Product Description

Pete Brown takes us on a well-lubricated pub-crawl through the story of beer, from the first sacred sip of ancient Egyptian "bouza" to the last pint of lager on a Friday night. It is a tale of yeast-obsessed monks and teetotal prime ministers; of how pale ale fuelled an empire and weak bitter won a world war; of exploding breweries, a bear in a yellow nylon jacket and a Canadian bloke who changed the drinking habits of a nation. It is also the story of the rise of the pub from humble origins through an epic, 1000-year struggle to survive misunderstanding, bad government and misguided commerce.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6487 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 300 pages

Yorkshire Post, June 2003
...so much history and information... with such wit, entertaining personal insights and occasional laddish crudity.

Daily Express, 21 June 2003
"Packed with bar-room bet-winning facts and entertaining digressions... a book into which every pub-goer will want to dip."

Sunday Telegraph, June 2003
A clever bloke who understands his subject.

Customer Reviews

Man Walks into a Pub
Man Walks into a Pub is a social history of beer, beer drinking and the places where beer is consumed that takes us from ancient Egypt to the present day, and it’s a wonderful journey. The author, Pete Brown has a knack for keeping the reader engaged by using everyday language. So much so you could almost imagine you and he were in the pub enjoying a pint so relaxingly convincing is his prose, and his abuse of footnotes can be hilarious.

Informative, satisfying and ultimately entertaining, this book sways wildly from acerbic wit to erudite scholarliness without pausing for breath, but always tackles the serious business of telling the story of one of the most important aspects of Britain’s social history with reverence and affection.

The extent of Browns research is evident as the reader learns the beer-soaked etymology of recognisable phrases such as ‘taking him down a peg or two’, ‘enjoying the fruits of their labours scot-free’ and ‘tosse-pot’. The stories are engaging and plentiful, the book is punctuated by major events such as the two world wars, the birth of the super-brand etc. and these stories integrate wonderfully so that the reader is left with a weight of knowledge that is as broad as it is amusing – you could dine out on some of these tales for years.

If you have ever walked into a pub (be you man or woman), have any interest in beer, or just want a damn good read I urge you to read this book.

All Bar One
An excellent and entertaining history of beer drinking in the UK that contains absolutely hundreds of interesting facts. The history seems well researched and the author's style is very informal. There are chapters on the ancient Britons and the influences of the various invaders the UK has had in history, right through to the modern day mega-brands and how they came about.

Some people might find the informal style annoying but I found it made the book easier to read. One minor gripe would be the number of footnotes* as it can spoil the flow of the book slightly and most are childish comments rather than background information.

* they get everywhere!

Everything you ever wanted to know about the British Pub
As an American who is living in England and enjoys a good pint - this book was a great read. It was packed with trivia, history, culture, humour, and even though the whole book was about beer .. I never tired of reading it.

After reading the book I have a greater appreciation of the hand pumped pint and the unique atmosphere of my local - Thank you