Home brewing books for beginners

Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
J

jb.

New Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2024
Messages
5
Reaction score
5
Location
Rotherham
Hi,
I’ve done a bit of reading online on homebrewing but still feel a bit out of depth and don’t really know where to start.

Has anyone got any recommendations for book(s) to get me started? Assume I know nothing about brewing other than grains and yeast go in and some magic happens giving beer at the other end.

I was originally thinking of making some wine from allotment produce but I understand this is a more difficult place to start, so would be keen to brew a straightforward standard beer

Thanks in advance
 
RichardM said:
Isn't that a bit advanced for a beginner?
I know it's a good book and covers a lot, but could overwhelm a new brewer
Click to expand...
I don't think so, whilst it does get complicated you can skip over the maths as it's not so important if you use brewing software. It was the first book I read, if anything I think many of the others are too simple and whilst may enable you to brew beer, don't really give an understanding of why you are doing something.
My only stumbling block was his water chapter or in particular residual alkalinity whhich I had a hard time forgetting.
 
Galena said:
I don't think so, whilst it does get complicated you can skip over the maths as it's not so important if you use brewing software. It was the first book I read, if anything I think many of the others are too simple and whilst may enable you to brew beer, don't really give an understanding of why you are doing something.
My only stumbling block was his water chapter or in particular residual alkalinity whhich I had a hard time forgetting.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with that.
I was thinking the Greg Hughes book would be a quick way to get into brewing and producing a good beer. I would then recommend moving on to John Palmer to, as you say, a better understanding of why you are doing what you are doing. I would certainly recommend John Palmer's book once someone has done a few brews, especially if people want to design their own recipes.
 
jb. said:
Thanks all I’ve ordered how to brew and home brew beer, got a good price second hand
Click to expand...
Both good choices, How to Brew will be a reference for many years and Home Brew Beer though basic on the technical side has some good recipes and basic 'How to@
 
Making wine from allotment produce is really easy. I started making wine from my allotment harvests last year and am having lot of fun, with some great wines made. I picked up a book by Victoria Atkins years ago and it sat on the bookshelf. Finally last June I got around to making rhubarb wine. It was delicious. I bought a copy of the Rivercottage Booze book which has also proved very useful. I quite like Brewbitz YouTube channel, as well as English Country Life YouTube channel for recipes and methods. So far I’ve made wine from rhubarb, blackberry, grapes, crown prince squash, pea pods, strawberries & gooseberries. The rhubarb was so good I’ve got another lot just starting in my kitchen
 
John Palmers' is a brilliant book, as are the others but it's a big start.

What do you want to make first. Want do you drink? Thinking you should make that first. Make yourself grin.
Wine and beer are very different.

Beer has the benefit of being quicker to learn, because the ingredients are always available, so can brew more often.
 
Last edited:
jb. said:
Hi,
I’ve done a bit of reading online on homebrewing but still feel a bit out of depth and don’t really know where to start.

Has anyone got any recommendations for book(s) to get me started? Assume I know nothing about brewing other than grains and yeast go in and some magic happens giving beer at the other end.

I was originally thinking of making some wine from allotment produce but I understand this is a more difficult place to start, so would be keen to brew a straightforward standard beer

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Look up Brulosophy annd other brewing sites online. Watch loads of YouTube videos on home brewing.
John Palmer does lots of guest appearances on various sites
Tons of information out there if you look for it.
Happy learning
 
Antbeer said:
Look up Brulosophy annd other brewing sites online. Watch loads of YouTube videos on home brewing.
John Palmer does lots of guest appearances on various sites
Tons of information out there if you look for it.
Happy learning
Click to expand...
I'd stick to one or two books to begin with.
If you watch loads of YouTube videos you will get lots of conflicting information and as a beginner won't know the good advice from the bad. This will lead to confusion.
 
jb. said:
Hi,
I’ve done a bit of reading online on homebrewing but still feel a bit out of depth and don’t really know where to start.

Has anyone got any recommendations for book(s) to get me started? Assume I know nothing about brewing other than grains and yeast go in and some magic happens giving beer at the other end.

I was originally thinking of making some wine from allotment produce but I understand this is a more difficult place to start, so would be keen to brew a straightforward standard beer

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
As @RichardM said, above, Hughes' book is a good start and a second-hand copy of an earlier edition can be had on Amazon for pennies. It;s just as good, the principles remain the same. Any book by Graham Wheeler except the glossy 3rd edition of British Real Ale, which is a cut-down version by CAMRA.
I don't agree that you should start with Palmer, Brulosophy or any of the more in-depth stuff, as what you need first is a general overview. Again, @RichardM is giving good advice, above.

As for wine making. It's a lot easier than making beer as there are fewer processes involved. Get a second-hand copy of First Steps in Wine-Making by Berry, again for pennies. It's old fashioned, now and there may be more recent beginners' books, but I stopped making wine when I started to fall over after three pints.
 
RichardM said:
I'd stick to one or two books to begin with.
If you watch loads of YouTube videos you will get lots of conflicting information and as a beginner won't know the good advice from the bad. This will lead to confusion.
Click to expand...
Agree with that in general. Basic brewing radio (podcast) and video (YouTube) do a good series though. They've been going for ~20 years. The podcasts/videos at the beginning are very good introductions to brewing if you learn by listening/watching.

Back into books though, David line (the big book of brewing) did some good ones in addition to the ones listed above
 
I'm genuinely considering writing a "Fermzilla for Dummies".
Or doing a YouTube vid. Several like Malt Miller and Kegland have done videos, but they make so many assumptions.
Malt Miller say "See our previous videos". Yet, I've looked through them all and can't find a single one that explains how do to pressure fermenting, what psi, how to dry hop (although Kegland will sell you a hop bong), how to transfer without pushing more CO2 through.

I'm finding it all out from here and from snippets of folk in the Fermzilla FB group.

Kegland's instructions are absolutely awful. All they talk about is how to ferment using the bubbler. No instructions came with the add-on Pressure kit.
 
RichardM said:
I'd stick to one or two books to begin with.
If you watch loads of YouTube videos you will get lots of conflicting information and as a beginner won't know the good advice from the bad. This will lead to confusion.
Click to expand...
There's wisdom here, though once you've made a few brews yourself, you get a feel for what makes sense & what doesn't
 

Similar threads

J
Hi, new member and allotment question
Replies
16
Views
463
Chippy_Tea
Chippy_Tea
peebee
The "Defuddler" rides again (Water)
Replies
1
Views
173
peebee
peebee
M
My Number 1 Smash
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
Agentgonzo
Agentgonzo
anotherbadbrew
Beginner brewer question about bottles for a basic dandelion beer
Replies
0
Views
457
anotherbadbrew
anotherbadbrew
Chippy_Tea
Hull pre-school withdraws book showing man in 'leather fetish gear'
Replies
3
Views
556
LeeH
LeeH

Latest posts

Back
Top