There are similar international beer guides out there already, but I suspect the challenge in the title “1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die” will prove irresistible to certain beer fanatics.

It will doubtlessly appeal to the “scoopers and tickers” among them – those blokes, principally, who seek to out-scoop their mates with the latest beer discovery so they can tick it off their list. For such folk, this 960-page tome provides a manifesto for their life’s mission with some 69 beer-producing nations covered, including such obscure gems as Albania, Antigua, Belarus, Egypt, Latvia, Malta and the Palestinian Territories.

But this book is clearly aimed at readers from the United States, with that country’s beers accounting for some 24 per cent of the total entries with 241 beers listed. That’s more than double the space allotted to more traditional brewing nations like Belgium (118 beers), Germany (96) and England (90).

Indeed, Australia punches well above its weight division with 32 “must taste” beers featured.

A panel of international “beer experts” selected the beers as being “superb examples of brewing craftsmanship”, according to the book’s introduction. Each 350-word entry packs in an admirable amount of history and information, and the quality of beer photography is as good as I’ve seen anywhere. Apart from in-depth tasting notes and the usual details, I particularly like the listing of when each beer was first brewed and recommended serving temperatures.

Australian contributor David Downie juggles passionate beer pursuits with a busy career as a partner in Queensland’s largest law firm McCullough Robertson, where he specializes in intellectual property and information technology. The 35-year-old Brisbane lad holds honours degrees in both law and science, and he credits an overseas trip in 1998 with first opening his eyes to the wider world of beer.

“Belgium opened up a whole new world and certainly changed my perspective of the amber fluid,” he says. “I came back looking for information in Australia and there was not a whole lot about on the internet, so I started [a website] AustralianBeers.com in 1999.

“Writing about beer over the past decade has given me access to Australia’s leading brewers at a time when a lot of flavoursome, quality beers have become available.”

Six years ago Downie assisted UK beer writer Pete Brown in researching his book “Three Sheets to the Wind” and ended up featuring prominently in the Australian chapter. Brown is a fellow contributor in “1001 Beers” and undoubtedly helped Downie get the Australian gig.

“I was given a wide discretion in choosing beers for the book,” Downie said. “What I wanted to do was pick beers I would offer some-one at my house, as the most interesting beers Australia has to offer.

“As well as exploring the most recent and exciting breweries, I also wanted to pay tribute to some of the most historically interesting beers – such as Cooper’s Sparkling Ale.”

Obviously, deciding which beers missed the final cut was agonizing.

“Which beers are the ‘best in Australia’ is a question for which there is no objective truth,” says Downie. “I think if you put 100 Australian beer drinkers in a room, each would come up with a [completely] different list.”

Sometimes the twin worlds of law and beer collide, such as when Downie presents regular beer tasting for his law firm’s clients. And he took a particular interest in the intellectual property case involving Duff beer, cartoon character Homer Simpson’s favoured brew – where the maker’s of the Simpsons TV series objected to the Duff brand produced by South Australian Breweries in the late 1990s.

“I keep an empty Duff can on my shelf to use when lecturing junior lawyers,” he says.

Needless to say, Duff beer doesn’t feature among the 1001 beers in this book.

1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die is available through Amazon Books and will be released through Australian bookshops next month (AUGUST); rrp: $39.99.