iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 11h

Yesterday's book announcement on Reddit was met with some skeptical questions from readers who worried it might be written with AI. Really a problem for authors when readers are wary of buying the book because they don't know if a human wrote it. The worst is they are right to be skeptical.

Screenshot of Reddit comment by MentionMyName: "Downvote not deserved here. It’s a simple question worth asking. I’ve accidentally purchased AI books and it becomes so obvious the second you start reading but you don’t know until you have it."

Context is another person asked if the book was written by AI, and they were downvoted (currently at -4). I agree with MentionMyName -- people have every reason to be wary.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 12h

Still no reviews, though, which is definitely hurting sales. If you have read the book I would really appreciate it if you could do a review. Amazon www.amazon.com/Power-Beer-T... Goodreads www.goodreads.com/book/show/25...

goodreads.com

The Power of Beer: How Thirst Drove Us From the Stone A…

This is the story of how our desire for beer drove us t…

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 12h

Yesterday's announcement really helped sales. Now at 13th place in the "Beer" category.

Screenshot from Amazon.com bestseller list (under "Beer"), with "The Power of Beer" in 13th place.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

I wrote a blog post about the new book, explaining why I wrote it, and what I'm trying to do with it www.garshol.priv.no/blog/445.html

garshol.priv.no

New Book: The Power of Beer | Larsblog

Personal blog of Lars Marius Garshol.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Anyway, I did my best, and if you think I got something wrong, tell me. I've already had one reader point out what he believed was an omission in the early history of hop use. After checking his source I don't think the claim holds up.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

I had to tell him that writing the full history of beer from A-Z based on original sources was just not feasible. I did use *some* original sources, but mostly not, which is actually one thing that made me nervous about publishing this. I hadn't been able to touch bottom on every single issue.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Then on Thursday Amund P. Arnesen (Norway's first beer sommelier) told me he'd been hoping I'd write a book on the history of beer, because so much of what's already out there is unreliable. And he said he knew I'd use original sources and get it right.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

On Monday Mika Laitinen told me he'd been hoping I would write a book about the history of beer "because your view of beer history is different." I was quietly stunned by that, because that's exactly, precisely the reason I wrote the book (as stated in the preface).

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Brian Aldiss wrote that short story, about a cockroach that wakes up one day as a man. It *hates* people having names, and loves to scuttle around in the dirt in the cellar.

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Pfliegler Lab at University of Debrecen @pflieglerlab.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I have finished reading the new book of @larsga.bsky.social about The Power of Beer! Absolutely stunning information overload, especially on historic trends, styles, and political economy, all from the perspectives of brewing. And of course, a lot about #yeast and how people domesticated it!

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Thank you, Walter! That kind of praise makes an author's heart beat faster. :)

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Jeff Alworth @beervana.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Andreas Krennmair is doing some amazing historical research about Central European beer, and his latest book Bavarian White Beer is a must-read. It corrects many historical errors and adds much detail to the story of this venerable ale.

beervanablog.com

The Mysteries and History of Bavarian White Beer Revealed — Beervana

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Guess we have to wait for the paper. I wrote to them to ask when they think it will be out, but haven't heard anything.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This find should of course have been mentioned in my book, but the blog post came out the same day the book was published. Next edition, I guess. www.garshol.priv.no/download/pow...

garshol.priv.no

The Power of Beer

Personal site of Lars Marius Garshol.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

We have a new candidate for oldest beer find in Europe: Solnitsata, Bulgaria, 4500 BCE. There is no archaeological report yet, so this still needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but sounds convincing so far. provadia-solnitsata.com/en/news/naso...

provadia-solnitsata.com

Провадия-Солницата - най-старият солодобивен и градски център в Европа

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Excellent presentation last night by Matthias Trum of Schlenkerla. And a real fanboy moment for me — one of my absolute favorite breweries.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

In Voss the kjenge is not a museum piece

A bearded man is drinking from a big wooden beer bowl with horse head handles that’s brimming with foaming beer

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Getting the brewers set up. This is the owner of kveik #18, who always serves his beers from an orange plastic can

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The usual morning walk to the festival to set things up.

An asphalt road cutting through green fields, and in the background a mountain (Ytrehornsnakken) covered in partially yellow trees. A band of cloud is curled over the shoulder of the mountain.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Friday morning in Hornindal. Quiet before the storm.

A green field with a barn and some oldish wooden houses, and behind them forest receding up the mountainside to be lost in mist.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Having a tiny warm-up before the @kornolfest.bsky.social preparty. A visitor from Voss brought this kjenge, made for him by his grandpa for his 20th birthday

A wooden beer bowl with horse head handles and carved swirling patterns is standing on a table with a plastic tablecloth

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

really does make up "a system of the world" as Newton described it. To put it another way, the equation alone tells you a lot, even if you never solve it.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I feel focusing on the solutions (which are of course important) is missing the forest for the trees. All possible combinations of F, m, and a are described by that equation, not just the solutions. Those four characters contain a *mass* of information. Together with two simple laws of motion it ...

