than just have on the table for show.