The Land of Ale and Gloom: Discovering the Pacific Northwest concerns the summer of 2016, which the author spent traveling the region in the looming shadow of a Trump presidency, having come to the somewhat blue realization that there perhaps remained just one thing in this world with the power to bring him true happiness: craft beer. And while there's no better place for a beer enthusiast than Oregon and Washington State, a philosophical guide seemed necessary-hence, Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy , an encyclopedic Renaissance-era opus which advises the melancholic patient to treat his affliction with a few cold brews. Along with these elements, The Land of Ale and Gloom by Phillip Hurst incorporates the fascinating history and vibrant literature of the Northwest into a comic yet insightful exploration of the region. Phillip Hurst is the author of a novel, Regent's of Paris, as well as a book of nonfiction, Whiskey Boys: And Other Meditations from the Abyss at the End of Youth, winner of the 2021 Monadnock Essay Collection Prize. His writing has appeared in literary journals such as The Missouri Review, The Gettysburg Review, River Teeth, Cimarron Review, and Post Road Magazine. He currently lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest.