Brooklyn Brewery’s illustrious brewmaster Garrett Oliver edits The Oxford Companion to Beer, a comprehensive reference guide/encyclopedia to all things brewed; chef Tom Colicchio lends an introduction. An essential for any beer lover’s shelf. Oxford University Press, $65

Beer journalist Joshua M. Bernstein tackles every movement in beer today from nano to gluten-free to gypsy with well-written tasting notes, exclusive interviews and serious (but digestible) beer smarts in the notebook-style Brewed Awakening. Sterling, $25

Hilarious and heartwarming, Jeremy Cowan’s Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah, an autobiographical account of Shmaltz Brewing’s 13-year rise to fame, proves beer dreams can come true with a lot of work and a little shtick. Malt Shop, $25

Veteran beer scribe Christian DeBenedetti guides readers to more than 350 brewpubs, bars and taprooms every enthusiast should have on their bucket list in The Great American Ale Trail. All the hard work’s been done: The author identifies a lone must-sip beer at even dizzying spots like Portland’s Saraveza and San Fran’s Toronado. Running Press, $20

Brewery founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner team up with beer/food writer Randy Clemens in The Craft of Stone Brewing Co., an ode to Stone that’s equal parts historical record, beer catalog, homebrewing guide and recipe book. And the brazen arrogance you’d expect from Stone? It’s there, too. Ten Speed Press, $25

Every bit as funky and far-out as New Belgium’s annual multi-city beer-bike festival, Tour de Fat: Sights, Sounds, Feeling, Flavors chronicles 11 years of performances, partying and cycling in the name of suds. Wolverine Farm, $25

George Hummel’s The Complete Homebrew Beer Book offers recipes for beginners (British and American browns), intermediates (maple porter) and pros (smoked pumpkin ale), plus thorough primers on hop varieties, equipment and more. Robert Rose, $25