What's the Best Brewing book?

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The King

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Hi there. I'm new to this forum. I'm pretty much a noob to brewing in general and much as I love this forum I like to have a recipe book beside me.

I've been making my own wine for a while and using a book by C J Berry, who seems to have written a bit of a wine-makers bible in that respect.

I was wondering if there is a must-have book for the home-brewer? Nominations, please!
 
Blender said:
I would recomend John Palmer's book. It is more up to date with the brewing techniques used now and very informative. http://www.howtobrew.com/
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I second this. Papazian's book is good, albeit a bit outdated. Palmer's is more with the times, an easy read, and directed toward the novice.

After you get those under your belt, then hit Daniel's Designing Great Beers
 
Oh, I definitely side with getting some beers under your belt before moving into Daniels book. I have Papazian's book and only read it once. I reference to my Brewmasters Bible and DGB constantly so that is why I recommend them. I found the Brew Bible very novice orientated, but I have to admit every brew store carries papazian's book and the others are usually ordered special. So.... it is the standard just not my favorite.
 
I have to say How To Brew hands down. It is easy to read, well organized and good pictures. This is a must buy.
 
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I'll agree with the good Brewpastor. Buy the How to Brew book. It was what got me started and is updated in the new edition.
 
Believe it or not....there is a "Homebrewing for Dummies" that is much easier to read than Papazian's book. It's more up to date....it definitely doesn't reccomend bleach as a sanitizer! How to Brew is a close second...and you can just read it online.
 
Why I recommend How to Brew is that it is very up to date, well researched and written, has all you need to take you from basic to advanced brewing. Besides, the author is a great guy, so you know your money isn't going to some boob.
 
The King said:
Hi there. I'm new to this forum. I'm pretty much a noob to brewing in general and much as I love this forum I like to have a recipe book beside me.

I've been making my own wine for a while and using a book by C J Berry, who seems to have written a bit of a wine-makers bible in that respect.

I was wondering if there is a must-have book for the home-brewer? Nominations, please!
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I bought Dave Miller's book in 1988. IMHO, it is better than Papazian's. I was doing AG, and it brought my mash eff. up to 92-94% Well worth the price i paid.:) The Complete Handbook Of Home Brewing.
 
OldFarmer said:
I bought Dave Miller's book in 1988. IMHO, it is better than Papazian's. I was doing AG, and it brought my mash eff. up to 92-94% Well worth the price i paid.:) The Complete Handbook Of Home Brewing.
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That IS a good book. I have a well worn copy around as well. I agree that it is more useful then Complete Joy.
 
Palmer and the new guy, Jamil, co-author a book coming out in the Fall of 2007.

Jamil is contradicting some "sacred" techniques, and winning awards like crazy.

My SWMBO ordered for me for Christmas.

Should be a fun read and educational.
 
What if a Guy was looking for a book that explained the ins and outs of AG Brewing? Everything that he was looking for. Especially Lautering. Where would you send him for a book along those lines?
 
talleymonster said:
I like Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.


Before you go cough up 20$ on a book, check out this thread out first! I just ordered Papazian's The Homebrewers Companion. It's a cool book exchange program.
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PaperBackSwap.com is open to:
Persons* over the age of 18 who are
Residents of the US (including US territories and possessions--anywhere that is served by the US Postal Service), and
Not incarcerated.
*Institutional memberships are not permitted.
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Being a monarch and all, I live in England This has two implications:
  1. I cannot join your fine All-American paperback book-swap shop
  2. I have no interest in lagers
That said, can I take a moment to gush enthusiastically about the quantity and quality of your responses. Cheers for all the tips guys and girls (girls brew, too, right?).
I look forward to pestering all the people who post here with many more daft questions.
 
ScubaSteve said:
Believe it or not....there is a "Homebrewing for Dummies" that is much easier to read than Papazian's book. It's more up to date....it definitely doesn't reccomend bleach as a sanitizer! How to Brew is a close second...and you can just read it online.
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+1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I really liked Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher. Its not really a how to book for beginners but more about different ingredients and styles. A very enjoyable book.
 
buckeyemike75 said:
+1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Seriously...Papazian IS a great guy...I missed meeting him by about 10 minutes at the Stone Brewery 2 weeks ago....no disrespect....I own and have read all the aforementioned books but IF you're new....read "HomeBrewing for Dummies"..it puts ALL the knowledge you need to start extract, or even AG. IMHO, it is WAY easier to read than ANY book on homebrewing, loyalties aside.:mug: :ban:
 
My kit came with "How to Brew" so I'm gonna have to vote for this one by default!

It is a very good book, however. From extract to AG, Palmer knows what he's talking about.
 
I will have to vote for Palmer's 'How to Brew' as well.

I was extremely fortunate with my choice of a google search term when I decided that I wanted to try making beer. I entered 'how to brew' into google.

