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storunner13 · 10-31-2011, 05:11 PM

Hi all,

I'm going to be taking a test which judges my all-around beer knowledge. It includes style information, brewing information, beer history, and information regarding the current craft industry. I'm looking for a good book/website which can give me more detailed information on styles and their history. I know there's lots of information within the BJCP categories, and I already have plenty of brewing knowledge. However, I need to brush up on my knowledge of the current industry, and some of the best commercial offerings of the styles.

Anyone care to direct me to some good resources?

MakeshiftBrew · 10-31-2011, 05:19 PM

Check your local library, you'd be surprised how many books they have on beer/brewing. IME. Any bookstore should have a beer section, and amazon is always a good place to look. "Great American Craft Beer" would be a good read for what you're researching.

jtmartino · 10-31-2011, 06:07 PM

For Books, I'd check out anything written by Michael Jackson. For online resources, see below.

This has a great explanation of different styles. Probably the most comprehensive and current, although not as much on the history of things.

http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/publications/beer-style-guidelines

This has a few descriptions of styles and examples of current offerings:

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/style-finder

Then there's obviously BA which can tell you who offers the best in each style:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style

Wikipedia will be a good source for the history of each style:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_style
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_beer_styles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer

**unionrdr** · 10-31-2011, 06:33 PM

Also,http://www.germanbeerinstitute.com/index.html is a good resource with details,pics,& history of the beers,hops,German brewing,etc. Lots of good info.

**terrapinj** · 10-31-2011, 08:22 PM

i just ordered this after seeing a rec in another thread

http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894

Quote:

Beer can be light, dark, mild, strong, flat, or fizzy. Hundreds of tastes can be detected in beer, from resin to toast, and from apple to smoke. Readers will learn how to identify the scents, colors, flavors, and mouth-feel of all the major beer styles. There are also chapters on proper serving and storage conditions, and classic beer and food pairings.

The second half of the book is a style-by-style compendium of the different brews within major beer families, including American craft brews, British lagers, German ales, and Belgian Dubbels. For each style there are historical and regional facts, taste and aroma characteristics, seasonal availability, food pairings, and a few terrific recommendations for readers to sample.

storunner13 · 10-31-2011, 08:37 PM

Excellent advice. I've got some books coming in to the library and Mosher's is one. I also made sure to request Michael Jackson's books. Thanks!