After catching her husband with another woman, Sloane Krause goes to work for a nano-brewery in Leavenworth, Washington. When another brewer turns up drowned in the brewery's vat and her husband appears to be the leading suspect, she knows he is incapable of murder. She searches for clues that might eliminate the suspicion from him. The book contains many details on craft brewing. I'd read a short story in this series previously and liked the setting and characters, but the short story I'd read contained spoilers for this story, so I already knew some of what was going to happen. It's a good start to the series, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd read this story before the short story! ( )

Sloane Krause loves her Bavarian themed hometown - Leavenworth, WA. The town goes all out for authentic atmosphere from German foods to locally brewed beers. There are several breweries in the small town. Sloane has worked for her in-laws' family brewery for years and loves it.....until she catches her husband Mac with his pants down. Literally. Reeling from getting an eyeful of her husband and a young bar maid, she gets a job at a new, rival brewery in town. Her new boss, Garrett Strong, says that he always wanted to open his own nano-brewery, and his recipe for a new citrus beer is amazing. Sloane helps him prepare for the grand opening of the Nitro Brewery. Everything is perfect. Their event is a total success. The next morning, however, things take a dangerous turn. Sloane comes in to work and finds a rival brewer dead in Nitro's fermenting vat. It only gets worse when Mac is arrested for the murder. Sloane is really really mad at her husband.....but she knows he isn't a murderer. For the sake of their teenage son and her inlaws, and because she knows Mac isn't guilty, Sloane jumps in to investigate.

This book is a great start to a new series, Sloane Krause Mysteries. I liked the brewery theme. The book contains many details about brewing, different types of beer, and the ingredients required for a quality beer. Although there are lots of details about brewing, the background theme didn't overpower the mystery....it added to it. This start to a new series is a cozy with a bit more bite to it....this isn't themed around a cute dog or cat, or knitting, but brewing beer and philandering husbands. Sloane is a tough, intelligent woman.....and cutesie just wouldn't be her style. The book is still a cozy though.....there is no spurting blood and no cursing. Just the implication of a 2/3 naked husband and lots of great beer. :) I liked the fact that the author didn't just include information on making the beer, but also details about regulations and restrictions on breweries and establishments that serve alcohol. I didn't realize some of the restrictions that pubs or breweries have to follow. Very interesting!

The mystery moves along at a nice pace. There are some great clues and twists along the way. The ending still caught me by surprise though -- I love it when that happens! I didn't see it coming! :)
Sloane is a capable MC, and all the side characters helped support the plot. I liked all the characters....even the cheating husband Mac (although I did want to seriously punch him a couple of times). All in all, a well-written mystery that is enjoyable to read! I learned a lot about beer and gave me a new respect for micro-breweries.

Ellie Alexander also writes the Bakeshop Mysteries. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.elliealexander.co/ I am definitely going to check out her Bakeshop series while I wait for the next Sloane Krause book. Death on Tap is the best cozy I've read in a long time. Excellent writing and research!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy from St Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

( )

I really enjoyed reading this cozy mystery! The characters were interesting. From the cheating husband, the barmaid, to her (ex?)-husband's family, to the main lead, Sloane, and the new microbrewery man on the block, I kept wanting to learn more about the characters. I am also especially intrigued about Sloane's family origins, as she was adopted and going from home to home throughout her childhood. I think this was the first novel I've read that openly spoke about fostering and adoption. It definitely made me invested in reading more about Sloane.

I thought the mystery itself was also pretty interesting and it also kept me guessing on who the guilty party was. I think it was a bit hard to guess who the guilty party was because they weren't as developed or didn't really have as much time throughout the novel, but I guess that's a good way to keep readers guessing!

What I really enjoyed about it was reading through Sloane's passion for brewing and microbreweries. To be honest, I learned so much about the microbrewery process in this book! It really did feel like Ellie Alexander put a lot of thought and time into learning about microbreweries.

I ended up reading the next couple of books after this one. ( )

First book in Ellis Alexander's second series (the first being the Bakeshop Mysteries), is a winner. The microbrewery scene is different and interesting, and Ellis Alexander knowledge of the topic shows through. The characters are well-drawn, and Sloan Krause--our protagonist--is memorable, likable, and her debut bodes well for rest of the series. We'd also want Garret back too, and as to Mac? Well, annoying, and arrogant he makes a good foil for Sloan's smart, intelligent personality. Cindy Brown's review says it all as to Sloan: "Brewmaster Sloan Krause is the perfect cozy protagonist: vulnerable enough to keep her heart guarded, yet capable enough to rewrite ales with the big boys, whip up beer-inspired treats an, of course, solve a murder." ( )

Sloan Krause is a brewmaster at her husband's family's brewery, Der Keller. On a day off, she decides to work anyway, and walks in on her husband while he's having sex with the new waitress. She leaves and immediately throws him out of their home, then finds a new job at a rival brewery that has just started up. Garrett Strong is a quiet man who keeps his cards close to his chest, but after tasting his new brew, Sloan realizes he knows what he's doing.

