New book on beer pairs well with globe-trotting

The growing popularity of craft beer isn’t limited to the United States or Europe. According to Chris Santella, author of “Fifty Places to Drink Beer Before You Die,” the rise of the internet and increased global tourism have allowed beer fans to keep up with trends in other parts of the world.

“The craft brewing thing is as big a deal in Dublin as it is in Indiana, Prague, London, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia,” said Santella, 53. “It’s everywhere. And in a lot of those places, it’s picked up quick over the last five years.”

While Santella didn’t visit all 50 locations mentioned in his latest book, he conducted extensive interviews with craft beer insiders and other beverage industry professionals. Contributions by Boston Beer Co. founder Jim Koch and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. founder Ken Grossman lend a degree of credibility to the effort, which includes stories about drinking in locales such as Belize, China, Germany and Zimbabwe — in addition to a number of cities around the United States.

The Portland, Ore., resident spoke to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser by phone to explain what sets his effort apart from other beer-focused books, the importance of location in brewing and how craft beer may have finally reached critical mass when it comes to mainstream appeal.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Are you a beer fan?

Chris Santella: I am a beer fan. I still remember the first craft beer that I had. It was 1985 in San Francisco, and I had just graduated from college and drove across country with a few friends. It was an Anchor Steam, and at the time I didn’t really appreciate the taste of it that much (since) I was so used to Bud Light.

SA: How did you discover your affinity for microbrews and the craft beer movement?

CS: I did a trip to London to visit an old college roommate (in) 1987, and that was when I got my first taste of bitters and pale ales and a few IPAs. A bell sort of went off in my head after that first trip. That’s when I found myself reaching out a little bit more.

In 1990 I moved to San Francisco, and even in the more humble places, they would have Anchor Steam and maybe Sierra Nevada on tap. From that point on, very few Budweisers passed my lips.

SA: Who is this book geared toward? Beer fans? Beer novices? Beer tourists?

CS: With the “Fifty Places” books, many of them are bought as gifts. I feel like we’re at a point where the tipping point has been reached with craft beer, so I’m trying almost in a casual way to chart what has been going on and how location can fit into the enjoyment of beer.

I also tried to look at places that are having a real big impact on the craft beer scene. San Diego has come out of nowhere, and then you have a place like Asheville, N.C. For a place that hasn’t historically had a great impact on the beer industry, now there are something like 15 brewpubs there, and they are doing some really good beer.

SA: What makes a destination worth visiting for the beer?

CS: For a lot of the more beer-centric places, I think you want first a decent concentration of brewers. Not every place is going to have 40 or 60 brewers, but you want a core of good brewers to sample. Hopefully a place or two that might have an insightful tour.

For me, I see the appreciation of beer as part of a larger continuum of things I enjoy. So if there are nice cultural attributes to the place to fill in some of the time between pub visits, it’s that much better. I don’t find myself going to beer festivals anymore. If there are some pretty mountains or beaches nearby, or a nice museum, that’s a nice addition to the whole experience.

SA: In your opinion, where in the world should you go for the best beer experience possible?

CS: A scene I really enjoyed was in Wellington, New Zealand. New Zealanders are very low-key, but they have a really good scene going there. They must have 10 or 12 really small craft brewers.

SA: Does where you drink a beer affect the way it tastes?

CS: This is a bit cliche, but I do feel like the Guinness I’ve had in Dublin and other places I’ve traveled to in Ireland did have a different texture and a slightly more mellow taste than the Guinness I’ve had in the States. It’s all about freshness.

SA: Were any Hawaii locations ever under consideration?

CS: A lot of it just comes down to who I happen to talk to. My apologies to your fine islands, because I know there is some nice beer being made there now. Everything was pretty much done a year ago.

SA: Is this a golden age for craft beer?

CS: My sense is we didn’t have the diversity of styles during the 20th century as we do now. In terms of the variety and quality, a lot of the problems I’ve read about during earlier times was the equipment wasn’t always reliable. So you’d have one batch that would come out really well, and then the next batch wouldn’t be the same. That was one reason why the Budweisers and Millers got so popular. They might not have been the best beers, but you weren’t getting formaldehyde, either.

SA: You did two books about golf. Any chance of another beer book?

CS: I would certainly love to do it. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the publisher.

Jason Genegabus tracks the local bar and drink scenes in “Barfly” every Friday in TGIF; read his blog at inthemix.staradvertiserblogs.com.