Beer and Book Pairings

In a two part series, Amazon's Omnivoracious blog asked some tough questions and followed up with some serious investigative reporting:

For a long time, I’ve wondered why wine and food should have all the fun. Here at Omnivoracious, we also believe in the complementary pairing of books with...beer. Now, please note that we’re not advocating irresponsible reading, but with the current popularity of micro-breweries and the role of beer in the writing of books over the centuries, it seems somehow irresponsible not to pair the two. We’re frankly a little surprised no one’s done it before.

Thus, I took it upon myself to explore the connection between hops and writing chops, going far afield to ask a diverse group of writers what beer or beers would go best with their latest work.

What were the results? Too many to list here, but some of the more interesting choices included:

• Arianna Huffington pairing Right is Wrong with Busch (surely you can do better than that, Arianna!)
  
• Karen Jay Fowler pairing Wit's End with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
• Ekaterina Sedia pairing The Secret History of Moscow with Flying Fish HopFish IPA
• The decisive Francine Lin pairing The Foreigner with Boddingtons, Taiwan Draft or the People's Pint Provider Pale Ale
• Lauren Groff pairing The Monsters of Templeton with Ommegang Three Philosophers
• Tim Lebbon pairing Fallen with Badger's Golden Glory (personally I can't stand this beer)
• Michael Chabon pairing The Yiddish Policemen's Union with Bruner Adler (anyone know what beer he's referring to here?)
  
• Daniel Grandbois pairing Unlucky Lucky Days with Feathered Hat Lager (again, no luck finding this beer)
  
• Peter Zheutlin pairing Around the World on Two Wheels with Fat Tire Amber Ale
• John Grant pairing Corrupted Science with Arrogant Bastard (clever!)
• Tanyo Ravicz pairing Alaskans with Rainier
• T.C. Boyle pairing The Women with Spotted Cow
• Graham Joyce pairing The Limits of Enchantment with Theakston's Old Peculier
• Margo Lanagan pairing Tender Morsels with Toohey's Old Black Ale

The Omnivoracious contributor who conducted this informal survey is an author in his own right, and (as it turns out) one with excellent taste in beer:

As for my own books, including City of Saints & Madmen and Shriek, I always recommend the marvelous Belgian dark beers Delirium Nocturnum and Leffe Brun, the Bavarian Aventinus (a wheat doppelbock), Arrogant Bastard, and several others.

Next time you pick up a good book, pick up a good beer with your free hand - cheers!