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Overview
If you're reading this article, you almost certainly know about food and craft beer matching and you may know about locations and craft beer matching, but have you heard of (or tried) books and craft beer matching?
There are a number of elements to this growing trend. In the US, for example, book bars are becoming part of the urban landscape. Operating on the same principle as book cafes, only with craft beer instead of coffee, these establishments have a strong craft element. The books stocked are often non-mainstream, much like the beers served to accompany them.
Elsewhere in North America — Canada, to be precise — beer and book clubs are being formed "for those who like to read a good book, drink a good beer, and maybe combine the two once in a while". Meeting at various pubs within a certain area, these gatherings bring a craft beer twist to the traditional book club.
And then, of course, there’s the internet — where all manner of unlikely combinations get together. You'll find blogs about the right beer to drink while following the adventures of your favourite comic book hero, or about craft beers to match to certain authors. But in sites like Book and Beer, you'll also find recommendations for a particular beer to enjoy with a particular book. (For the record, the author — Jason Hensel, a writer, musician and comedian living in Dallas — reckons American Gods by Neil Gaiman is best enjoyed with a glass of James Squire Jack of Spades Porter.)
So which book (or series of books) is best suited to the various beers in the James Squire craft beer range? Get reading and sipping this summer, there's Kerouac-paired beers afoot.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
"It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard drinking people."
Pair with James Squire The Chancer Golden Ale.
Joseph Heller: Catch-22
"He knew everything there was to know about literature, except how to enjoy it."
Pair with James Squire Jack of Spades Porter.
Ian Fleming: The James Bond series
"You only live twice: Once when you're born. And once when you look death in the face."
Pair with James Squire Four 'Wives' Pilsener.
J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings
"Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go, to heal my heart and drown my woe."
Pair with James Squire Nine Tales Amber Ale.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Crime and Punishment
"The darker the night, the brighter the stars."
Pair with James Squire One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale.
Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Cristo
"All human wisdom is contained in these two words: wait and hope."
Pair with James Squire Stowaway IPA.
Jack Kerouac: On the Road
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."
Pair with James Squire Orchard Crush Cider.
Ian Rankin: The Inspector Rebus series
"Rebus drank his coffee and felt his head spin. He was feeling like the detective in a cheap thriller, and wished that he could turn to the last page and stop all his confusion, all the death and the madness and the spinning in his ears."
Pair with James Squire The Constable Copper Ale.
Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
"Open Sesame!"
Pair with James Squire Hop Thief American-style Pale Ale.
Jon Cleary: The Sundowners
"Do me a favour, will you? If you're gonna be a drover, look like a drover. Get rid of that silly flaming hat."
Pair with James Squire Sundown Australian Lager (what else?).