Palmer's site was the first hit, and the only book I read before making my first beer. It is responsible for my 'rookie' batches being more than just drinkable, they were inspiring.
 
One thing people aren't mentioning re: howtobrew is that there's a TON of additional info in the book that isn't on the website. Buy the book, it's worth every penny.
 
Madtown Brew said:
One thing people aren't mentioning re: howtobrew is that there's a TON of additional info in the book that isn't on the website. Buy the book, it's worth every penny.
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Yes, agreed -- the third edition is the most up-to-date book out there. Great place for beginner's to learn extract AND all grain brewing, and a superb reference for more advanced brewers.

The second edition is good, too -- not as current but the publication quality is FAR better than the third edition. The third edition is full of typographical errors and typesetting problems -- quite disappointing. I keep both on hand for this reason.
 
I only have two books and between the two I feel like I can brew for years and years with the information in them. Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" and "Beer Captured." Beer captured is great because it has recipes of virtually all of the major styles worldwide.

That's my 2 cents.

John Trappist
 
I agree with scubasteve, I purchased the home brewing for dummies book and i love it, I'm brand new to home brewing and it gave me plenty of tips, tricks, pictures for reference and the explination of both the processes and equipment were great!
 
"It's alive....ALIVE!!!"
ItsAlive.jpg
 
Papazian if you want to get confidently up and running with a laid-back approach to the hobby. Palmer if you want to take the hobby deeper. For me, that means Palmer.
 
Does Papazian have an updated version. I have an older one and too many aspects just don't hold true anymore.
 
AlchemyBrewing said:
Does Papazian have an updated version. I have an older one and too many aspects just don't hold true anymore.
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I think it's at the third revision now...although, like others have said, a lot of the content is still outdated, and the recipe chapters definitely need some modernization. That said, I still vote Papazian because he's a damn good brewer, and he has one bitchin' beard.
 
I like Papazian, and have a couple of his books (Joy of Home Brewing and The Home Brewer's Companion), I would suggest New Brewing Lager Beer by Gregory J. Noonan as well. He was a pioneer in brewing in our state and began Vermont Pub and Brewery back in 1988. I am a Noonanite. With all that said, to each his own.

I have four taps in a pub here at home. Last week I did a Porter, a Stout, and a Mead. This weekend I did three Lagers, as my cellar is now down to 45 degrees F. I have averaged five gallons a week for the last five months. We do love our beer.
 
ARgon said:
I like Papazian, and have a couple of his books (Joy of Home Brewing and The Home Brewer's Companion), I would suggest New Brewing Lager Beer by Gregory J. Noonan as well. He was a pioneer in brewing in our state and began Vermont Pub and Brewery back in 1988. I am a Noonanite. With all that said, to each his own.

.
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I feel the same way except I lke "How to Brew" by John Palmer. I think it's the easiest most straightforward book. I re-read it before each brew session
 
The Library is your friend.

Homebrewing for Dummies
How to Brew
The Everything homebrewing
Joy of Homebrewing


I've borrowed them all and am in the process of putting together about 40pages of notes on the laptop for myself and my buddy. It's hard to say which is the best, they all have tons of info. Palmer goes into deep science and it entices me to know everything about something, so I do love it. The Homebrewing for dummies and Everything Homebrewing books are very good, albeit less detailed and more concise.

I'll probably print them out and keep a binder handy.
 
Someone know one book who talk about the biochemestry ?
I have already the book for beginner : How to brew and homebrewing for dummies.
and some scientific book:
Brewery,
Technology Brewing and Malting,
Handbook of Brewing Second Edition,
Brewing Science and Practice,
Brewing Yeast and Fermentation,
Brewing Yeast Fermentation Performance.

One guy had spoken about a book... He named : "the derk" or "The kerk"... I don't remember... Someone know?
 
I'm not sure how much biochemistry you're looking for, but if your looking at yeast biochemistry, the book "Yeast" seems like a great book so far (I think its by Chris White and Jamil). But if you want something more in-depth than that book (keep in mind that this book has a chapter about setting up your own yeast laboratory), you might have to look in a biochemistry textbook and read what you can find. There will be a lot of information that is probably not so pertinent to brewing, and most you will need to figure out for yourself how it applies to brewing.
 
SkiNuke said:
I'm not sure how much biochemistry you're looking for, but if your looking at yeast biochemistry, the book "Yeast" seems like a great book so far (I think its by Chris White and Jamil). But if you want something more in-depth than that book (keep in mind that this book has a chapter about setting up your own yeast laboratory), you might have to look in a biochemistry textbook and read what you can find. There will be a lot of information that is probably not so pertinent to brewing, and most you will need to figure out for yourself how it applies to brewing.
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Also, the Noonan books like New Brewing Lager Beer can be extremely detailed with many even more detailed citations. Or you could dig into the old German brew books... :drunk:
 

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