Brew by James Morton

[pms67]

This book looks great, I know he is known for baking bread but he is an avid brewer.
First recipe I looked at had 400g of hops though:lol:
£20 from Waterstones or £9 from Amazon

 

[Callumbo]

I bought this book and that book combined with this forum convinced me to give all grain a go. I found it really helpful as a beginner

 

[teadixon]

I got this book from the library when I was doing my first kit and bought it soon after and got into all grain after 3 kits following his advice and methods.

I think there are a few errors and omissions in it (eg. when I do I remove my hops after steeping? And, he's doing BIAB but only recommends making one bag - really you need 2, one for grains one for hops, unless you want to faff around cleaning your grain bag in the middle of your brew.) but it's great. Loads of really useful detail for the beginner.

I've made 3 of his recipes now - the Session American Wheat Ale is lovely and his 'Disproportionately Hopped' ale is just finishing up conditioning now, just bottled his Oatmeal Stout.

Overall, great book!

 

[teadixon]

This book looks great, I know he is known for baking bread but he is an avid brewer.
First recipe I looked at had 400g of hops though:lol:
�£20 from Waterstones or �£9 from Amazon

Oh yeah, he packs the hops in! He doesn't deny it though - says most recipes are short on hops by a factor of 2 of 3 I think.

 

[pms67]

His American Imperial IPA has 500g,yep,500g of hops in it.
That alone would wipe out my freezer worth of stock!
Plus swmbo wouldn't appreciate the smell,of that im sure.

 

[teadixon]

I'm looking at doing his Dry Paddy Porter.

His recipe states the OG as 1.062 - 1.066 with a final ABV of 6.4 - 6.8%.

I've worked it out on BeerSmith and it's coming out at 1.050, 4.9%. I did see a reviewer on Amazon saying this looked like an error in the book.

Anyone done this recipe?

 

[Callumbo]

Fraid not but i will say however that i don't think i've ever done one of his recipes or ever will.

Love the book and fills with enthusiasm but the amount of hops really pushes the price up of it all.

 

[user 17277]

Have this book... Suits me and my beer tastes very well.

Much better for a beginner than anything else I've seen

 

[pms67]

Its a good book but you better have a deep wallet! Every recipe has more hops than the next.
His triple burst Citra has 600g.........

600g..............what?
Going to end up cheaper drinking in my local Brewdog

 

[Fil]

Any book that encourages brewing enthusiasm cant be all bad, but 600g of citra in a 5gallon brew? is getting a bit silly, its not as if citra is a subdued or subtle hop its aroma is very in your face when used in moderation.

i think i woulnt enjoy reading it or value the opinion of someone suggesting such things. It rings of the sort of silly overuse of something to display opulence like the over sweetening of indian tea or adding gold flecks to russian vodka Its got more hops/sugar/gold in it so its got to be better regardless of actual taste..

 

[teadixon]

Hmmm, I see what you're saying but I kind of think don't knock it 'til you've tried it! I suppose this is also the first brewing book I got so it all seemed normal to me!

His Citra Triple Burst is also 12.5% ABV, not something you'd do often or guzzle down, but as a special one off brew, why not?

He does often pack in the hops, but there are plenty of more modest recipes in there too. I'm doing his Dry Paddy Porter this weekend - 80g of East Kent Goldings seems pretty reasonable (40g for me as I only do 10l batches).

 

[pms67]

Hmmm, I see what you're saying but I kind of think don't knock it 'til you've tried it! I suppose this is also the first brewing book I got so it all seemed normal to me!

His Citra Triple Burst is also 12.5% ABV, not something you'd do often or guzzle down, but as a special one off brew, why not?

He does often pack in the hops, but there are plenty of more modest recipes in there too. I'm doing his Dry Paddy Porter this weekend - 80g of East Kent Goldings seems pretty reasonable (40g for me as I only do 10l batches).

It may seem as if im having a go at him but obviously im picking out the more extreme recipes, his style of writing is brilliant imo and more than half the book goes into depth on each brewing method but simple enough for a beginner to follow, i said on another thread though surely there comes a point you just cannot taste any more hops 600 is too much for me,maybe 300 max?for a start thats not far off £30 worth of hops alone,be an expensive homebrew, anyway enough rambling, hope your brew goes well mate 👍

 

[foxbat]

I've got it and it's a good hardback book written in an irreverant style with loads of pictures. A good buy for someone getting started.

The content feels like it's written by an enthusiastic amateur who's condensed what he's read on the internet down into a readable package for beginners. Contrast that with the Graham Wheeler books that feel as if they're written by someone with many years of experience and have a more conservative style to match. I don't mean that to sound condescending because James' book is a good read.

 

[sven945]

I like it. It's heavy on the American IPAs, but it has a fairly standard recipe for many other styles (and the occasional unashamed clone, which he credits).

I'd say perhaps a downside is that he teaches "his" way of doing things (which happens to be very similar to how I do things), rather than a variety of methods for you to pick your own way forward. I'm glad that I didn't use this book to get me going from scratch, as I think I'd probably have less of an idea about how things are done on a larger scale, and for potential upgrades to kit. But I'd say it's a very good guide for "modern" craft homebrewing.

 

[Martybhoy]

This was the first brew book I bought after getting fed up using the internet. Since then, my brews have seriously improved. He moved me from dry yeast to liquid yeast starters, fermentation temperature control, shorter fermentation and also provides a consistent reference guide.

Not all of his recipes have massive amounts of hops, many don't. But of those that do, I have made two and they are absolutely incredible (Extra IPA and Totally Tropical IPA).

To me, a few extra pounds is a price worth paying for amazing home brew. I don't home brew for cheap booze. I home brew so I can drink (hopefully) top quality beer.

I don't BIAB as James suggests in his book, but I use his recipes and other techniques and have totally improved my homebrew as a result.

Also, he has won a few prizes in homebrew competitions, and has recently opened his own brewery - Out of Town Brewing. He knows what he is doing.

So for anyone who still tries to make sense of homebrew from the internet, this is an excellent guide.

 

[pms67]

This was the first brew book I bought after getting fed up using the internet. Since then, my brews have seriously improved. He moved me from dry yeast to liquid yeast starters, fermentation temperature control, shorter fermentation and also provides a consistent reference guide.

Not all of his recipes have massive amounts of hops, many don't. But of those that do, I have made two and they are absolutely incredible (Extra IPA and Totally Tropical IPA).

To me, a few extra pounds is a price worth paying for amazing home brew. I don't home brew for cheap booze. I home brew so I can drink (hopefully) top quality beer.

I don't BIAB as James suggests in his book, but I use his recipes and other techniques and have totally improved my homebrew as a result.

Also, he has won a few prizes in homebrew competitions, and has recently opened his own brewery - Out of Town Brewing. He knows what he is doing.

So for anyone who still tries to make sense of homebrew from the internet, this is an excellent guide.

Another Tim Martybhoy?

 

[Martybhoy]

Hail Hail.

 

[pms67]

Sound,thought i was the only one on here 👍

 

[Klemay83]

I got this book for Christmas. It's a great read.full of useful info in an easy to understand way. James and his friend have also recently launched their own brewery called Out Of Town brewery based in Glasgow.

 

[pms67]

I may be heading down the road of hop addition, but these recipes are looking more and more doable.
Once upon a time 100g seemed a lot, but now.........