Recommended Reading For Newbies
- bluenose
- Verified User
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:49 pm
- Location: New Glasgow
Recommended Reading For Newbies
just wondering what everyone's most recommended brewing books were
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
- jeffsmith
- Verified User
- Posts: 4922
- Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:18 pm
- Name: Jeff Smith
- Location: Amherst, NS
- Contact:
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
I'm a big fan of Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. John Palmer's How to Brew is also great, and it's available (mostly) for free online.
-
- Verified User
- Posts: 251
- Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:43 pm
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
That's a good read by Papazian.
I learned from How to Brew by Palmer - http://www.howtobrew.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and then after those two I found this one interesting (a bit more technical - something to read after you have a bit of a base).
Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles - by Ray Daniels
Edit: Either I didn't see the bit about How to Brew or it got edited. In any case it's seconded now.
I learned from How to Brew by Palmer - http://www.howtobrew.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and then after those two I found this one interesting (a bit more technical - something to read after you have a bit of a base).
Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles - by Ray Daniels
Edit: Either I didn't see the bit about How to Brew or it got edited. In any case it's seconded now.
- jeffsmith
- Verified User
- Posts: 4922
- Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:18 pm
- Name: Jeff Smith
- Location: Amherst, NS
- Contact:
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
Edited, thought of it as soon as I clicked submit.vgoreham wrote:Either I didn't see the bit about How to Brew or it got edited.

- amartin
- Award Winner 8
- Posts: 1763
- Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 12:49 pm
- Location: Hammonds Plains
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
The internet's full of stuff, like John Palmer's How to Brew, as well as articles from BYO, All About Beer, and Brewing Techniques. I learned a lot at the beginning from Charlie Papazian's book and Dave Miller's Complete Handbook of Homebrewing. I'd have to recommend Charlie Papazian's book. Dave Miller's book was great if you want the technical details of enzyme activity in the mash tun (and maybe you do), but it's somewhat dated. I'm sure that it was very practical in 1988, but things have changed since then as far as ingredient and equipment availability goes.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles has been great for me.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. 

- CorneliusAlphonse
- Award Winner 1
- Posts: 2988
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2010 11:28 pm
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
if anyone has a copy of this book, I'd love to borrow it for a week sometime.vgoreham wrote: Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles - by Ray Daniels
planning: beer for my cousin's wedding
Fermenting: black ipa
Conditioning:
Kegged: barrel barleywine from 2014 - i think i still have this somewhere
Fermenting: black ipa
Conditioning:
Kegged: barrel barleywine from 2014 - i think i still have this somewhere
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
I've got a copy you can borrow.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. 

-
- Verified User
- Posts: 251
- Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:43 pm
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
I've got a copy - if you want it you can swing by my office tomorrow (D240). PM me to let me know when you can come by.CorneliusAlphonse wrote: if anyone has a copy of this book, I'd love to borrow it for a week sometime.
Last edited by vgoreham on Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- bluenose
- Verified User
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:49 pm
- Location: New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
Would you happen to have a copy of Brewing Classic Styles you could lend to a fellow Pictou Countian?mr x wrote:I've got a copy you can borrow.
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
- KMcK
- Award Winner 1
- Posts: 2349
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2010 9:54 pm
- Name: Kyle
- Location: Halifax, Nova Soctia
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
Homebrewing for Dummies is an awesome early read, even if you're not a dummy. It has plenty of detail, but is easy to read with lots of humour and is well organized with lots of headers and step by step instructions. Start with this one if you want to learn how to brew, then go to other sources if you want to understand why you're doing the things you're doing.
McKeggerator:
- no beer
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
I can lend you that one in a couple months, after I'm done using it. I've got a few lager recipes that I want to get done while the weather is cool.bluenose wrote:Would you happen to have a copy of Brewing Classic Styles you could lend to a fellow Pictou Countian?mr x wrote:I've got a copy you can borrow.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. 

- KMcK
- Award Winner 1
- Posts: 2349
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2010 9:54 pm
- Name: Kyle
- Location: Halifax, Nova Soctia
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
The way the climate is going we'll be doing more California commons than lagers soon. Hmm... another form of climate change adaptation!mr x wrote:I've got a few lager recipes that I want to get done while the weather is cool.
McKeggerator:
- no beer
- LiverDance
- Award Winner 6
- Posts: 4013
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:50 pm
- Name: Brian
- Location: Sprybeeria
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
Maybe it's all the C02 from our brewing causing this climate changeKMcK wrote:The way the climate is going we'll be doing more California commons than lagers soon. Hmm... another form of climate change adaptation!mr x wrote:I've got a few lager recipes that I want to get done while the weather is cool.

"Twenty years ago — a time, by the way, that hops such as Simcoe and Citra were already being developed, but weren’t about to find immediate popularity — there wasn’t a brewer on earth who would have gone to the annual Hop Growers of American convention and said, “I’m going to have a beer that we make 4,000 barrels of, one time a year. It flies off the shelf at damn near $20 a six-pack, and you know what it smells like? It smells like your cat ate your weed and then pissed in the Christmas tree.” - Bell’s Brewery Director of Operations John Mallet on the scent of their popular Hopslam.
- KMcK
- Award Winner 1
- Posts: 2349
- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2010 9:54 pm
- Name: Kyle
- Location: Halifax, Nova Soctia
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
Yes guys, keep brewing and drinking. We'll show Harper he's an idiot when it comes to climate change.LiverDance wrote:Maybe it's all the C02 from our brewing causing this climate change
McKeggerator:
- no beer
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
No it's the fools who forget the gasket on their CO2 tank, they'll kill us all.











At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. 

- bluenose
- Verified User
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:49 pm
- Location: New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
guiltymr x wrote:No it's the fools who forget the gasket on their CO2 tank, they'll kill us all.![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()

This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
-
- Verified User
- Posts: 1414
- Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:38 am
- Name: Tim Gallant
- Location: Kingston, ON
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
mr x wrote:No it's the fools who forget the gasket on their CO2 tank, they'll kill us all.![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()


-
- Verified User
- Posts: 412
- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 8:48 am
- Location: Charlottetown PEI
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
A lot of the recipes from Jamil's BCS are here: http://beerdujour.com/JamilsRecipes.htm, but I would recommend buying the book as John Palmer's co-authorship adds a lot. I also learned a lot from his podcast on thebrewingnetwork.com .
- Jimmy
- Site Admin Award Winner
- Posts: 6984
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:35 pm
- Location: Halifax, NS
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
I've been listening to these during work over the past week or two, very good information!wortly wrote:A lot of the recipes from Jamil's BCS are here: http://beerdujour.com/JamilsRecipes.htm, but I would recommend buying the book as John Palmer's co-authorship adds a lot. I also learned a lot from his podcast on thebrewingnetwork.com .
- bluenose
- Verified User
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:49 pm
- Location: New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
So I finally got Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles and they're all extract recipes... Is that what everyone else has or did I just get the extract version? If not, then what do you all grain guys do with the extract recipes?
This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
- Jimmy
- Site Admin Award Winner
- Posts: 6984
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:35 pm
- Location: Halifax, NS
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
The all grain version is at the very end of each recipe in its own paragraph
- bluenose
- Verified User
- Posts: 1984
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:49 pm
- Location: New Glasgow
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
So it is
... Thanks Jimmy 


This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
- Jimmy
- Site Admin Award Winner
- Posts: 6984
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:35 pm
- Location: Halifax, NS
Re: Recommended Reading For Newbies
If the recipe calls for steeping grains, don't forget to add those.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 4 guests