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Monday, May 19, 2014

American Sour Beers - Foreword and Cover

I emailed my first sour beer question to Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Co. in June 2008. He answered that one (about the pluots added to Compunction), and probably 100 more questions since about barrels, bugs, and bungs. I doubt either of us would've believe that during those six years he'd go from answering my newbie questions to writing the foreword for my book! His agreeing to contribute to American Sour Beers was at least as big an honor as Brewers Publications agreeing to release the book in the first place. I was also happy to have him read the manuscript and provide several invaluable comments.

After a couple of placeholder covers online and in print ads, here is the real deal. The glassware and fill-level were both topics of great debate (I only had a minor say). Luckily I'm really pleased with the result! It looks a bit more slick and modern than the Belgian trilogy (Brew Like a Monk, Farmhouse Ales, and Wild Brews), which is in keeping with the topic. If anyone is wondering, that's New Belgium La Folie in the glass.



I'm sure you're all tired of reading about the book after three years, so you'll be glad to hear that American Sour Beers will be released in less than a month. Your first chance to have a copy in your hands will be at the 2014 National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Coincidentally... I'll also be presenting (twice) about The Influence of Mashing on Sour Beer Production. There will be an online pre-sale for AHA members soon, and everyone who pre-orders on Amazon will be getting it around the same time. There will also be a Kindle version released in a few months if you prefer reading electrons instead of ink.

15 comments:

  1. Looks good Mike, excited for you and the release of the book. Hard work pays off for sure & it is a frequent source of inspiration to see someone pursue their passion like you go after it. Cheers to you man!

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  2. Will there be notes or possibly video of your presentation on the effects of mashing? Wont get to attend the conference. Though have my copy on pre-order. So happy book is coming out soon, thank you for all the hard work!

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  3. Congrats, Mike! Looking forward to the book.

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  4. The presentation will likely be on Chop & Brew as part of their coverage. Most of the same information was in my recent Zymurgy article as well as the book.

    Cheers Dan, you've got a couple mentions in there!

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  5. mike, congrats!

    shane: members of the American Homebrwers Association will have access to audio and Powerpoints from all presentations in Grand Rapids, and in fact from every recent NHC. so if you're a member you'll be able to listen to mike's presentation a few weeks after the conference.

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  6. Great job Mike! Looking forward to the book.

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  7. Hopefully you'll also release to kobo, google play, and nookbooks - for us non-kindle electron readers.

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  8. Congratulations! I can't wait to start reading it. I know it will a great resource for homebrewing sours. Any idea if it will be available on iBooks/iTunes?

    Thanks for all great info!

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  9. Well done! I can't wait to read it! it's been in my 'order' tab in Amazon since Feb.

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  10. Congratulations on the book and the upcoming release! Looking forward to getting a copy and seeing an ew spin on sour brews!

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  11. It should be available all the places the other Brewers Publications titles are, so if you see IPA and Hops, you'll see American Sour Beers. If not... sorry!

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  12. Is the July 7th date on Amazon accurate?
    Thanks,
    Daniel

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  13. The book is already at the printer. Copies will be at NHC next week, but I'm not sure when books ordered through Amazon will be shipped. Hopefully before July 7th!

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  14. A seller on Amazon.co.uk reckons they have copies in stock! I have questioned them about it as I have had amazon sellers claim 'in stock' items then once payment has gone through the item then miraculously turns to 'on order' or 'out of stock'!

    I'll await their reply but I'm calling Bullshit!

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  15. Just received my Amazon per-order Saturday. Looking forward to reading this book. I have been waiting a long time.

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