What books do you all recommend?

I checked the "BREWING BOOKS" link and read the reviews but just thought that I would ask the forum. I am looking for a book that covers things that a beginner (like myself) would need to learn. But I am also looking for one that gets into AG brewing, Yeast Culturing, etc. If one doesn't cover all, what two should I consider? Thanks!

Start with How to Brew by John Palmer. You can read the first version for free at howtobrew.com. It covers just about everything but kegging. I don't think he talks too much about yeast culturing, but there is some starter information on it.

2 books:

John Palmer, How to Brew
CHarlie Papazian, Complete Joy of Homebrewing.

Some of the stuff in Papazian is dated, but it's still a great resource.

After that, Ray Daniels's Designing Great Beers is a must have for learning to create your own recipes successfully. I also own and regularly use CLone Brews and Beer Captured. There is a book called Brew Ware that's a nice resource for building your own gear.

I've got both Palmers "How to Brew" and Papazain's "Joy" I say Palmer's book is the better of the 2 but they are both good.

If you like building you own equipt. and are looking to save a couple of $
"Brew Ware" is good

Also you can get back issues of Brew Your Own magizine with articles you might have a specific interest in such as equipt and various beers. I also like their
150 Clone issue.

Another book that I like so far is "Brew Like a Monk" but I'm not far enough into it to give a reccomendation yet.

I'll agree with "Complete Joy". I found it to cover all general topics and has procedures from begining extract brewing to advanced all-grain brewing along with many recipes. It was very approachable for a beginner and I recommmend it.

Personally I like Palmer's style a bit more then Papazian but Complete Joy has a lot more info as you start to advance in your brewing. I would recommend both as a good starting place.

Clone brews and Beer Captured are also good on the recipe side of things.

I will also add a plug for Palmer's book (I have both the 2nd and 3rd editions, I liked them so much). I also have Papazian's CJOHB, but found Palmer's book to be very similar in conent -- I find Palmer is more readable and makes a much better reference book. I would suggest you just pick one or the other of these two.

Another great book that complements these two is Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide. It is a bit more technical, especially with respect to all-grain brewing. Highly recommended.

Another great book is Ray Daniel's Designing Great Beers. I have read that one cover to cover many times now, and always manage to pick up something new that I never realized before.

I have a bunch of other books, and have borrowed almost all the major ones from friends or the library. If I had to pick just two, it would be the Palmer book and the Daniels book. Miller's book would be my third. Hope that helps a bit.

I too recommend Papazian's The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing. His approach to brewing is infectious and the book is easy to understand. I would however, not use bleach for sanitizing equipment as he recommends. StarSan or Iodophor works much better and you don't have to rinse when mixed correctly.