The first several legs of our book tour—recently concluded after six weeks and 9,000 miles—was a smashing opportunity for me, coauthor Jonathan Hennessey, to continue my beer education.

That’s because all along the way, people we met were constantly asking my friend and collaborator Mike Smith questions about beer. And I got to listen to his answers.

At just 170 pages and with words and illustrations building on each other to do the heavy pedagogical lifting, The Comic Book Story of Beer is a powerhouse showcase of beer knowledge. But no book can fit everything there is to tell about beer. And because of its focus on beer history, it was outside the scope of the book to include much contemplation of specific brands, brisker scientific inquiry into the brewing process, more esoteric chapters in the chronology of the world’s favorite beverage, war stories from an almost two decades long career in brewing, advice to aspiring beer professionals, or commentary on the still-unfolding  craft beer phenomenon.

But hey listen. The Comic Book Story of Beer is meant to inspire the pursuit of even deeper knowledge and appreciation of beer. So it only makes sense to have the book serve as a springboard for many more stories to tell. Further information to convey.

And to that end, Mike agreed to go “on mic” with me a little while back and discuss some of the more fervent beer questions and issues that had popped up while we were on the road. For this sit-down, most of those questions were mine. Perhaps future dialogues could be made to include your questions. We would love that.

But regardless, I thought it would be great to make our conversation available in audio or podcast format. And so we at The Comic Book Story of Beer submit for your approval what might be thought of as a pilot edition of a beer chat program called Meet the Beer with Mike Smith.

During these fifty some-odd minutes, I ask Mike…

• Why does he almost always order draft beer at a bar instead of bottled beer?
• And in a discussion about Guinness, does it really taste better in Ireland?
• And if alcohol in beer comes from yeast consuming the malt, why isn’t a highly malty brew like Guiness high in alcohol?
• If a dry Japanese beer like Sapporo or Tsingtao is neither high in malt nor very substantially hopped, where does its flavor come from?
• Why does it taste differently from a PBR or a Coors Light?
• Oskar Blues is a craft brewery noted for at least two particular things: its rapid growth, and the fact that it is exclusively distributed in cans. You almost never used to find craft beer in cans. And even Mike thinks cans are “the best vessel in which to package beer.” What’s up with the cans? And what differentiates canned beer from bottled beer?
• There are many cool, small cities in the U.S. known for having good beer scenes: Austin, Boulder, Portland, Maine. Now Asheville, North Carolina, is certainly one of these. But it seems to have broken from the pack to become a legitimate beer Mecca. Why is that?
• And why, if you want to get intro brewing professionally, should you probably ditch your lease, gas up the car, and head to Asheville RIGHT NOW?
• The Comic Book Story of Beer chronicles beer’s ups and downs. But craft beer, which now seems unstoppable, experienced a protracted bubble and bust in the early to mid 1990s. What happened there, and what lessons can we take from that?
• What are some common mistakes that startup breweries make?
• What is “gypsy brewing?” And why does that term rub Mike the wrong way?

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While we were at the Wizard World Austin Comic Con during Halloween weekend, we had the good fortune of running into Derek Royal of The Comics Alternative Podcast. Derek was game to speak to Jonathan about The Comic Book Story of Beer as well as his previous books with Aaron McConnell and his Legendary Comics series, Epochalypse.

Subscribe to The Comics Alternative on iTunes, and listen to Jonathan’s excerpt below!
 

We would like to thank Courtney Cox (no, goofball not that Courtney Cox) and Beer Advocate Magazine for casting their penetrating gazes towards The Comic Book Story of Beer!

Dr. Patrick E. McGovern is the kind of Scholar writers and researchers make pilgrimages to, on his time schedule—not necessarily receive visits from, when they just happen to be in town.

Nevertheless, and in spite of the fact that the globe-trotting scientist was recovering from jet lag after concluding a stint of recent fieldwork in China, we were overjoyed to spend some time with Dr. McGovern at Philadephia’s Yards Brewing Company last night (Oct. 21, 2015).

For anyone intrigued by the intersection of beer, history, and science, familiarity with Dr. McGovern’s work should be considered crucial. He is the (big inhale) Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia (exhale…if you have anything left). And he and his colleagues are responsible for unearthing some of the most ancient beers and wines yet discovered by modern human beings. Moreover, he is an author of several books and a collaborator on an award-winning series of Ancient Ales, historical beers and ales brewed and distributed by Dogfish Head.

Our too-short visit with Dr. McGovern proved another point: that any work of history, and indeed any assertion about history, is only as good as the latest research trudging its way through production and peer review.

In spite of The Comic Book Story of Beer‘s contention that the no brewing was ever carried out in the entire ancient history of Italy, as it turns out the pre-Roman Etruscan civilization had a taste for ales, and in fact brewed them. Supporting evidence for this Etruscan zythophilia has been found in drinking vessels found in 2,800 year-old burial vaults.

So let’s toast intellectual honesty! We are happy, in the name of academic best practices, to admit this one slipped through our fingers, and we are grateful to be able to share the correction with you.

Additionally—although this has nothing to do with beer—Dr. McGovern hipped us to an exciting but yet-to-be-proven prospect that would truly rock the world of the history of distillation. If provable, this would be a decisive point in the plus column of inventions creditable to the cultures of the New World rather than the Old. We will responsibly refrain from spilling the beans on this, but do keep up with Dr. McGovern’s work via his website. And check out his list of available publications on Amazon here or in libraries here.

Parade Magazine—did you know it’s the largest circulation magazine in America at this point?—was kind enough to give the book a little press time over a recent weekend. Thank you, editorial staff! Next beer is on us, when we run into your ubiquitous Sunday presence in anything from the Marysville-Yuba City Appeal-Democrat to the Shamokin-Pottsville The Shamokin-Pottsville.