In fact, the book was borne out of the pair’s friendship and spirited debates about the matter, including a “competitive dinner” at Dogfish’s brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. They dubbed the dinner “Beer is From Mars, Wine is From Venus” and sought to settle the score for once and for all. However, the votes were neck and neck each successive time they held such gatherings. The bottom line will come as no surprise to anyone who buys craft beers or follows the trends in wine regions: beer and wine can be equally complex and neither is as simple or elitist, respectively, as one might think.

The first section provides each author’s argument for why his or her libation of choice is better. Old touts the extensive classification systems for wine and the fact that it pairs well (and is meant to) with food, whereas Calagione argues that beer is more approachable, more democratic. (I’d agree with him, and add another point: you can even brew it yourself with the right tools and ingredients, and I’ve got bottles gently carbonating to prove it.)

The wine primer chapter includes wine style profiles and a helpful illustration that shows the “anatomy of a wine label,” for both old world regional labeling and new world varietal labeling. Calagione takes a similar approach to explaining beer, reminding people that although it only has a few ingredients, it lends itself to endless experimention and variety. He, too, takes an old vs. new slant to the conversation, with a swift, insightful overview of the explosion of the craft brewing industry in the past ten years.

One asset of this book is its specificity. In the successive chapters, they recommend specific wines or beers for a handful of dishes in each category.

With warmer months on the way, I especially liked the guidance they provided for vegetables - what to drink with a green salad, eggplant parmesan, tomato salad. It makes intuitive sense that Old suggests a Spanish Albarino for a green salad (with New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs coming in for a substitution if need be), due to its shared green, acidic accents. It also seems smart that Calagione picks an Allagash White to accompany astringent, garlicky spinach because the beer will harmonize “rather than compete.” Other chapters include sandwiches (where is the grilled cheese?), pizza & pasta, spicy food, and an array of meats, poultry, fish, and shellfish. As an avid baker, I’m pleased to see two separate sections on fruit desserts such as cobblers, pies, and not-so-fruity desserts such as chocolate cake, cheesecake, and chocolate chip cookies –tawny port, anyone?

At the end of each guided pairing suggestion, the two go head-to-head, complete with somewhat goofy photographs of them looking quasi-adversarial, and square off. Beer wins with spicy foods (no surprise there) and wine is the victor (also no surprise) with pasta and pizza. If you want to stage your own contest at home, the authors detail a plan of action at the book’s end, complete with twelve recipes to test, from confit to cake, along with recommended beverages. The next logical step for these two is to write an entire cookbook like this, as the recipes look promising.

So, what do I say? The book is a welcome addition to any beer or wine lover’s library. It’s easy to navigate and full of useful information nicely situated between guiding the complete novice and those who think they already know better. In other words, it’s great for those with open, curious minds (and mouths), and adventurous approaches to eating and drinking.

Designed in a long slim style often reserved for these types of research texts, Hip Tastes (and its attendant blog), is dedicated to helping enthusiastic novices navigate the wine world with confidence.

Basically, the book serves as a crash course in wine, chockablock with information on how it’s produced to what influences the taste of wine and how to pair it with food and cheese (naturally, regional pairings are recommended). Chapters three and four, on white and red wines respectively, are especially good. Here, Cochran covers the grapes, their aromas and flavors, and the regions of the world where you’re likely to find them. She highlights star players, such as Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc, along with less familiar grapes, such as Viognier and Chenin Blanc, with articulate insights on the way that these varietals play up and please the palate.

Cochran also infuses her writing with a cultural currency and useful observations borne of experience. For example, she starts off the red chapter by discussing the increasingly popular Pinot Noir (thanks, Sideways), a lighter but deceptive red that can be as complex as its heavier and more aggressive cousins, and the PR crisis that Merlot has been experiencing (again, thanks Sideways).

We also learn that serious wine folk are the types who usually invest heavily in rare vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon. Cochran intersperses factoids about wine throughout the book and offers helpful ideas, such as employing a “dump bucket” which she does when she hosts wine tastings, so that guests do not feel obliged to finish wines they do not like. However, a book that attempts to cover a lot of ground is bound to have its limitations. I wanted a more in-depth look at emerging wines and wine regions in Spain, South America and South Africa. One particular sidebar guides readers to order a cocktail or a beer if they’re at a restaurant that does not seem to devote much thought or care to its wine list.

Such insight might be helpful to complete food and wine newbies, but I would argue that a restaurant with an unimaginative wine list probably also serves generic beers and cocktails mixed without fresh fruit juices.

As someone who enjoys wine but bristles at its historic snobbery, I welcome any resource with a democratic, fresh voice. Cochran begins her book by sharing a humorous anecdote about how she arrived to her first class at sommelier school, overly prepared and laden with textbooks. While textbooks—even shorter, breezily written ones such as hers—have a role too, Cochran reminds us that experience, in the form of tasting wines you find intriguing, provides the essential hands-on education you need, but that there is always room for surprises.

Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide To Wine is available from Amazon.co.uk for £8.49 and from Amazon.com for $12.89.