Fifteen Eighty Four

Sam Calagione founded one of my favorite breweries, and Elizabeth Downer’s Pittsburgh Post Gazette review of his new book, coauthored by wine guru Marnie Old glosses on a couple of important factoids before skipping to generalities, and recommending a bunch of wines.

Folks say that the book — He Said Beer, She Said Wine —  is a great tribute to the Bamforthian banter between beer and wine lovers, and Calagione is no stranger to Bamforth’s work. It’s essentially a pairing book, with selections from either camp for a variety of foods. So where are the 4th of July beer picks? Yes, I’d love some Penn Weizen with my goat cheese. I understand that this reviewer probably sides with Marnie Old, but please take some of Calagione’s advice rather than skipping over the other side of the fence, being intrigued in passing by what you’ve seen.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, the New York Times ran a lovely slide show of my home town in their travel section last weekend.