goosegrease
Well-Known Member
I enjoyed reading this book. A great deal of useful information. Is there a newer book available with similar updated info?
Designing Great Beers
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Yes its called Brewing Classic Styles 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer...
Semi-Joking Aside - I beleive it is rumored that Ray Daniels is contemplating, or in the works of writing a new edition. You have to understand that it is a pretty large undertaking as it requires analyzing a bunch of current commercial examples and NHC recipes of a style. A lot of the NHC recipes entered in the past few years ARE based off of Jamil's recipes in the aforementioned book. Designing great beers offers great insights on the different variations of how to approach a style it is a really valuable resource
Semi-Joking Aside - I beleive it is rumored that Ray Daniels is contemplating, or in the works of writing a new edition. You have to understand that it is a pretty large undertaking as it requires analyzing a bunch of current commercial examples and NHC recipes of a style. A lot of the NHC recipes entered in the past few years ARE based off of Jamil's recipes in the aforementioned book. Designing great beers offers great insights on the different variations of how to approach a style it is a really valuable resource
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goosegrease
Well-Known Member
Agreed, but a lot of the information is twenty plus years old.
I like Designing Great Beers but it is starting to show its' age. A lot of the newer hops (Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, etc..) were not even around when the book was written. I have heard the same that Daniels is working on a 2nd Edition. I think it still works though for classic British and German beers that rely on traditional ingredients.
Yes, when I asked him about this (in June 2010) he mentioned he was just then starting the process with the publisher on updating the book. He told me that he would be "a while", but I didn't ask any further. I think an update would be great.
As I sit and that's the book on my floor I won't argue. Classic book IMO. Who cares if it's 20 years old? I like to look at it as a bit of a disinformation book in a way. Like how the hell did all those extract brewers get such high scores with such weak recipes? Ray tells you. The fruit category in particular makes me laugh. Enough freakin' raspberry extract wheat folks!
OK done with rant it's a cool book hope he does a 2nd edition I will buy it. Go Ray!
I think the book is still really great and useful. The first part is a good intro into how to design your own recipes without using software. And the style analysis in the second part (for the styles that are discussed) is still very relevant.
BeerDoctor5
Well-Known Member
I just started brewing and it has really helped me out when creating recipes. I love it and would buy the updated version in a second.
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goosegrease
Well-Known Member
I agree with you all, there is a lot of great information in this book! My original question still stands, any other similar resources out there, that are more recent?
Thanks,
Jim
Thanks,
Jim
ReverseApacheMaster
Well-Known Member
Brewing Better Beer by Gordon Strong came out a year or two ago. It gets some bad reviews but I just picked it up and started reading it. He's definitely opinionated and it seems to be more focused on the overall process but he -- almost casually -- brings up small points a lot of people may not think about.
Jamil's book, also not specifically about recipe formation, is a great starting point for building on a solid recipe without reinventing the wheel.
There are also a few books that discuss particular styles in depth and talk about recipe formation, including Brewing with Wheat, Brew Like a Monk and Wild Brews.
Jamil's book, also not specifically about recipe formation, is a great starting point for building on a solid recipe without reinventing the wheel.
There are also a few books that discuss particular styles in depth and talk about recipe formation, including Brewing with Wheat, Brew Like a Monk and Wild Brews.
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goosegrease
Well-Known Member
Thank you for your suggestions, looks like there will be a few new books on my shelf!
Jim
Jim
