Review - The Lager Queen Of Minnesota

The Lager Queen Of Minnesota
by J. Ryan Stradal
349 pages
Release date 7/23/2019
4 out of 5 stars

According to the publisher, "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."

The Lager Queen Of Minnesota reads like a tale of two sisters; Helen, who had success served to her on a silver platter, and Edith who struggles to make it through each week.  Though born in the same home, the sisters could not be more different.  Helen is a shrewd business woman who does whatever it takes to come out on top.  Edith is as sweet as her beloved pies.

After being estranged for most of their lives, Helen and Edith's very different paths converge when Diana, Edith's granddaughter, enters the arena of craft beer making.  In her journey to find success in this male dominated industry, Diana has to be much tougher than her grandmother, never taking 'no' for an answer...even if that means recruiting a rag-tag team of elderly women to help her break onto the craft beer scene successfully!

You don't need to be a beer drinker to enjoy this book, but I do think I would have had more appreciation for the technical aspects of the industry that were included in the book if I was more knowledgeable about craft beer.  While it is a big part of the book, you shouldn't let that intimidate you.  This book is more about that family dynamic across the generations than it is about beer making.

Alcohol consumption aside, this was such a wholesome story.  If you are like me, you will spend the whole book rooting for Diana to make it big, and for the sisters to make amends.  I greatly admire how the author incorporated the darker plot lines, like familial estrangement and Alzheimer's, while keeping the overall tone of the book positive and uplifting.  

I definitely would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys family drama, craft beer, or needs to read something guaranteed to make them smile!