She's fairly happy in her new position, helping him with the menu and anything else that needs to be done. But when they finally open for business, a rival brewmaster, Eddie, who is surly by nature seems even more so this evening, and it doesn't help that when Sloan arrives the next day she finds Eddie's body in one of the vats.

Seeing as how her husband's prints were on the vat, and his lighter was found near the body, he's arrested for the murder. But Sloan knows that even though he cheated on her, he's no murderer, and she's decided to try and find out who might have wanted the rival brewmaster dead. If she doesn't, Mac will be railroaded for the crime, and leave her son without a father, which she isn't willing to do...

First off, even though the blurb states it, Eddie was not found with the recipe in his hand. In fact, that tidbit - where it was found and by whom it was taken - wasn't even mentioned until much later in the book. Just getting it straight.

Anyway, this book was fine for a first effort, but I found a few things that bothered me. All Sloan does is drink beer, but no mention is made that she even has any kind of a "beer belly." Not even a little "pooch." People who drink beer constantly - and she doesn't go to a gym to work out - would have some physical traits if they didn't do something about it. She drinks a lot of beer. In fact, that's all anyone drinks in this town. She gets stressed, someone hands her a pint of beer. There's a lot of stress in her life. Point made. She mentions once that her husband Mac is starting to get a belly, but never even mentions anything about herself - even though we never see Mac take a drink.

Secondly, she makes food for Nitro but I have issues with that. She pulls chicken out of her fridge and cooks kebabs - for how many people? A hundred? Two? How many chicken breasts did she have in there? 40 or 50? Because ten or so kebabs is not going to feed all the people that showed up for opening night. And it would take a long time to cook for that many people than what she supposedly did. (Who keeps that much food at home, anyway, on the off chance they might have to cook for that many people?)

Plus, she only makes things with beer. Who eats cupcakes, shortbread, and brownies made with beer? And since when are they served at a brewery? Personally, I don't drink, but I eat at a brewery or two in town, and they've never had common desserts like that at a bar. Who would buy a cupcake or cookies at a bar? This didn't ring true. Maybe a fancy chocolate cake (three layers, heavy frosting) or a streudel (which would be more in line with a brewery) but not shortbread. Never shortbread - unless the breweries of Washington have no imagination and the diners are willing to pay $5 for a brownie. I don't see it. (Or maybe I just eat at upscale breweries that don't serve food you can buy at any convenience store in town).

I also see that we're probably at the beginning of (ho hum) another love triangle. Her husband cheated on her; and since she forgave him, he'll probably do it again. The best she can do is cut her losses and tell him goodbye. Honestly, I abhor love triangles, and if it goes that way in the second book, I am done with the series - especially since he cheated on her. Honestly, I am so tired of books that have love triangles. In real life, women don't usually have two boyfriends hanging around; and if the situation were reversed and this were a man with two women, you'd think him no better than a gigolo. Garrett is obviously the better man - look at what he did when she was at the hospital.

The book was a light on the mystery and heavy on brewing information. The brewing information wasn't boring, I'm not saying that at all; but I didn't think the mystery was all that interesting. Yes, we had a dead body, and yes, we were finding out who wanted to commit the crime, but I didn't see that any of the suspects had a real reason to kill him. Just breaking up with someone isn't enough to want them dead, in my book. Any there was no real investigation going on by anyone.

Most of the book was on Sloan trying to help get Garrett's business off the ground, and worrying about Mac's family and how they were dealing with things. It was okay, but not engrossing in any way. They aren't that interesting of a family. The parents are lovable, I get it; but they handled the brewery long before Sloan arrived and she should allow them the benefit of the doubt. The book wasn't supposed to be about Mac's family, but that's what I felt it was about.

Anyway, it was fine for a first in the series book, but not anywhere near the I-can't-wait-to-read-the-next-in-the-series feeling I like to get from a book. However, I will read the second and see if it improves at all...or if we have, as I said, a love triangle - which will end the series for me. ( )