Free beer!

Now there's a headline guaranteed to raise some interest.

Now, normally, you know I don't much care for shilling for books or advertisers or much of anything. But on rare occasions, the opportunity to shill for someone who does great work comes along, and I like to take those opportunities.

So just a short post today to let you know that my friend Kevin Revolinski's updated Wisconsin's Best Beer Guide is now available! It's a lovely little travel book, listing breweries and brew pubs in Wisconsin, and with a handy little "history of beer" essay in the front that's way more readable than most of the front matter you typically find in guide books.

Each brewery entry contains business information (address, phone, web site, annual production), a list of staple and seasonal beers produced, tour information, the best time to visit, whether or not they serve food, directions, a short informational essay, and a list of other eating and drinking establishments within "stumbling distance." A lot of the breweries also participated in the book's "special offers": at the Great Dane Pub and Brewery in Madison, for example, all you have to do is show them the book (they'll sign it on a handy list in the back, meaning you've received your freebie) and you get a free 10 oz. beer!

It's a very handy reference guide (especially this week, when it's 88 degrees and sticky in Wisconsin, and nothing would be nicer than to hit a local brew pub for a cold brew), and Revolinski's writing style is a lot of fun. This bit of self-revelation comes in the Introduction:

"When I took on this project back in 2006, I didn't even like beer. I can already hear the collective gasp of horror, but let me explain: beer was social lubricant, something you sipped at with friends at a cookout, bought for the cute woman at the other end of the bar, or beer-bonged on occasion. I didn't even like the taste so much and--oh the humanity--often didn't even finish them. I killed many a houseplant at parties and have gotten hordes of bees drunk at picnics with the remains of a bottle of Something-or-Other Light." (p. 2.)

If you live near Madison, Wisconsin, consider coming out to buy a copy of the book and meet Revolinski at the Capital Brewery Bier Garten in Middleton on Friday night, July 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. He's a lot of fun and the Capital Brewery is a great place to sit around outside and enjoy a beer. For more information, please visit his web site at www.revtravel.com/wbg.html. (He's also the author of a ton of other great travel guides about the great state of Wisconsin, including the soon-to-be-available Insider's Guide to Madison, so if you're a local do check out his page.)

Comments

[Savvy Working Gal]

Welcome back! I was starting to go into withdrawal; I need my daily CR fix.

[Tripp]

Ah reading and beer, does it get any better?

[katharine]

Yeah you're back! I just may drag myself out to the beer garden Friday night, this sounds like a must have on the bookshelf. Love the quote, hopefully he sell lots of books and he can treat to you a few cold ones :)

[Citizen Reader]

SWG,
Thanks for the kind words! I'm very glad to be somebody's fix--I'm a cheap habit. :) I won't be all the way back for a while but it's time to get back to it, I think.

Tripp,
Well, I might say books and old fashioneds, or books and martinis, but there's nothing wrong with books and beers, either.

Katharine!
Yes, there's a lot of funny quotes like that throughout the book. I know he's quite an amusing person, but that doesn't guarantee you'll be amusing in writing. He manages both!

I was trying to decide if I could drag myself out to the garten. Depends on if the mercury can force itself below 85 for the night, I suppose. I refuse to step foot outside when it's above 85. :) If I can overcome my natural lazinesss maybe I'll see you out there!!

[Venta]

I, too, was jonesing and am happy for this CR post. Now go get those dandelions!

[coach purses]

Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, talk low, act courteously, criticize not one bit，and try not to improve or regulate anybody but myself.

[Rachael]

Yayyyy! Hope you had a great blog-vacation, and I'm soooo glad you're back. The mornings are always a little brighter with a bit of curmudgeonly criticism.