The Daley Dozen

An occasional series devoted to a dozen good things in the world of pubs/beer/cider/brewing.

12 best beer/pub books, personal choice from the Brew Wales library

1. Good Beer Guide, Editor Roger Protz. The Campaign for Real Ale's flagship publication makes its annual appearance every Autumn with the best of British pubs and details of British breweries. The brewery section is indispensable especially when you can't remember who owns/brews Bass at the moment – it is brewed by Marstons but the brand is owned by In-bev. Useful to remember for the pub quiz!
2. The English Pub, Michael Jackson 1976. The late Mr Jacksons' books quite deservedly take pride of place on a Brew Wales bookcase but this is the book that launched him onto the beer scene. An excellent history of the pub, packed with photographs.
3. Death of the English Pub, Christopher Hutt 1973. Pubs are under threat today but in the 1970s they were under threat for different reasons. Chris Hutt takes a look at the brewing industry that over the years led up to this crisis.
4. Prince of Ales, History of Brewing in Wales, Brian Glover 1993. Indispensable for anyone researching or just interested in the history of Welsh brewing.
5. Pub Names of Britain, Dunkling & Wright 1987. 10,000 different pub names with descriptions about them all. My only gripe is Ye Olde Murenger House is not featured! Does need updating to a new edition.
6. The Faber Book of Drink, Drinkers and Drinking, ed Simon Rae 1991.Over 500 pages of anecdotes and snippets from literature from Burns, Orwell, Hardy, Byron etc. Well worth delving into for a good quote.
7. The Beer Book, editor Tim Hampson 2008. Described elsewhere as 'Beer Porn' this is a guide to the world of beer with full colour photographs and tasting notes, written by experts from the countries involved. Excellent reference manual for beer in the 21^st Century. Reviewed by Brew Wales last year.
8. Licensed to Sell, History and Heritage of the Public House, Geoff Brandwood, Andrew Davison & Mick Slaughter, 2004. An excellent, fully illustrated book on the history, development and architecture of the pub. Mythbusting section at the back deserves a book to itself.
9. Rough Pub Guide, Paul Moody & Robin Turner, 2008. 50 of the most extraordinary drinking experiences in the UK. Packed full of pubs Brew Wales knows and loves and others waiting to be discovered. Reviewed by Brew Wales last year.
10. The Guinness Drinking Companion, Leslie Dunkling 1992, an anthology and guide to 5000 years of drinking, covering beer, cider, wine, spirits etc.
11. The Brewing Industry 1950-1990, Anthony Avis 1995. A collection of essays on the British brewing industry, written by someone who was an insider throughout these times. In-depth knowledge that is often missing from other books.
12. A Century of British Brewers 1890-1990, Norman Barber 1994. Indispensable A4 booklet listing old breweries in their towns. Brew Wales copy is now looking very haggard with the cover falling off and packed full of handwritten notes.