Brewing Books

I have amassed a small collection of brewing related books. Although a huge amount of information and recipes are available on the interwebs from various blogs, forums, etc... having this information organized into books by recognized experts is invaluable.

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, Charlie Papazian
Like many homebrewers this is what got me started. I had been wanting to try homebrewing for a while, but after seeing this book on the shelf and reading it over I decided to finally try it out. I relied on this book during my first few brews and still sometimes refer to it. That said I have not tried any of the recipes, and the level of detail in this book is relatively basic.

How to Brew, John Palmer
I have read only the free on-line version, not the expanded print version. Again, I use this as a reference book but have not brewed any of the recipes. The book has more technical and up-to-date material than the Papazian book, and covers additional topics like cooler-MLTs, metallurgy, batch sparging, and others not found in the Papazian book.

Brewing Classic Styles, Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer
Mostly a collection of recipes with a small how-to about brewing process. Generally assumes that the reader knows how to brew, so this is not a beginner's book. The recipes all come with good information about the style, the best process to use to achieve a good example of that style, and general tips for each type of recipe presented.

I have brewed the Nut Brown, the Saison, the American IPA, the Stout, the English Barleywine, the Hefeweissen, and soon, the Flanders Red from this book. The recipes seem to be pretty good, though since I may not have brewed them quite properly it can be hard to tell. (My Nut Brown, Saison and Stout turned out pretty well, the American IPA not quite.) The recipes are generally conservative rather than boundary pushing or experimental. This is because they are designed to win competitions, in which the judges often assign points more on the basis of fidelity to existing style rather than on the basis of innovation. You will not find any whiskey barrel-aged vanilla bean stouts in here.

Smoked Beers, Ray Daniels and Geoff Larson
I like Rauchbiers and smoked porters for their rustic, campfire taste. This book covers their history and the techniques used to smoke malt and brew smoked beers. I have only so far brewed the Stoffla (as an ale though), an obscure Franconian style with a sour-smokey taste. (I used acid-malt as called for in the recipe.) It turned out well, but not having a reference beer or style guideline I cannot say if it tasted as the recipe is supposed to taste. I plan to brew the smoked mild at some point, and if / when I have the capacity to lager, the Bamberger-style Rauchbier. Probably a book only for those enthusiastic about smokey beer. 

The Complete Homebrew Beer Book, George Hummel
This was given as a gift to me. I have never brewed a recipe from this book but they generally look pretty good, although they are all extract only, or sometimes partial mash. The process information is very basic, however, as the book is designed for beginners. It recommends 70F - 72F fermentation temp for all ales, as well as to secondary all of its beer. In my view, these are both bad ideas. Also it provides little in the way of description of each beer. So, good source recipes, but follow a better process.

Brewing Better Beer, Gordon Strong
Billed as a manual for advanced brewers, this book reads more like a "philosophical" treatise rather than a how-to guide. It generally does not have detailed instructions for improving your technique, but rather general pointers, ideas and themes. The section on steeping dark grains is, however, pretty specific as to the technique for reducing the acrid or harsh taste of highly roasted grains. The part on using first wort hops and "hop bursting" is also pretty useful. Finally I liked that part about different mash schedules and sparging techniques. By tuning the mash type and sparge technique to the style you are going for you can get really good results. Overall a pretty good book but in my view it does need to be more specific in its recommendations and discussions of various techniques. Unlike some reviewers, I did not find the tone of the book to be overly arrogant or self-centered although I can see how some might view it that way. It really is however, a treatise on Strong's method of brewing.

Tasting Beer, Randy Mosher
Aimed at a general audience of people interested in beer, this book does not focus on homebrewing. But it does contain a good history of beer, a description of various styles, tips on developing your palette for beer and detecting off-flavors, and pairing beer with foods. Highly recommended, but as Mosher says, the best way to really become a connoisseur is to taste a lot of beers, take notes, and become a beer judge.

On my list to read is Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels. After a quick browse, it appears to offer quite a bit of in-depth technical process advice as well as style advice. I will report back later.