Book Reviews

[GuingesRock]

New brewers are often advised to read John Palmer's “How to Brew” free e-book Why not! It’s free, it won't take long to read and it’s a good introduction. He’s a famous brewing author, but his e-book version is a bit out of date now, so as you go on in brewing you can have fun identifying all the brewing myths in there that have since been thrown out.

When I started reading, I much preferred "Home Brewing With Beersmith - How to brew and design great beer at home” by Bradley Smith, PhD (the BeerSmith guy). It isn’t about using BeerSmith! It maybe briefly mentions BeerSmith a couple of times. It is about brewing and designing beer at home, it is a comprehensive and intelligently written guide to brewing. It gives you the information you need to think for yourself and to brew and design beers. I couldn't put it down!

I have a shelf of brewing books, a lot of them are tedious, but my favorite is still "IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale” by Mitch Steele.

I also have a subscription to BYO magazine. Which I like.


Any other good books?

[LiverDance]

The brewing elements series is good:

http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-F ... 0937381969" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and
http://www.amazon.com/For-The-Love-Hops ... gy_b_img_y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and
http://www.amazon.com/Water-A-Comprehen ... gy_b_img_z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

whenever it gets released.

[LiverDance]

I also have these which are good as well

http://www.amazon.ca/Brewing-Better-Bee ... 0937381985" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.radicalbrewing.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.amazon.ca/Wild-Brews-Culture ... 0937381861" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm looking to get this one next

http://www.amazon.ca/Farmhouse-Ales-Cra ... pd_sim_b_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You may also be interested in this. although i've never read it.

http://www.amazon.ca/IPA-Brewing-Techni ... pd_sim_b_5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[LiverDance]

Oh and this one is great as well

http://www.amazon.ca/Designing-Great-Be ... _pr_sims_t" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GuingesRock]

I have a lot of those Brian, others I must look into, but this one you list, but say you haven’t read yet, is a must for you. I listed it as my favorite (above) and its right up your alley! It's a real book and not full of waffle and padding.

[LiverDance]

I have a lot of those Brian, others I must look into, but this one you list, but say you haven’t read yet, is a must for you. I listed it as my favorite (above) and its right up your alley! It's a real book and not full of waffle and padding.

Good to know, thanks. It will go on the xmas list

[bluenose]

Don't forget Brewing Classic Styles

[GuingesRock]

I Just ordered the one in the picture. I already had Brew Your Own British Real Ales but it mostly has recipes and basic stuff on general brewing, with very little about the real ale process.

Any other leads on this subject?

[Jayme]

CAMRA has a book out there on Cask conditioning written by the guy that runs UKbrewing.com I believe. I don't know the name off the top of my head but shouldn't be too hard for your to figure out. I've read it and found it informative.

[GuingesRock]

CAMRA has a book out there on Cask conditioning written by the guy that runs UKbrewing.com I believe. I don't know the name off the top of my head but shouldn't be too hard for your to figure out. I've read it and found it informative.

I wish I could find it, I Google searched the info you gave, went to ukbrewing.com and CAMRA web sites, and no luck. Do you have any other clues to search for it?

Thanks

[adams81]

I wish I could find it, I Google searched the info you gave...

Tried to help out with a little google-fu but this is as good as it got. Looks like a nice light read though!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0956738 ... 674&sr=8-1

[sleepyjamie]

Really enjoyed

Brewing like a monk

Brewing techniques recipes and the evolution of ipa

[Jayme]

CAMRA has a book out there on Cask conditioning written by the guy that runs UKbrewing.com I believe. I don't know the name off the top of my head but shouldn't be too hard for your to figure out. I've read it and found it informative.

Jeeze I sent you on a wild goose chase. I just pulled it off the shelf and you mentioned the exact book above - Cellarmanship by Patrick O'Neil. The one you posted has a completely different cover so I didn't recognize it (that's the 5th ed, I have the 2nd). Had I only remembered the real name... Anyway - it's a very quick read, but covers the bases! There was a good interview with the author on the Brewing Network Sunday Session at one point. Their search engine seems to be useless so I can't seem to find it quickly.

[GuingesRock]

Yes, Cellarmanship by Patrick O'Neil is a fantastic book, and as you say, doesn't take long to read.

[GuingesRock]

The water book comes out on Oct 7th.

[GuingesRock]

Regarding the water book (above). I read it. It gave me a bit of a headache.

There is so much that is not understood about brewing water and its effect on the beer. It’s that “the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know” thing, which was the flavour of the entire book. I liked the style of writing more than I did “how to brew” and I can’t imagine any myths have been perpetuated in this book.

