A Year in Food & Beer: Recipes and Beer Pairings for Every Season

Overwrought and overwritten, Emily Baime and Darin Michaels's collection of seasonal beer-friendly recipes is a text heavy cookbook developed with no clear readership in mind. It starts off strong as Baime and Michaels open with a useful rundown of beer styles, adequately informing amateur beer enthusiasts and everyday cooks alike of the various qualities of porters, pilsners and lambics. Then it's off to the races as the duo offers recipes for each season paired with appropriate beers. Of the forty recipes offered, virtually all of them are accompanied by meticulously detailed instructions that turn a basic dish into an epic undertaking. A pickle recipe spans four pages; peel and eat shrimp takes up two. There are some interesting dishes featured such as Pumpkin Seed Brittle and DIY pretzels served with a smoked Gouda sauce, though some readers may have a rough time sourcing%C2%A0black valentine beans for a chili, or rosewater for a pavlova. While the concept for this cookbook is appealing and the authors' knowledge of beer is impressive, the overall execution is a mess. (June)