Good Brewing Book

[codex]

Can anyone recommend a decent reference book for brewing at home? I have the John Palmer book – How to Brew, which although an excellent resource, seems a little bit dated now. So I am looking for something more relevant to today’s brewing techniques, preferably European with measurements in liters and kgs.

[thedragon]

I have read How to Brew and also Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles.

But mostly it is forums like this one and aussiehomebrewer that I get my information from.

[Cervantes]

I also have John Palmers "How to Brew"; Jamil's "Brewing Classic Styles" and also "Brew Your Own British Real Ale" by Graham Wheeler, all great references, but as mentioned by The Dragon, I find the internet and forums such as this a great resource for up to date information.

Cheers
Andy

[Lylo]

Jamil's Brewing Classic Style is the basis for all of my brews.

[niels]

I think "How to brew" is a very good starting point. It reads very easy and builds up nicely. Going from extract brewing to partially grain to full grain brews.

If you read the book in a whole before starting to brew and reading other books, you'll have a good portion of background information in your head. This will help you understanding other books and info better and make you connect the dots easily.

I wish I had the book before I started brewing as it would have made my journey a little easier.

The main downside to most of the brewing books I have is the fact that they mainly use the imperial system instead of the superior metric system.

Also... You can read the book free at howtobrew.com, but the book has a much nicer layout and reads a bit easier on the toilet.

Niels

PS: I just started reading Brewing Classic Styles today, so I will be able to give some more feedback about it in a week or so.

[Dicko]

Brewing Classic Styles is a great book and it gives the brewer a good starting point for most styles.
I agree with most that it is annoying in that the measurements are in US format.

Another great book that was the second book that I bought when I started all grain was "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels.
It gives a great insight as to what ingredients are required for the many styles of beer. Unfortunately it is in US format as well but a great book just the same.
My only complaint with this book is that it is poorly bound in manufacture.

Cheers

[dinnerstick]

add one to the annoyed-by-ounces-pounds-gallons list. what the hell is a quart. why not just go whole hog and give the recipe in latin. that said, brewing classic styles is such a good reference, and the metric units are snuck in there so it is legible for most of the world! if you are going to devise your own recipe, read the similar base recipes from this book (and of course designing great beers) to form a jumping-off point. also from the same publishers the yeast book is super informative if you want to be a real fermentation geek, but it's by no means a general reference.

[codex]

Thanks to all for the advice:

I agree, there is an infinite amount of information on forums, I have nearly finished the 246 pages of the Homebrewtalk thread on the Braumeister which, along with this forum, is an excellent source of information.

However, I would like a reference book that covers every aspect of brewing, that I can reach for anytime and find things easily, especially with me being a novice. I will certainly buy Brewing Classic Styles. I checked it out on Amazon, where you can preview the book, and it looks to be exactly what I need. I will also check out Designing Great Beers

Cheers

[niels]

However, I would like a reference book that covers every aspect of brewing, that I can reach for anytime and find things easily, especially with me being a novice. I will certainly buy Brewing Classic Styles. I checked it out on Amazon, where you can preview the book, and it looks to be exactly what I need. I will also check out Designing Great Beers.

Then I really suggest to buy How to Brew first. I'm reading Brewing Classic Styles at the moment and although it has a few chapters on brewing in general it doesn't nearly cover as much ground as How to Brew does. In the introduction of BCS they also suggest reading HTB: "Get yourself a copy of John Palmer's How to Brew and read it cover to cover."

I wouldn't recommend Designing Great Beers as a beginner book. It is a good book to have in you library but not as starters.

My recommendation: start with How to Brew and add Brewing Classic Styles as a second book to your library. You can buy both and start skimming through BCS while getting familiar with brewing techniques through HTB. BCS will be a good reference for proven recipes in every BJCP style so you can just start brewing whatever style you like.

Niels

[dinnerstick]

I wouldn't recommend Designing Great Beers as a beginner book. It is a good book to have in you library but not as starters.

that's a good point. it's very nerdy on grain bill compositions and the like and not meant as an all around brewing techniques book. it lives up to the title; it's on beer design, it's not a how to brew book like 'how to brew' is.

[codex]

Thanks for the advice.

Going to order How to Brew (I have a PDF, but nice to have the book) and Brewing Classic Styles.

[cpa4ny]

Here are some of my personal favorites:

- "Brew like a pro" by Dave Miller.
- "Brewing better beers" by Gordon Strong.