Lessons in Beer

I was shocked and awed by a friend's confession recently concerning his beer IQ: although an avid consumer, he knew little about the different types. Because of the research I've done on homebrewing, I was able to enlighten him re: ale versus lager: the former is fermented at room temperature with yeast that stays at the top; the latter is fermented from the bottom at about 35 degrees.

Another thing that strikes me as odd is that, when you walk into a beer store around here and ask if they carry any microbrews, they give you a deer-in-headlights look. I thought they were experts.

I should apply for a professorship in beer. More research is in order.

I found a book that should help me along the way -- or at least I found mention of this book. It's called Brew Ware. Its subject is building and finding homebrew equipment, as that's a hobby that can get expensive quickly. This book is listed in the public library's catalog, but there's a red LOST beside it. (Oddly enough, it seems a good percentage of the public library's homebrew books have gotten lost.)