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.