Death on Tap

When Sloan Krause walks in on her husband Mac and a saucy barmaid in the midst of a tryst, she knows she should have seen it coming. In Death on Tap by Ellie Alexander, Sloan has been happily cooking and helping her in-laws in their brewery in Leavenworth, Washington. Mac's infidelity complicates her relationship with her in-laws.

Weeks later Sloan decides she needs to move on from the family business and she applies to a new nano brewery called Nitro. Owner Garrett Strong is a newcomer to Leavenworth and he is looking for someone to manager the brewery. Sloan believes she can help with the food prep as well.

Throwing herself into the new brewery and even dabbling in blending her own beer, Sloan feels she might be able to get her life back on track.

On the morning of the soft opening Sloan hears angry words between Garrett and her husband Mac - with what sounds like a threat from Mac. Later on that evening at Nitro, Mac bursts in trailed by the barmaid, who it turns out is the ex-girlfriend of another brewer, Eddie Deluga. More words pass among the brewers and Sloan tries to soothe everyone before their tempers ruin the opening.

The next morning Sloan finds Eddie floating in one of the beer tanks and she spots Mac's lighter on the ground nearby. In Eddie's hand is a copy of Garrett's new brew, Pucker-up IPA. Suddenly Sloan wonders how much she actually knows about her new boss and why he is in Leavenworth. Although she knows Mac is a cheater, she believes he is not a murderer and she plunges into the investigation.

As she talks to other people in town, Sloan realizes there are secrets brewing around the town that involve many of her friends. Piecing together the solution takes her deeper into the lives of the townspeople.

I enjoyed Death on Tap and the background of breweries. Not being a beer drinker myself, I didn't know much about craft brewing, but I was interested in learning about the way microbrews are developed - almost like baking a cake - a little of this, a dash of that and time to ferment.