Books for brewing please

[jceg316]

There have been some great books here. Brew Like a Monk is probably my favourite brewing book, but I wouldn't say it's for beginners.

In terms of what styles are easier, it depends where you are. If you're in London I would avoid IPAs for now and stick with stouts and porters (best bitter would work too). Water has a big effect on beers and water chemistry can be tricky to get right.

 

[Piperbrew]

There have been some great books here. Brew Like a Monk is probably my favourite brewing book, but I wouldn't say it's for beginners.

In terms of what styles are easier, it depends where you are. If you're in London I would avoid IPAs for now and stick with stouts and porters (best bitter would work too). Water has a big effect on beers and water chemistry can be tricky to get right.

Thanks for the reply, I am Dorset, so hard water.

 

[jceg316]

Thanks for the reply, I am Dorset, so hard water.

No worries. In that case it might be best to make best bitters, stouts, and darker beers to begin with. If you want to look into water chemistry there is a thread on here which has some great information on how to treat water.

 

[AdeDunn]

Although I own the books by John Palmer and Graham Wheeler, I'm not going to recommend either of them. They're good, but the ones that I have gotten the most form are:-

Home Brew Beer - Greg Hughes (good recipes, nice easy to understand explanations)

Clone Brews - Tess & Mark Szamatulski (Get yer clone recipes ere!)

 

[MagnusTS]

This books for brewing thread is not good for my bank account.

I've just ordered John Palmer's How to Brew
And have 4 more sitting in my Amazon basket:
James Morton - Brew
Randy Mosher - Radical Brewing
Randy Mosher - Mastering Home Brew
Ray Daniels - Designing Great Beers

And I'm thinking of adding 'Clone Brews' by the Szamatulski's.

....Maybe if I just get one a month the wife won't notice the bookcase filling up with books on brewing. :whistle:


Maybe if I get one a month the

 

[AdeDunn]

Buy a Kindle..... Lol

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[Zephyr259]

....Maybe if I just get one a month the wife won't notice the bookcase filling up with books on brewing. :whistle:

This is my tactic, but i also have my own bookcase, did a tidy up recently and discovered ive filled it... It's just a small one in my headboard though.

 

[Ajhutch]

View attachment IMG_3464.JPG

A little early Christmas present from me to me.


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[MagnusTS]

View attachment 11488

A little early Christmas present from me to me.

Looks good. Another one to add to my growing book wish list.
Does it have a good porter recipe?
I've been asked if I could brew one for a friend, but I am not very familiar with porters.
Sorry this should probably be a different thread, shouldn't it?

 

[Ajhutch]

Literally picked it up this morning!


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[jceg316]

Looks good. Another one to add to my growing book wish list.
Does it have a good porter recipe?
I've been asked if I could brew one for a friend, but I am not very familiar with porters.
Sorry this should probably be a different thread, shouldn't it?

There was this thread recently http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=74926 which has some porter recipes.

 

[strange-steve]

View attachment 11488

A little early Christmas present from me to me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's my go to book when brewing a new style, hasn't let me down yet.

 

[Sadfield]

Having recently loaned out some homebrewing books to new club members, I've found the only one I'm missing is Randy Mosher Mastering Homebrew.

Radical Brewing is good, as is the Gordon Strong book, and that comes from someone who doesn't particularly go for 'Recipe' books.

Brew Like A Monk, Brewing With Wheat and Farmhouse Ales are very inspirational if you want to focus on those styles. I must get the Wild Brews to complete the set.

"Inspiration is the impact of a fact on a well-prepared mind" Louis Pasteur

 

[Bigcol49]

I've been asked if I could brew one for a friend, but I am not very familiar with porters.

Hi!
I got this for my Kindle.
I've found that the Kindle edition isn't easy to browse through like a "real" book, but it's full of information and recipes. Not all recipes have an all-grain version.

 

[MagnusTS]

Hi!
I got this for my Kindle.
I've found that the Kindle edition isn't easy to browse through like a "real" book, but it's full of information and recipes. Not all recipes have an all-grain version.

Arrgh. That's another book on my list.
Thanks. :)

 

[Bigcol49]

I'm thinking of adding 'Clone Brews' by the Szamatulski's.

Hi!
It's great for the wide range of world beers, but relatively few UK brews.
The recipes are based upon extract brewing with a grain steep with instructions for all-grain stuck on the end.
I found it slightly disappointing (but then I'm not easy to please :grin:)

 

[AdeDunn]

Hi!
It's great for the wide range of world beers, but relatively few UK brews.
The recipes are based upon extract brewing with a grain steep with instructions for all-grain stuck on the end.
I found it slightly disappointing (but then I'm not easy to please :grin:)

I checked the recipes in it with the peek inside function before I bought, and wanted most of the recipes in there. So wasn't at all disappointed. I could totally see somebody been a bit put out though who bought it blind only to find nothing in there they overly wanted to brew. I also wasn't that keen on how they do indeed peg the all grain versions on at the end, not least as instead of telling you the hops for the all grain, they just tell you to "reduce the HBUs by N for the all grain version".

My favourite book though is still Greg Hughes Home Brew Beer. Without that book I wouldn't be able to understand half of the posts on here. :lol: When I started the hobby I was met with what felt like a solid wall of sparging, flame out, lautering, krausen and vorlauf... That one book allowed me to understand these terms, understand the processes, and came with some yummy recipes into the bargain. :thumb:

I bought the Graham Wheeler book accidentally (I thought I'd ordered the Greg Hughes one), and until I read the Greg Hughes book I found it hard going. I'm also not a huge fan of most popular British beer styles sadly, and my wife pulls her face when I mention brewing a stout or porter....

John Palmer How to Brew, well it's a BIG book! Again though the focus is on extract brewing when it comes to the recipes, with a heavy vibe of "buy my stuff". I can imagine it been a good choice for the brewer who wants to dive into the hobby in a very serious way. It's also incredibly American.

So that's why my fave 2 are Home Brew Beer and Clone Brews. :thumb: Oh, and the DIY Dog PDF..... :lol: That one is free too.

 

[Braufather]

I currently have just two books. The greg Hughes one that is a great introduction has loads of recipes and well used. I also have the radical brewing book that I am completely underwhelmed with.

Can anyone recommend a good book on constructing American style IPAs? I thought radical brewing may help here but it’s two pages on it weren't that informative.

 

[pms67]

I currently have just two books. The greg Hughes one that is a great introduction has loads of recipes and well used. I also have the radical brewing book that I am completely underwhelmed with.

Can anyone recommend a good book on constructing American style IPAs? I thought radical brewing may help here but it’s two pages on it weren't that informative.

Maybe Brew by James Morton?

 

[MagnusTS]

Maybe Brew by James Morton?

Is that 'Undead Pale Ale' a zombie dust clone?