There is no beer in heaven so we drink it here. Monks have been brewing beers for centuries, and still do today. Roger has travelled the world meeting monastery brewers and tasting the product in order to write this book. The Introduction tells the history of the monastic brewing tradition, and answers the question why do monks drink beer?. The first part of the book details the fascinating and turbulent histories of each of the key monastic breweries, country by country. It opens with Belgium, home to the great Trappist brewing monasteries. The beers produced by this reclusive order of brewing monks are among the most distinctive and richly flavoured in the world. Beers from France, Holland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, England, Scotland, Ireland, and The United States are included. Beers have as many flavours and aromas as fine wines, from the light golden beers of France, brewed to honour local saints, through to the powerful Bock beers crafted by the monks of the venerable Bavarian monasteries. Roger's extensive and tantalizing tasting notes - for over 100 beers - provide an invaluable starting point for readers to try these beers themselves.

The second part of the book has the essential information on serving, tasting and storing them. There's even a guide to cooking with the beers and how to combine their flavours with delicious regional dishes. It also includes special tasting features to help you enjoy the beers at their best, and to highlight the beers that would have been drunk at special occasions. - Profiles over 100 monastery tradition ales from around the world, (including Marston's, Theakston, Brakspear, Blue Anchor, Nethergate, St. Peter's, Greene King, Smithwick's, Celtic Brew, Belhaven, Traquair House) - Extensive tasting notes to help readers choose which beers to try - Unique travel notes to plan tours of monasteries that hold beer tastings on site - Pictorial histories of key breweries, still in existence today - Where to get the beer. Some can only be consumed on site but many are easily obtainable.