A National Bestseller!
"The perfect pick-me-up on a hot summer day."
--Washington Post
"[A] charmer of a tale. . . Warm, witty and--like any good craft
beer--complex, the saga delivers a subtly feminist and wholly
life-affirming message."
--People Magazine
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.