Michael Jackson's The Beer Hunter

Frat-house guzzlers, don't bother. The informative, wittily designed Michael Jackson's The Beer Hunter (when you sign off, you're presented with a bar tab) is for the aspiring connoisseur of the brewer's art, with British suds expert Jackson using video clips, photos, narration, and text to detail the history, ingredients, and production of beer. The most useful section is the field guide to beer brewing and tasting across the U.S. In it, Jackson extols each of his 24 favorite microbrewed quaffs with such loving phrases as ''assertive hoppiness'' and ''roasty palate.'' Worthy of a taproom toast. A-