15 Years Later: The Simon & Schuster Pocket Guide to Beer 4th Edition

The Simon and Schuster Pocket Guide to Beer, written by beer expert Michael Jackson, was the first book I ever purchased about beer. In 1991, I purchased what was then the most current version, the 2nd Edition of the pocket guide, which was published in 1988. Just a few months after purchasing the 2nd Edition, the 3rd Edition of the pocket guide was released in 1991. These guides pushed my curiosity, with trips to Washington DC’s Brickskeller offering one of the few chances to taste many of these beers during regular visits and also during their occasional beer tastings, where brewers from various countries would bring kegs of beer and give informative talks about their products, often with regional food specialties indigenous to the region where the beers were brewed included as part of the event.

After a few moves and repeated cleanings of my book collection, sadly the 4th Edition of the Pocket Guide, published in 1994, is the only copy I now own. The 4th Edition provided taste descriptions and ratings of more than 1,500 beers from all over the world.  I took a fond trip down memory lane over the weekend and re-read this pocket guide, remembering my first run-ins with many of these beers with a smile. Unfortunately, a meaningful amount of the breweries mentioned in the book no longer exist, having been either merged into larger breweries or going out of business for any number of reasons. Some of the beers merged into larger breweries suffered blows to the character of the beer, with modern day examples lacking the distinct flavors which made the beer popular to begin with. Others are still stalwarts of quality fifteen years later.

World Class Beer

There were a good amount of beers rated 3 stars (worth seeking out) and also a nice selection of beers rated 3 1/2 stars, but less than 2.5% of all the beers rated merited a 4 star (world class) ranking. Fifteen years ago, Michael Jackson doled out his four star ranking to a precious few 36 beers. Germany led the way with 10 beers ranked at four stars, with Belgium close behind with 9 world class rated beers. England and the United States each had six world class beers and Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Canada, France and Switzerland each added one world class beer to the list.  Interestingly, only two breweries in the world brewed more than one world class beer and both of those are right here in America. The boom in microbreweries was well under way in 1994, with consolidation and bankruptcy ending the initial boom around the turn of the millennium, only to be followed by another resurgence in small batch breweries. Looking back fifteen years, Michael Jackson conferred his world class ranking to the following 36 beers:

Germany (10 beers)
Jever Pilsner
Zum Uerige
Augustiner Hell
Hofbrauhaus Maibock
Paulaner Salvator
Schneider Aventinus
Spaten Ur-Marzen
Kulmbacher Monchshof Kloster Schwarz-Bier
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen
Schultheiss Berliner Weisse

Belgium (9 beers)
Duvel
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Westmalle Tripel
Westvleteren Saint Sixtus Abbott
Boon Lambic (pronounced “bone”)
Cantillon Framboise Rose de Gambrinus
Girardin Gueuze
Chimay Blue
Orval

England (6 beers)
Brakspear Bitter
Fuller’s Extra Special Bitter
Whitbread Celebration Ale
Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout
Marston Pedigree
Thomas Hardy’s Ale

United States (6 beers)
Alaskan Smoked Porter
Celis White
Anchor Steam Beer
Anchor Liberty Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Big Foot Barley Wine

Others (5 beers)
Pilsner Urquell (Czechoslovakia)
Saint Sylvestre Trois Monts (France)
Traquair House Ale (Scotland)
Guinness Extra Stout (Ireland)
Big Rock XO Lager (Canada)

I’ve been fortunate to have tasted all but three of these beers and regularly purchase many of these. Keep in mind most of these beers were consumed by Michael Jackson in their country of origin, if not in fact at the actual brewery itself. Not all of these beers travel well. I would argue some of these beers taste better out of a bottle than on tap (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for example) and vice versa. A couple of these beers were nearly undrinkable at first until I grew accustomed to the flavor or tried a longer aged sample (Thomas Hardy’s Ale), some I didn’t think deserved the ranking and many of these, when initially tasted, challenged my thoughts on what a beer even was. I don’t particularly like a few of these, but having brewed myself, I can spot a high quality product when I taste it. I may not like the style, but none of these beers “suck”. Whatever me and my friends thought, all of these beers were topics of conversation, sometimes intensely so, and helped spark a spirit of exploration towards all sorts of food items and other activities which continues to this day.

Michael Jackson, where ever you may be, bottoms up and cheers!