"The Bedside Book of Beer," Barrie Pepper (1990)

From The Bedside Book of Beer (Barrie Pepper), 1990

Just in case you've misplaced your Christmas pudding recipe (and, you thought, just in time, too -- lucky you!) your luck's run out; here's the replacement: step-by-step instructions from Barrie Pepper's The Bedside Book of Beer. It's his convivial compendium of beer and ale in British literature -- and, of course, English politics. (The book was originally published by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, complete with CAMRA application form in the back). Here are cartoons, limericks, poems, histories written by authors high and low and anonymous about the joys and sorrows of bitters, plains and smalls through the ages. No need during this Christmas week to belabor the point: there's too much to do to just sit and read about beer, when there's a holiday party somewhere we're all late for. Cheers ....