Next Book Recommendation

I recently finished reading Palmer's third edition of How to Brew and started back through it for the second time.

I am looking for another book to read now and thought about Joy of Homebrewing (Papazian) on Amazon but thought I'd check in before making the purchase.

I am very much the utter novice.... have my kit (recent Midwest Groupon deal)... but no permission from SWMBO to get a pot/burner until after we move in 2 months. No brews under my belt yet. I am a daily reader of the forums here so I have some idea of the basics that are constantly rehashed in the beginners forum. I'm not yet ready for advanced reading but some more info on yeast cultures, hop growing (not planning to, but it sounds like interesting reading), or other topics that might be a bit above beginner level would be good.

What are your thoughts about this selection vs another option to complement How to Brew? I don't mind reading similar material or someone else's point of view on the basics of homebrewing but I would like to avoid purchasing two books that may say the same thing with different words.

Thanks for any input you might have!


EDIT - Moving to Knoxville, TN... so any insight on that area and good places... LHBS, or otherwise.... to check out?

Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher is a great read - tons of interesting stuff! Palmer gets you the basics of brewing process and Mosher can get you thinking outside the box!

Brewing classic styles is a great read.

I would also recommend "designing great beers" by Ray Daniels and "Brewing better beer " by Gordon Strong and "yeast" by Zamil, while these books are more geared for advanced brewing techniques there is a tremendous amount of insight into the processes of refining your ability to brew great beer

Brewing classic styles and designing great beer .

I'm new too and also read How to Brew. In addition I read Homebrewing for Dummies. IMO Homebrewing for Dummies is better. Palmer starts his book by saying something like, "...in order to drive a car you don't need to know how a combustion engine works...". I agree, but it's also interesting to know exactly what's going on and what should be going on with your brew. You're still going to have unanswered questions no matter what you read but Homebrewing for Dummies is just more informative in a better layout if you ask me.

+1 on Radical Brewing. I finished that recently and found it thoroughly enjoyable and certainly worthy of a revisit. I feel more immersed in the history of beer and also more confident as a result of his book.

On the other hand, I'd almost advise against reading Papazian's Complete Joy of Home Brewing since you've already read How to Brew. I found the more how-to books I read, the more confused I become. Between those two and the info you get on this site, there is a HUGE amount of conflicting information that lends itself more to uncertainty and less relaxation than it does to feeling better prepared, in my experience anyway.

The first brewing book I read was papazians book. It was an easy read and enjoyable. When I started brewing I read Daniels book. It is a great resource but a little dated. I just bought palmers book. Having read all three I'd say that papazians book has less information then palmers book and wouldn't really add to your knowledge appreciably. However, papazian is the godfather of home brewing and coined the term RDWHAHB. So for historical reasons it might be cool to have papazians book but palmers is more up to date with more information.

Thanks for the info so far.... I appreciate your thoughts on the recommendations as well. I won't go with Papazian's at this point. I am leaning toward Radical Brewing at this point... then maybe Brewing Classic Styles once I get a few brews under my belt and start looking beyond extract kits.

Siebel, Fix....... Charliesheff Jammipalmer are OK if you're not too serious about brewing.

BeerDoctor5 said:

The first brewing book I read was papazians book. It was an easy read and enjoyable. When I started brewing I read Daniels book. It is a great resource but a little dated. I just bought palmers book. Having read all three I'd say that papazians book has less information then palmers book and wouldn't really add to your knowledge appreciably. However, papazian is the godfather of home brewing and coined the term RDWHAHB. So for historical reasons it might be cool to have papazians book but palmers is more up to date with more information.

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I agree. All due respect to Papazian, but going from Palmer to Papazian is a step backward. It's a good book to have, and an enjoyable read, but you won't learn anything from it. I second the idea of moving to Radical Brewing or Designing Great Beers next. I'm in the middle of White's Yeast right now, and it's amazing!