September 22, 2000 -- The year 1999 was hardly a banner one for beer books. In reviewing the selection available at the end of last year, I was depressed to discover that very little of substance had been released. The slight slump in the fortunes of the craft beer renaissance had, it seemed, been echoed in the publishing trade, at least where books about beer were concerned.

And so it was with some delight that I noted the early spring arrival of the Buying Guide to Beer. (Although dated 1999, the Buying Guide to Beer didn't make it to my next of the woods until 2000.) Things, it seemed, were picking up.

Or maybe not. The Buying Guide to Beer has been sitting on the corner of my desk awaiting review for some time now, and that is most definitely not a good thing. Every once in a while, I'll glance over in its general direction, perhaps pick it up and thumb through it, and replace it with a mental note to get to it some day soon. The problem is that my lack of enthusiasm for the book has made it hard for me to find that day.

It's not that I have anything against the book's author, the Beverage Testing Institute. Following a very shaky start in beer rating several years ago, the BTI has grown to point that its reviews can no longer be dismissed out-of-hand. And in truth, this guide presents some very useful information in addition to the reviews, such as an index of importers' names and contact information and a separate listing of the high score brands in each beer style. But still, there are problems.

One such difficulty is the fact that all the beers listed seem to be recommended. The key to the scores does indicate that marks below 80 points are "Not Recommended," but try as I might, I cannot seem to find a single mark in the 70's or below. There are 80's are aplenty and 90's ("Exceptional" and "Superlative") crop up with remarkable regularity, but nothing scored in the 70's. Does this mean that the BTI never comes across any bad beers? And while we're on the subject of missing information, as much as I appreciate having the names and addresses of the importers in the US, why not offer the same information for the breweries?

The biggest fault I find with the Buying Guide to Beer, however, is its lack of personality. As the Acknowledgements note, "All beer reviews were done by a panel of experts, consisting of Marc Dornan, Alan Dikty and many others too numerous to mention individually." Which means that, save for Marc and Alan, there is no consistent voice throughout the book. So how do I know that the person or persons who rated Lindemans Framboise above the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus honestly understood the true nature of fruit lambics? Or that the positioning of Double Diamond above Fullers London Pride in the pale ale rankings wasn't the result of a bad tasting day? I don't, and regardless of how valid or misguided I might find those rankings personally, the fact that I don't know who was behind them leads me to skepticism.

If you are looking for a beer guide that will give you a general cross-section view of the US beer market (domestic and imported), then the Buying Guide to Beer will suit your purposes well. If you are looking for more precise beer buying guidance, however, I would suggest that you look elsewhere.

Buying Guide to Beer

by the Beverage Testing Institute

Sterling Publishing, New York, 1999

US$14.95, CN$21.95

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