Need to make a reading list

So I've read a couple introductory books, but I want to beef up my knowledge in general and especially on all grain. Any suggestions out there?

So the two standards are "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by C. Papazian (Read that first) and "How to Brew" by J Palmer.

After that, hit up Brewing Classic styles, Yeast, and Designing Great Beers.

After that, you can get into some more specific things like "Brew Like a Monk" for Belgians and "Extreme Brewing." If you're interested in mead, check out "The Compleat Meadmaker."

I recently finished Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink by Randy Mosher. I'd recommend it for someone looking more for the flavors and history of beer, as it doesn't get into brewing specifics. He does detail different ingredients and the way they can affect flavor.

I started by reading Homebrewing for Dummies. It's an easy read and really lays out the process pretty simply. There are general knowledge chapters as well as separate extract, partial mash, and AG chapters. You can read the whole thing in about 3 hours.

I'd start off with Game of Thrones since it is the first book in the Song of Ice and Fire Saga and read through A Dance with Dragons...
oh wait, brewing books....sorry...I'm still nerding it out from last night.....

Um, I liked Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels for all grain recipe formation. Nice charts, well organized and researched. Easy to follow

What have you read already, so we don't suggest books you have already read.

jhall4 said:

I recently finished Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink by Randy Mosher. I'd recommend it for someone looking more for the flavors and history of beer, as it doesn't get into brewing specifics. He does detail different ingredients and the way they can affect flavor.

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I liked this book, thought towards the end he starts meandering a bit.

Read Noonan's "New Brewing Lager Beer" Daniel's "Designing Great Beers" and anything by Michael Jackson. Worth every word, each of them.

It's not a book recommendation, but the Brewing Network's "Brew Strong" radio show is excellent. They stay pretty much on topic and they cover a single subject in great depth during the show. I've listened to all the shows up through the beginning of 2010 (I'm slowly making my way). Each time I listen, I learn something new.

You can find it on iTunes in the podcast section. Beware that the BN's Network only allows you to download a certain number each day so if it messes up, don't work. Try again later. You can also download their app for your iDevice and listen to the show live or the 24/7 replay of various past shows. Not sure if they have an app on Android.

I was lucky enough to find an amazing selection at a used book store . Some written in the 60s to semi current . Yes I bought em !
Must reads I think ...
Brewing Better Beer , Brewing Classic Styles , How To Brew and Designing Great Beers .
I'm not very bright so the noonan book was way over my head when I got it . Same for brewing Techniques by Fixx. It was much easier to understand after a few more years of brewing that I was able to dive into that section .
Gordon Strongs book while it doesn't give much in the way of recipes it helps give a mindset of how to make better beer .

If you want to learn more about grains,

Designing Great Beers
Brewing Classic Styles

Also, listen to every Jamil Show podcast, then look through the Brewstrong podcasts for ones specific to malts. Then go look through the list of podcasts at Basic Brewing and listen to the ones that seem applicable. That should keep you busy for a while.

Make a SMaSH! Single malt, single grain beer to start and then modify with the addition of one specialty grain, you can brew small batches, 1-2 gallons. Hands on, you get to drink the beer and learn about the individual grains you select at the same time!

I would get all of the books that people have mentioned so far. I book will cost you about as much as a batch of beer yet you gain much more knowledge and it will last a lot longer.

Designing great beers
Brewing classic styles
New Brewing Lager beer
Tasting beer
Complete Joy of home Brewing
Yeast

Then there are all of the books on particular styles... I have probably have 30 or so brewing books and have ready each one at least 3 times. to me learning about beer is nearly as fun as brewing and drinking it.

And dont forget ...

Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers by John Palmer

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381993/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Petedadink said:

I was lucky enough to find an amazing selection at a used book store . Some written in the 60s to semi current . Yes I bought em !
Must reads I think ...
Brewing Better Beer , Brewing Classic Styles , How To Brew and Designing Great Beers .
I'm not very bright so the noonan book was way over my head when I got it . Same for brewing Techniques by Fixx. It was much easier to understand after a few more years of brewing that I was able to dive into that section .
Gordon Strongs book while it doesn't give much in the way of recipes it helps give a mindset of how to make better beer .

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Phew! I was glad someone on the first page recommended Brewing Better Beer by Gordon Strong.

My brewing got significantly better immediately after reading that. I just picked up Brewing Classic Styles and Designing Great Beers and have read the opening chapters to both of them. I'll read the styles chapters for when I'm brewing that style.

Of all three, Gordon's book is best to me. However, his recipes are (IMO) often unnecessarily complicated. Like adding 1-4 ounces of grains in a 20 lb grist. If you're going for NHC, maybe follow them to a T, but for general homebrew it's too much. Jamil actually addresses this, not calling out Gordon but in general, in Brewing Classic Styles where over time he's come to embrace simplicity except for certain recipes that just benefit from lots of different grains/hops.

Anything by Strong, Daniels, Zainasheff, Palmer or Miller are great choices.

Oh, and shop Amazon. I got the three books I mentioned for only $36 shipped. (I am Prime, but still could get with super saver for like $7 more)

I thought this was an apt, concise description of the use of grains. From the online version of Palmer's How to Brew. This has stuck with me for the whole time I've been an AG brewer.

To help get your creative juices flowing, here is a rough approximation of the recipes for the common ale styles:

Pale Ale - base malt plus a half pound of caramel malt,
Amber Ale - pale ale plus a half pound of dark caramel malt,
Brown Ale - pale ale plus a half pound of chocolate malt
Porter - amber ale plus a half pound of chocolate malt,
Stout - porter plus a half pound of roast barley.​

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