The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J.Ryan Stradal

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis "A novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world-class beer, from the bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest
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. "

Review

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

If you love the rambling family-centric style of Fannie Flagg with an added dose of learning about IPA's, then you are sure to love this book.

This may not have been a heart-warming tale of love between sister's that we are used to, but I found it to be about genuine lives.

This book teaches you that even if more than 50 years pass, love between sisters cannot die. I know that is not always true, but that's what we had here. This book also shows you more than you might want to know about beer brewing, and it was genuinely fascinating. Written so that even the most beer/IPA ignorant among us (me especially) can grasp, it was teachy without being preachy.

This book was told from three different perspectives and each perspective from a different year or set of years.

I adored this book, and I will be putting it on my comfort book/reread shelve and most likely be reading it at least twice a year. Even though I have gotten this as an ARC, I will be buying my own in support of this author.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.


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