Journal brews up following
A few years ago, Chris Wright was wandering through a bookstore when he noticed a bevy of journals to record wine-drinking experiences.
Like any sensible beer enthusiast, he wondered why there were no such books dedicated to his beverage of choice. But unlike other beer lovers, Wright didn't just wonder about it.
About a year ago, he released "The Beer Journal," a guide that is picking up steam among aficionados.
The 226-page spiral-bound notebook begins by educating the reader thoroughly on beer styles, including handy details like what type of glass is appropriate for each type of beer. Then it offers page after page of logs to record tasting adventures.
Want to just remember a specific beer and its attributes? Check.
How about a quick note for beers you're trying at a festival? There's room for that.
Want to record how certain beers and food pair together? Oh yeah, that's in there, too.
"It's not going to be on the New York Times best-sellers list, but when I speak to people about it, they really get excited," said Wright, a Monument computer-parts salesman who already has sold more than 350 copies of his project. "Beer geeks love to record what they've drank and how they've liked it."
Wright wasn't always a beer geek. In college, he sheepishly admitted, he was a Milwaukee's Best man.
But while the Army veteran was stationed in Germany and moonlighted at an Irish bar, he became enamored with the nuances of the beverage.
The Beer Journal is making the rounds, though slowly.
Bristol Brewing used it as a guide for courses it taught on beer earlier this year. And when Wright was in a San Jose brewery not long ago, he found another patron scrawling notes in his creation.
Though the pages allotted for logging and their layout is invaluable - I especially recommend it for beer/ food pairing events - Wright has found it to be a little too bulky for someone to carry around at, say, the Great American Beer Festival.
Hence, he recently developed a smaller festival edition for just such occasions. The book is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble's Web site, and it can be found at select brewing stores and liquor stores around the area. Or you could go directly to Wright's Web site, www.thebeerjournal.com.
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Contact the writer: esealover@comcast.net
