Even though it escaped into the wild a few weeks ago, this is still the official launch week for Brew Britannia, so we’re spending the week in and around London making various appearances:
- Tuesday 17 June — we’re at the Cambridge Brewhouse, King Street, Cambridge, from 6-9 pm — we’ll have books to sign, will be chatting beer, and have a reading ready in case the surging crowd demands it.
- On Friday 20 June, from 7-9 pm, we’ll be at the Kings Arms, Bethnal Green. Chatting, signing, reading — you get the idea by now.
There have been a couple more reviews since our last round-up, too:
- The Pub Curmudgeon — “…an excellent and enjoyable book which really is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the development of the specialist beer market in Britain over the past forty years.”
- Martyn ‘Zythophile’ Cornell — “Overall, Boak and Bailey have produced an excellent guide to the journey British beer has taken in the past half-century, well worth reading whether you lived through it or not, simply to understand where we are now.”
- Kiley Bense for Saveur magazine — “… for anyone interested in beer’s modern renaissance, it’s a quirky, comprehensive read, filled both with obscure information and more essential facts…”
UPDATE 23/06/2014: While we were away, a few more reviews arrived:
- Ron Pattinson liked it: “Well written – but I’d expect no less from them – and with loads of good stories about the individuals who drove the quest for better beer. It kept me entertained even while my arse was aching from hours of sitting.”
- Roger Protz said: “This is an exhilarating read, well researched, in the main objective, and encompassing the views of many important players in the great beer revival of the past 40 years.”
- Chris ‘Beer Diary’ Hall gave it the thumbs-up, saying: “It’s not just a great book, it’s an important one for the time we live in.”
- And Alan ‘A Good Beer Blog’ McLeod declared it a “superbly researched and deftly written history”.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Alan McLeod says:
Finished #BrewBritannia by @BoakandBailey Best beer book of 2014 so far? Thoroughly researched. Clever writing. Neutral POV w/out boosterism
— Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog (I/ me/ Al/ buddy) (@agoodbeerblog) June 16, 2014
We’ve also been enjoying a steady flow of shots of the book in various states of completion from readers around the country and, indeed, the world, via Twitter. Here’s our favourite so far, from Steve ‘Beer Justice’ Williams:
https://twitter.com/beerjustice/status/476432890503659520
13 replies on “Brew Britannia: Launch Week”
I’m reading at the moment and quite enjoying it, nice work.
i’m at the halfway point now, excellent so far, enjoying the bit about brendan dobbin with hilden, think i may need to try and chat to him at some point about his hand in that and in new venture cotton ball.
Please tell us you got a generic PR e-mail inviting you to one of the London events at two days’ notice.
As I’m going to be out of the country all week would you mind re-forming and doing a comeback tour after the 22nd?
I am now so interested in Peter Austin’s role in the revival on both sides of the Atlantic I can’t believe its me.
I wish you every success on your signing tour.
Who would be best to contact regarding stocking this book in a beer shop? A wholesaler for example
Tim – it’s best to contact the sales team at Aurum Press directly http://aurumpress.co.uk/contact-us
Excellent book very much enjoyed reading it
Sorry I missed you guys, had to coach my kids cricket team and didn’t get back til 9:30. Where did you go for the GK Mild? The Free Press?
Its okish, but the Shefford Mild next door in the Elm Tree is miles better.
You tried GK Mild?!? And?
Turns out, somewhat belatedly, that the last pub in Norwich with draught beer was the Wild Man on Bedford Street.
So now we know.
Doesn’t look great on this evidence:
http://www.thewildmanpubnorwich.com/our-beers-1441.html
although other sources suggest that that might not be entirely accurate.