The Lager Queen of Minnesota

Author: J. Ryan Stradal
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 349
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
First Published: July 23, 2019
Opening Lines: It was July 5, 2003, and Edith Magnusson's day hadn't been too bad, so far. She'd just taken a strawberry-rhubarb pie from the oven, and was looking for her favorite tea towel, when she saw a grasshopped on the white trim of the windowsill.

Book Description from GoodReads: A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world-class beer.

Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself.

With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: "Drink lots. It's Blotz." Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late.

Meanwhile, Edith's granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constitution than her grandmother possesses. She earns a shot at learning the IPA business from the ground up--will that change their fortunes forever, and perhaps reunite her splintered family?

Here we meet a cast of lovable, funny, quintessentially American characters eager to make their mark in a world that's often stacked against them. In this deeply affecting family saga, resolution can take generations, but when it finally comes, we're surprised, moved, and delighted.

My Rating: 5 stars


My Review: I freely admit that I picked up this book because of its beautiful cover and it had a beer in its title. You see, I have become a craft beer lovah over the past three years, so based on those points, this book sounded perfect for me. But one cannot live on beer references alone. I kept reading because of the story's depth and its focus on the complex and fractured bonds between three women.

If you're thinking "But I don't even like beer, Laurie!", don't worry! Grab a glass of pinot or a Coke and a smile and relax. You don't need to know the differences between a stout, a Saison and a cream ale to enjoy this book (that said, beer lovers will especially enjoy getting a peek at the brewing process). This story is about two sisters, Edith and Helen and Edith's granddaughter, Diana and their decades long family issues. Readers witness how these women address their familial struggles and rise to meet their professional challenges, through strength, determination and grit, as they break into the male-dominated industry of craft beer on their own terms.

If this book were a beer, I'd describe it as having a complex, robust flavour with appealing warm undertones and a wonderful finish and will appeal to many readers' palates. 

Is it beer o'clock yet?