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stageseven

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So yesterday I made the jump to all grain, and of course I went back to John Palmer's book for reference before I started. Today I went back to just read through while I'm at work, and the website is gone! www.howtobrew.com is now one of those annoying placeholder pages. Looks like the domain has lapsed. Google still returns the book as a search result, but it takes you to the placeholder page. What ever will we do?!?

Seriously though not having access to this great resource is gonna be killer for new brewers.
 
Hmm, maybe you could actually buy a copy of the real book. BTW it is much more comprehensive than the abbreviated online version.
 
I cannot imagine not having a hard copy of my reference books. I love to be able to take them with me where ever I want. JP and Papa are my right hand men.

The $20 or so won't break you and you won't be taking your laptop into the bathroom!:D

Bull
 
I agree with Stage, such a great online resource.

Have you ever heard Palmer speak? I've heard him a couple of times on the Basic Brewing podcast, very interesting.
 
Seriously though not having access to this great resource is gonna be killer for new brewers.

Somehow I think they will find a way to manage. HSA and long primaries are two things I can think of right off that many brewers do not agree with the text on.

Brewing is a centuries old craft and it is still evolving.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if he planed on "retiring" the online version intentionally. It was pretty out of date, and he has said publicly on many occasions that there are certain things in there he now regrets writing, as they just perpetuate some old-school thinking that he no longer believes in.

Though I would be surprised if he didn't bring it back online as an advertisement/purchase portal for his book at the very least.
 
looks like it expired at the end of August:


$ whois howtobrew.com

...

Domain Name: HOWTOBREW.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: NS1.PENDINGRENEWALDELETION.COM
Name Server: NS2.PENDINGRENEWALDELETION.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 05-sep-2010
Creation Date: 30-aug-1999
Expiration Date: 30-aug-2011
 
I wouldn't be surprised if he planed on "retiring" the online version intentionally. It was pretty out of date, and he has said publicly on many occasions that there are certain things in there he now regrets writing, as they just perpetuate some old-school thinking that he no longer believes in.

Though I would be surprised if he didn't bring it back online as an advertisement/purchase portal for his book at the very least.

Yep, that's what I was thinking as well. In a lot of ways the book caused a lot of misconceptions, which led to needless arguments, and stirred up a lot of unnecessary fear in probably more new brewers than it actually helped.

I also wonder if it was meant to boost sales, since I'm sure more folks have read it online, than perhaps have bought it.

It is too bad the book is offline, it is a valuable resource, especially when trying to explain complex things like mashing to new brewers. It's easier just to quote the pertinant text than to try to explain somethings.

And many of us who were recommending the whole text were adding a caveat that some things have changed...

SO I have mixed feelings.
 
Mashman - thanks for the link.

Even if there is some incorrect or outdated material in it, I couldn't imagine trying to learn to brew without that book. When I first started I read it before even deciding to buy any equipment and it really demystified the entire brewing process. I think it's still the most referenced and recommended resource here whenever new brewers are looking for some information on the process. In any case I think it's a shame to see it go if he's not planning on renewing the site, but I can certainly understand his reasons if it's hurting his book sales.
 
As I suspect was the case with many, when I was talked into trying homebrewing, I got on line and read that version of HTB. I then bought the book on Amazon, and consider it an indispensable reference. Other books may be nice -I have gotten some good ideas from 150 Clone Beers, and learned from Designing Great Beers that I neither have the desire nor the skills to go that far yet- but Palmer is sort of the "standard reference" I start with when I have a question or an issue.
 
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