I must confessed that I only skimmed some of the pairings. I'd be tempted to get this book, but only for some of the selections. I think the "dialog" between the wine expert and the brewer was intended to be humorous but quickly lost any sense of humor. Instead it sounded childish and like pointless bickering. Given that these two people work together on a regular basis I can only suspect it was all meant to be in good fun but just failed.

The other parts look promising as to good reasons why to pick a certain wine or beer. Hopefully I'll be able to get it at the library at some point or perhaps even purchase it.

The debate between wine and beer aficianados over which quaff is paired best with food is never-ending, as each side fiercely defends their choice with all the passion of a political debate. Throwing their hats into the ring are Sam Calgione (arguing for beer) and Marnie Old (arguing for wine), both distinguished representatives of their drink of choice. (Sam is the creator of Dogfish Head, a microbrewery known for creative and fine beers; Marnie is a sommelier extraordinaire who worked for fine restaurants and holds educational seminars on wine.)

The book tackles the beer vs. wine debate very light-heartedly, with good-natured ribbing, glossy photos, and scorecards for the reader to make the ultimate decision. The book is divided up into food categories, with each side suggesting what is best prepared with common dishes. At the end are recipes in which you can incorporate beer or wine.

This book is probalby best for beer and wine geeks who want to see what it's like on the other side. Gourmet foodies will also appreciate the helpfulness of being given choices of what to serve with a meal. I can't speak for the wine suggestions, but as a beer geek, I noticed all the beer suggestions were not only spot-on, but were choices one can easily obtain, at least in my neck of the woods. With so many different kinds of wine out there, it's nice to be given some direction in which to select the right wine. ( )

Wine and food is old news. Fine beer with food is new to me, (I have not read Garrett Oliver's "The Brewmaster's Table") and Sam Calagione does a good job of bringing the reputation of beer up to fine dining. I've just imbibed a restaurant commissioned ale at Babbo (and a grappa sampling), Brooklyn Local #1 and Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Ale at Chanterelle, and Brooklyn East IPA at Balthazar, and I can attest that beer holds up to fine dining. The book is a quick read, with enough pairing recommendations to use as a reference. Generally the chapters are approachable, though the "which drink wins" summations are snarky, diminishing the whole. OTOH, the recipes and suggestions for holding beer/wine contests look doable.

Any meal good enough for wine is good enough for beer. ( )

I was really looking forward to this one, as I happen to enjoy beer and wine and food. ;) However, I felt as if the execution left a lot to be desired. The recommendations were overly specific - I would have rather seen more general guidelines, and less "try Old Bay crabs with Trimbach Reserve Pinot Gris". The cheesy "Which Drink Wins" sections were a complete waste of space - how many people are actually going to sit down and try all of those specific combinations? And the fact that so many Dogfish Head beers were recommended, when one of the authors is the founder of that brewery is a little suspicious (don't get me wrong, they are good beers, but - still). ( )

This is meant to be an answer to the light-hearted beer vs. wine argument. Frankly, I never considered it to be a legitimate argument - because beverage paring with food depends on so much more than the base food. There's the manner in which the food was prepared, there's the occasion, there's the mood that you're in and the all-important, "do I have an 8 AM meeting tomorrow?" question.

I'm far more familiar with wine writing than beer writing, so I'm afraid I have to be a lot harder on Marnie Old. For as much of her pedigree as is trotted out at the beginning of the book, I found her wine writing skills to be rather flat. Wine's biggest pitfall is that it's always been seen as a grossly over-complicated drink. By the time one gets into appellations, vintages, aging techniques, mincroclimates and any number of other dizzying facts you can dredge up about wine...well, it's easy to get lost. A great wine writer can cut through all of this confusion and tell you all of the facts without overwhelming you AND leave you enthusiastic for the wine. Marnie, unfortunately, bounces all over the place, dropping facts here and there while failing to leave a great narrative to make me go, "wow! that's why that wine would go so well with that food!" I say this as a wine lover.

Sam's writing is better, but then there's the problem of Sam's brewery. Don't worry if you miss out on it in the introduction, for you will see a Dogfish Head beer offered at least once on about 2/3rds of the tasting "battles." This became increasingly annoying to me, as I felt that this was not so much a chance to espouse the diversity of microbrews as it was a chance to advertise his brewery. Then there's the curious offering of Newcastle, Murphy's Stout and Heineken as "perfect pairs" while passing out about 10 "perfect paring" spots to Dogfish Head brews - were there really no other microbrews in the ENTIRE world to give those select spots to before going to some of the bigger players? (He did win back points for recommending Great Lakes Eliot Ness.)

That aside, the entire "argument" is "wine is classy, beer is for slobs" OR "wine is for snobs and beer is for laid-back, cool people" depending on how you want to read the book. Look, I promise I drink wine in jeans - all the time! I don't feel the need to reach for a cocktail dress every time I get down the stemware! From the onset, Sam and Marnie admitted they've hosted beer vs. wine pairing parties only to discover that the majority of dinners end up with no conclusions. It would have been fantastic to have them come to the conclusion that this was not an argument. Instead **SHOCK** this could have been an opportunity to do a "no matter beer or wine, we're working together to offer you both choices!"

I will give them credit for meticulously going through each of the dishes and explaining if it was the fat content, salt, acidity or any number of other flavors that one needed to look for in order to match a particular beverage to get the most out of a meal. Being a DK book, the photographs are generous and well-done throughout the book (save the idiotic "argument" shots).

This book would be better left to a beginner looking to upgrade from their "I drink the same thing no matter my meal" habits. If you know a hard-core foodie or beverage aficionado, they will have better books in their library already. If I had to pick a good person to give this book to as a gift, I'd aim for a recent college grad and be sure to include a mixed six-pack (good shops will offer this) and a few bottles of wine along with. ( )