what is the best book on brewing?

I have the Joy of Homebrewing but I want something more in depth, and up to date.

How to Brew, John Palmer

Depends what you are looking for. If you want something for formulating recipes, Designing Great Beers and Brewing Classic styles are both good. If you like Belgian beers, go for Brew Like a Monk. If you are just a beginner looking for methodology, I recommend How to Brew by John Palmer (3rd ed. available online for free). If you want something crazy in depth, there are brewing textbooks out there.

Designing Great Beers. Ray Daniels

Very different than How to Brew, but still a great book.

-a.

I need to take a course in speed typing.

It's a progression, I think.

How to Brew for basic (and some advanced) information. A must-own. It's awesome he's put it online, but it's nice to have a paper copy to peruse at your leisure (i.e. keep a copy in the ****ter).

Jamil's book for great information about all the beer styles. Not the most in-depth with each style, but if you know this book inside and out you'll know most of what you need to know about different beers.

Designing Great Beers when you really want to get into things more technically.

When you REALLY want to key into particular styles, then get into things like Brew Like a Monk.

are there books on brewing IPAs?

Pale Ales by Terry Foster. Amazon.com: pale ales: Books
Not just IPA's, but they are covered.

-a.

TheBrewingNetwork.com has a pretty good selection of books to look through. Also, If you are interested in a particular style, check out the Jamil Show. They have done a show on each style, including IPA

Parker36 said:

Depends what you are looking for. If you want something for formulating recipes, Designing Great Beers and Brewing Classic styles are both good. If you like Belgian beers, go for Brew Like a Monk. If you are just a beginner looking for methodology, I recommend How to Brew by John Palmer (3rd ed. available online for free). If you want something crazy in depth, there are brewing textbooks out there.

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Am I missing something or is it only the 1st edition that is free?

Anyone know what is different in the 3rd vs. 1st?

What is Jamil's book called?

frijole said:

What is Jamil's book called?

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Brewing Classic Styles. Its a good one.

I agree that How To Brew is hands down the best all around brewing book out there. On the Northern English Brown episode, he says if you read it and dont find something you dont know (even if you have been brewing for 10 years), he will pay for your copy of the book.

The book that changed how I look at brewing and beer is "Wild Brews" by Jeff Sparrow. Its similar to how The Dead and Phish changed how I look at music.

Based on this thread, I built a WorldCat list of brewing titles:

"Homebrew Reading" by kgs [WorldCat.org]

There's a similar list in LibraryThing that may be more useful (since it links to personal reviews and so forth):

homebrewing | books tagged homebrewing | LibraryThing

However, the WorldCat list gives you the option to find it in a local library, in other words, to get it "for free" (meaning you already bought it with your tax dollars). Even if your local library doesn't have it, they may be able to request it for you; I have interlibrary loan requests in for a couple of titles not held by Leon County. Most libraries offer ILL for free or for a nominal charge. A good way to "try before you buy."

+1 to "How To Brew" by Palmer...

I am reading it now and love it. I was looking for a read that will explain what this & that is and why you do this or why you do that. This book hits the nail on the head.

I've had good luck with this one:
Amazon.com: The Brewmaster's Bible: The Gold Standard for Home Brewers: Stephen Snyder: Books
I read Palmers book, very informative for a beginner.
Designing Great Beers: Great
Another good read:
Brew Chem 101 (Janson) :: Midwest Supplies Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies

I asked this same question last week and am somewhat in the same boat as you are. I've brewed half a dozen batches so far and read the Papazian's book cover-to-cover before I even brewed my first batch. I just wanted a book that would help me gain a deeper understanding of what I'm doing and help me produce more consistent results. I decided to go with "how to brew". From reading several threads, it seems that this book generally considered the best all around "how to" book about brewing. While there will be a considerable amount of redundancy with Papazian's book, I think it may sink in better after gaining some experience and hearing it from a different perspective.

I know the 1st edition is free online, but I sit in front of a computer all day at work, and prefer not to do it anymore than I have to. And I have no issues with supporting the author if they are providing quality information. In order to get free shipping from Amazon, I went ahead and also ordered "Brewing Classic Styles" for my next read. I got a couple glowing endorsements for that book and it sounded like it might be a little better suited for a beginner/intermediate brewer than "Designing Great Beers".

+1 to "How To Brew" by Palmer...

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What? Is it +1 or do I do +2 on John Palmers book???

"How to Brew" in the newest edition is the best after Charlie's book. The title says it all.

One I found surprisingly interesting is "homebrewing for dummies". I goes from what equipment you need, to full grain, to recipes. Also a good book to read while taking the browns to the super bowl.

I bought "Home Brewing for Dummies" and "The Brewmaster's Bible:The Gold Standard for Homebrewers" as above right before I joined your forum today. Both on Amazon for like 9 bucks each.

Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil is the best recipe book I've seen. If you brew his recipe you know that the recipe is great and you just need to focus on your process.

Runyank said:

One I found surprisingly interesting is "homebrewing for dummies". I goes from what equipment you need, to full grain, to recipes. Also a good book to read while taking the browns to the super bowl.

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You know, I bought that even before I homebrewed for the first time. It's not bad, but there's nothing in there that's not in Palmer's book (and there's a LOT in Palmer's book that's not in there). If you find it wicked cheap, go for it... but I'd spend a dollar or two more and buy Palmer. You won't regret it.

Here is my must read list for the new home brewing.
Beginner - The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian
Intermediate - Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher
Advance - Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels

You can't go wrong reading these three books