Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in the world, the most refreshing, the most sociable, and the most versatile. It has been brewed since the dawn of time and still has the capacity to delight and obsess its many adherents.

This bewitching, thirst-inducing, gorgeously illustrated book is a guide to the best beers in the world with a succinct history of the breweries, tasting notes, temperature recommendations, and what food to serve them with, together with entertaining anecdotes about the breweries. Here you will sample world classics such as the ales of England, the speciality beers of Belgium, the new wave beers of U.S. craft brewers, the magical lagers of Germany and Central Europe, and a host of world beers that will beguile and bedazzle.

The reader might not drink all these beers in their lifetime, but after reading this book they will know which ones will be their personal favorites.