Independant bookstores have sometimes a so well furnished newspapers ray, even in small town, so that I made a great discover at La Dérive bookstore in Huy. This discovery is a new food magazine called Belgian Beer & Food, which is on its 6th issue…
Cover – copyright http://www.belgianbeerandfood.com/
Buckingham Palates
Belgian Beer & Food is a magazine edited in Belgium, about belgian beers but is written in english… which is so logical as the 3 main editors are Alan Hope, Rob Mitchell and Paul Walsh are compatriots (except during the Rugby World cup, where Scottish-, Irish- ang Englishmen can have different points of view on so mny things). They work in perfect symbiosis to deliver a full, documented and with a real opinion magazine.
3 persons, 3 area of competences, 3 opinions differents of what we are used to hear in Belgium and most of all a speech freedom, benevolent but real, which renew the style of beer magazine I know. By reading this book, I had the impression to discover something which was not directly under the control of big breweries, which give often the (surely false) idea of a advertising-magazine.
Happy of the Content ?
The tone and the way to write are quite innovatice, with real folders on brewers theyselves and also some relationships with more general gastronomu. On the 66 pages of this magazine, not too much places allowed for advertising (the equivalent of 4 pages) and “only” 15 articles, which means these are well heavy, and among them one whole folder of more than 10 pages.
On the first look the magazine is much more about beer itself with a very narrow view on the associatino with gastronomy, but by a closer readinf I find a much deeper presence in the articles, even if my feeling of a small lack of direct interaction beer/food persists (but I’m really careful of it, more than a lot of readers, that’s true)
copyright http://www.belgianbeerandfood.com/
The photography is quite good even if the demands of that type of publications are sometimes boring : macro pictures of beer bottles is not that exciting (even if I do the same with wine on my blog 🙂 ), but the other pictures are full of life, well executed and help the articles to be read so easily.
The writing, in english, is difficult to judge for someone like me who’s far away to be bilingual, but even with my weaknesses I’ve appreciated to read all the articles, in an accessible but not simplist language
copyright http://www.belgianbeerandfood.com/
6€ pour un magazine de cette qualité, c’est vraiment bon marché, même si pour ce prix on doit se contenter d’un papier et d’une couverture d’une qualité matérielle sommes toutes moyenne, mais encore pluis que dans les livres, c’est bien ce qu’il y a à l’intérieur qui est important, et là j’ai trouvé mon nouveau titre de référence belge je crois.
copyright http://www.belgianbeerandfood.com/
Le site du magazine :http://www.belgianbeerandfood.com/
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