I ploughed through it, but once I had read chapter 7, I realized that’s the only chapter you need to read. Any important background from the rest of the book is repeated in that chapter so it does stand alone.

If you have the book and can’t get stuck into it. I would say read chapter 7. If you don’t have the book, I would say buy it and read chapter 7.

The water business at second glance is not a science. No one really understands what the hell is going on in the mash, during the ferment etc. There is an understanding, but it is a very basic understanding.

Water chemistry is another set of oils to use on the canvas. Or maybe another analogy is throw another pinch of salt in your cooking.

That’s my take on it all.

Excellent book IMHO.

[Tony L]

I'm to the point of shit, not another book....

But in truth most of the beer is made up of water and unless your water is right, you are not going to make the beer you intended to make.
Having said that, most of us by now have a rudimentary grasp on the type of beer we make with the water at hand. If we want to tweek our brews by adjusting the water, then we really need a true analysis of the water at hand, which given the ever changing water profiles of most town water and even well water at different times of the year, would be an ongoing task. If one were ever serious about brewing, then I suppose the book would be an asset. I would like to see what the Pro brewers on here have to say about the book and if it is worth picking up as a serious piece of brewing material.

I have a number of good books on brewing, most of which I have never studied, but rather read for entertainment, retaining some of the material that was important. As a homebrewer who has a given number of recipes that work well with my water without any major adjustments, I doubt that I would get very far into such a science book like that one without getting that " deer in the headlights look " But perhaps that is just me

Mark, have you found anything yourself in the book that stands out in your mind that you couldn't find on the internet

[GuingesRock]

I don’t know Tony. The authors have collated a lot of stuff so that’s maybe useful. Apart from issues you mentioned with the water, the malt, which has a big impact on the chemistry, varies significantly, not only from maltster to maltster but from batch to batch. The salts you add are often only 80% pure with the other 20% being a mixture of other salts.

My water has gone off to be tested any way. I have the town figures but don't trust them.

There might be one niggling little thing that keeps bugging a brewer about their beer and they haven't got to the bottom of it. The answer might be found in chapter 7 ...Not enough of this does this, too much of that does that etc.

[GuingesRock]

Beersmith podcast/video by the authors, from Dec 6th 2013. It's a good overview of water chemistry: http://beersmith.com/blog/2013/12/06/be ... odcast-70/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting about extract brewing at 29.25 minutes. They recommend extract brewers brew with distilled water.

[redoubt]

Oh no, TonyL, another book!!!



Next volume of the Brewing Elements series coming out in September! Malt:

http://www.amazon.com/Malt-Practical-Gu ... words=malt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

-Kirsten

[RubberToe]

Has anyone read books in the classic beer styles series? http://www.beerbooks.com/cgi/ps4.cgi?ac ... assic.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't know there were so many. I'm particularly interested in the German and other European styles. There's books on Altbier, Helles, Bock... and now I have a very full Chapters shopping cart and can't seem to justify spending another $70 on books right now. So tempting. I might just get one or two for now since they have a no minimum on free shipping at the moment.

[NASH]

Has anyone read books in the classic beer styles series? http://www.beerbooks.com/cgi/ps4.cgi?ac ... assic.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I didn't know there were so many. I'm particularly interested in the German and other European styles. There's books on Altbier, Helles, Bock... and now I have a very full Chapters shopping cart and can't seem to justify spending another $70 on books right now. So tempting. I might just get one or two for now since they have a no minimum on free shipping at the moment.

I have them all and revisit them often. They're solid as balls.




Transmitted from the Hop-phone.

[RubberToe]

Wicked, thanks!

[redoubt]

With the Greg Nash seal of approval, you may not need anyone else to chime in but for what it's worth...

I have a bunch of them now and the rest are on my beer book wishlist. They've quickly become some of my favourite beer books. They're freakin' awesome! I'm trying to brew my way through the styles so I get a feel for them and these books have been super-helpful in designing recipes and learning my way around beer styles. The history parts are interesting and cool -- especially when you read a bunch of 'em and see the stories of the different beers and regions all tie in together (yes, I am a geek!) -- and the more technical brewing stuff in them is very helpful. As with any of these brewing books, what you get out of them probably depends on you. They're easy, fun reads packed with info that I expect would be useful for everyone from beginner to advanced brewers. I've read all the ones on my shelf already, I return to them often, and I expect I always will.


Kirsten

[RubberToe]