IACP Cookbook Award Finalist
Winner of the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ Award for Best Cookbook in the Wine, Beer or Spirits category.
Garrett Oliver, award-winning Brewmaster and Vice President of Production of the Brooklyn Brewery, recognized by Gourmet Magazine as a “passionate epicure and talented alchemist”, reveals the full spectrum of flavors contained in the more than 50 distinct styles of beer from around the world.
Most importantly, he shows how beer, which is far more versatile than wine, intensifies flavors when it’s appropriately paired with foods to create a dining experience most people have never imagined. Garrett, along with photographer Denton Tillman, traveled throughout Europe visiting fellow brewmasters to trace the beers of the world to their sources. Back in the States, he met with the star chefs he has advised about beer. The resulting book is a motherload of information, lushly illustrated with Tillman’s gorgeous photographs of the world’s best beers and the breweries that produce them. Above all, THE BREWMASTER’S TABLE is a new way of thinking about beer – one that will bring this under-appreciated brew to the status it deserves.
Whether it’s a Belgian wheat beer with a simple salad, a Brooklyn Pilsner to wash down spicy tacos, a pale ale alongside a porcini risotto with foie gras, or even a Framboise to accompany a dark chocolate brownie, beer is the perfect complement to any dining experience, at home in front of the TV or in a four-star restaurant.
He explains how beer is made, shows you its fascinating history, and then leads you through the amazing range of flavors displayed by the dozens of distinct styles of beer from around the world. Finally, he suggests beer pairings that will please your tastebuds and blow your mind. Whether you’re a beer aficionado, a passionate cook, or just someone who loves a great dinner, this book will indeed be a revelation.
BIO
Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, the author of The Brewmaster’s Table, and the Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer (Oxford University Press). In 2014 Garrett was the recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award for “Outstanding Beer, Wine, or Spirit Professional.” One of the founding board members of Slow Food USA, he later served for five years on the Board of Counselors of Slow Food International. Garrett has been bridging the worlds of beer and food for more than two decades, having hosted more than one thousand beer dinners in 17 countries. He is a particular champion of beer as the most versatile beverage for culinary pairings.
In late 1994, Garrett joined The Brooklyn Brewery as brewmaster. Many of his beers have won national and international awards. He has served as a judge for the competition of the Great American Beer Festival for twenty-four years and has been a perennial judge for the prestigious Great British Beer Festival competition and The Brewing Industry International Awards.
He has hosted tastings and talks for many cultural institutions, including The Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic and the American Museum of Natural History. He has also hosted beer dinners at many of the world’s great restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park, Per Se, Noma, and Matsalen (The Grand Hotel, Stockholm). In the United States, Garrett has made numerous radio and television appearances as a spokesman for craft brewing.
In 2003 he authored The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food. The Brewmaster’s Table was the winner of a 2004 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Book Award and was a finalist for the 2004 James Beard Foundation Book Awards. The Brewmaster’s Table was released in a paperback edition in May of 2005 and remains in print.
Garrett’s most recent book is The Oxford Companion to Beer (OCB), published in October 2011 by Oxford University Press. Compiling the vast knowledge of 166 experts in 24 countries, covering 1,120 subjects, The Oxford Companion to Beer is the most comprehensive book ever published on the subject. The OCB was the top-selling book for Oxford University Press USA in 2011. Amazon.com named the OCB one of the “Best Books of 2011”. Calling the OCB “a treasure trove”, the New York Times said, “The Oxford Companion to Beer is a definitive resource not just for beer enthusiasts but for amateur brewers, professional brewers and the thousands of restaurants that serve great beers but are staffed by people who may know little about them.”
Garrett is the recipient of the 1998 Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation and Excellence in Brewing, granted by the Institute for Brewing Studies (now the Brewers Association). It is the highest honor given within the United States brewing profession. He is also the recipient of the 2003 Semper Ardens Award for Beer Culture (Denmark). In 2007, Forbes named him one of the top ten tastemakers in the country for wine, beer, and spirits.
While Garrett does travel widely, his main day-to-day focus is on the recipes, procedures, innovation and overall quality of beers produced at Brooklyn Brewery and at its sister breweries Nya Carnegiebryggeriet (New Carnegie Brewery) in Stockholm, Sweden, and E.C. Dahls in Trondheim, Norway.
Garrett is a graduate of Boston University and holds a degree in Broadcasting and Film.
REVIEWS
“Beer drinkers of all sorts will happily drift along Oliver’s exhaustive tour. ” --Publishers Weekly
“Preached by the poet warrior of real beer and real food… The Brewmaster’s Table [is] a feisty and erudite tome.” --Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“A scholarly and readable book.” --Los Angeles Times
“The best and most important book ever written on the subject of pairing food and beer..” --Bob Townsend, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
[P] Ecco Press / May 13, 2003
1.3" H x 9.0" L x 7.4" W (2.6 lbs) 384 pages