great opportunity to learn...

hey all you newbies -- i'm relatively new to homebrewing myself (brewed 3 batches), but i wanted to share this with all of you. when i started out, i bought john palmer's brewing book and used it as a guide, but now he's writing articles that you can access for free online at http://www.howtodothings.com! He's already got a pretty darn comprehensive guide up already -- How To Brew Beer. Check it out, and stay tuned -- I have word that there will be more from him there.

admitted_glutton

p.s. if anyone has a good pumpkin ale recipe and wouldn't mind sharing it, i'd love to hear it.

That's a nice, short, finely distilled list of steps that might introduce many casual googlers to the essential steps in brewing, and hopefully lure some them to take the next step and actually give it a try. If it does that, I say it's a good thing.

actually, i always sort of wondered how john palmer was regarded in the brewing world. i know his book is popular for beginners, but does he enjoy widespread respect of knowledgeable brewers? his book was recommended by the homebrew supply store back when i bought my equipment. i thought the book broke things down pretty well, but actually wish this article was around for me then (i think it's a nicely organized summary of the instructions found in his book).

John Palmer's online book is often recommended by people on this forum, so yes, I'd say he is definitely well-regarded. Charlie Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" is also among the most frequently recommended books of the Brew Gods.