He Said Beer, She Said Wine: Impassioned food pairings to debate and enjoy—from burgers to Brie and beyond

A staple in our library since 2008

Written in witty banter between Sam Caligione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewing and wine sommelier Marnie Old, this book delves into beer, wine, and the foods that pair with each. From the beginning, you learn about the impact that both beer and wine have had on culture and civilization, and are engaged in their fun discussion that circles around the notion of "Wine is fine, but Beer is better."

The book is loaded with photos and illustrations, styles and flavor spectrums, an overview of sense of smell and the tongue's taste zones to help you better understand the flavors of both wine and beer.

Included are plenty of food pairings with the beverages, and a good variety of beers are presented—both imports and domestics, many of which are available to us here in Washington State. The book ends with recipes that are easy to follow and quite tasty, each recipe includes a beer and wine to pair it with.

The Beer Book: Breweries, tasting notes, and tours—your drinking companion to over 1,700 beers

A staple in our library since 2008

A well-structured guide to key microbreweries across the U.S., plus beers to travel to European nations for, and a lot of beers that are imported to the states.

The information on tasting beer, beer styles, the "big player" breweries have great photographs and all are quick reads, which is perfect for someone like me with a short attention span.

I especially like the short brewery descriptions, which often give a brief history, "brewing secrets", or trivia about the brewery; only a couple of beers from each brewery are highlighted. While I'm not sure what drove the author to choose the beers he did (e.g., Dogfish Head highlights Midas Touch and World Wide Stout—both of which are rotating/annual releases—with no mention of popular year-round staples such as 90 Minute IPA), from a beer enthusiast's perspective, I would say the choices are fairly solid.

There's also a beer glossary in the back, which is helpful to beer newbies.

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

A staple in our library since 2007

While not a beer book, I find myself frequently referring to it when preparing for our "dish'n beer" sessions. This book isn't about beer, it's about entertaining: being a good host and, more importantly, being a good guest.

I absolutely adore Amy Sedaris's sense of humor. I've seen her on television shows and read magazine articles where she enthusiastically talks about entertaining, decorating, crafts, and cooking. Like Amy, I love arts and crafts...cooking up some good chow...entertaining friends...and a well-placed taxidermy in the home dècor.

I'm sure by now you see a theme in my reference books: photos and illustrations! "I Like You" is filled with both, is a quick read, and has lots of easy recipes. One of these days I hope to have beer pairings for the recipes therein.