If this book were simply a collection of recipes for beers which won the 1996 World Beer Cup, it would be an interesting and valuable resource. But it's also an entertaining set of stories about these world-class beers, too. And everything is written in the inimitable Papazian style. From time to time, the author waxes poetic (as he has been known to do in his other writings). In his discussion of Founder's Stout, he writes how thankful the brewers did not adhere to the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot in producing this beer, so that roasted unmalted barley could be included.
Both all-grain and extract/specialty grain recipes are offered for each beer, in a one-size-fits-all 5 US gallon length. Most homebrewers in the US will find this most useful.
A couple of gripes which make this a four-star, rather than a five-star, review: First, the conversion between different units (e.g., SG to/from Plato, ASBC color to EBC color, and Fahrenheit to Celcius) is idoiosyncratic. The author does point out in his preface that EBC color values were derived, for the purpose of the book, by simply doubling the ASBC color. Secondly, the information on the cover gives the impression that the recipes are provided by the breweries, rather than being formulated by the author. In a sense, this is for the better, however, because the recips should be formulated by an experienced home brewer, rather than a professional. Still, I do not think it was entirely according to Hoyle to give such an impression. And the hokey "MBU," making its debut in this book, has to go. Homebrewers who work in metric usually use the number of grams of alpha acid in the hops.
All in all, an entertaining and valuable reference.