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I feel it misses the point, though. Interesting equations usually express relationships. F = ma is not about finding a solution, but a very precise statement about how these three quantities are related.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I agree the desire for beer is a very plausible reason for the beginning of agriculture, even if it's not proven. Yet. It's interesting that brewing seems to go back to the beginning of agriculture in China, too.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I agree some form of malt was very likely invented before beer. My reasoning is that the process has so many necessary steps before you get beer that it's likely that the first steps were invented before the later steps. Most likely steeping + germination first. Then mashing. Then beer.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Make bread: grind grains, mix with water, bake. Leaven if you want. Make beer: steep, germinate, dry. Then grind. Mash and ferment. 3 steps vs 6. And you have to be more careful about the brewing and malting steps.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

It’s much more complicated than making bread, though.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yes, that’s absolutely true. However, given how much more complicated it is to make beer it seems overwhelmingly likely that bread preceded beer.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Bread and beer are both produced from grain, and both involve yeast, but the processes are very different. Beer-making requires saccharifying the starch first, which is a quite complicated process. So it's not like a bread-baker could accidentally produce beer without some quite major coincidences.

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J Mark Dodds FRSA @jmarkdodds.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you beer you must buy this book

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Very autumnal in the mountains now. The leaves all yellow, and the heather red. Forecast for tomorrow morning is 2C. Lovely.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Thank you, Andreas! And thank you for your help with the content.

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Andreas Krennmair @akrennmair.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A new book arrived today! Only read a few bits, but looks excellent so far. @larsga.bsky.social

The book cover of "The Power of Beer" by Lars Marius Garshol. It shows a beer glass with amber beer on a throne, with a doorway and red curtains in the background.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Second batch going off to the post office.

A stack of broad, flat packages sitting on a floor. Roughly 15.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Yeah, looks like they have searches out to hoover up all authors with new books. Disgusting, really.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The sad thing is that there must be money in this, or there wouldn't be so many people doing it. As if there wasn't enough heartbreak in publishing already.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I think I've been approached four times so far, at least. I pity authors who are a little more desperate, and a little less skeptical.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Another on the same Facebook post. Notice that one like? They liked themselves to make it seem more plausible.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Didn't take long for the vultures to arrive. There's clearly a big industry out there that preys on authors. And I can see why, because an author with a new book is very, very emotionally ready to accept help with marketing. What I love about this one is the book doesn't even exist.

Screenshot of an email reading:

"Dear Lars,

What caught my attention about Traditional Norwegian Beer Brewing is the way it preserves the history of a brewing tradition through both careful research and the stories of the communities that have kept these practices alive. I was especially intrigued by the attention to farmhouse brewing, kveik yeast, local techniques, and the connection between brewing methods and regional culture.

I’m part of World Reading in München, Germany. We discover authors and books from around the world, giving preference to voices that are rarely heard. Our discussions often explore cultural traditions, local history, food and drink, craftsmanship, and the ways books can preserve knowledge that might otherwise be overlooked.

For our September 30 gathering, I’d love to feature Traditional Norwegian Beer Brewing as an Author Spotlight. I think it could lead to an engaging discussion about Norwegian farmhouse brewing, kveik, traditional craftsmanship, regional communities, and how brewing practices can reveal something about the history and culture of a place.

If you'd like, we can simply introduce your book to the group, or you could share a short message with our readers or join us briefly for an informal conversation. There is no pressure to participate beyond whatever feels comfortable for you.

Would you be interested in having Traditional Norwegian Beer Brewing featured at our September 30 book club gathering?

Warm regards,

World Reading
München, Germany"

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The books have finally arrived! They've been available from online stores for a while, but now I *finally* have my own copies. After years of being in progress, it finally feels like this book is published. Next up: start signing and mailing copies.

Photo of a stack of books titled "The Power of Beer", next to an opened cardboard box with DHL tape on it. The stack and box are on a table, and next to them are a pair of scissors.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Haha! Well spotted. I wonder if the Americans have thought of that.

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Lars Marius Garshol @larsga.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The White House has posted the US-Denmark agreement about Greenland, and I had a quick read-through. Basically the US gets nothing they didn't already have. So they created years of noise, and drove Eur. allies away in order to get ... nothing at all. Jaw-dropping incompetence. My summary of text:

Screenshot of text reading: "There's basically nothing in it until you get to IV. Defense Areas, where:

1. The US already had this
2. The US already had this
3. The US already had this
4. The US promises to use Greenlandic contractors where possible
V. The US already had this

VI. Has three subpoints all numbered ".i", all of which state rights the US already had

VII. The US is allowed to raise concerns about the security of Greenland, and if it does Denmark will discuss those with the US

VIII. Just words

IX. Non-NATO members not allowed military presense on Greenland

X. Restrictions on what states that are not NATO or EU members can do on Greenland

XI. Agreement has no end date"

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