Reading Materials... What does everyone suggest?

I haven't seen a thread like this, even though I'm sure they come and go. I thought it might be helpful to have some of the more experienced brewers comment on what Books, Magazines, etc. are the most helpful to the beginning brewer.

If a moderator finds a need to move this to a more appropriate column, thats fine, just please PM me to let me know where my thread was moved to.

As a fairly new brewer, these are the books I have read and the magazines I have picked up that I found the MOST helpful and readable.

The Complete Joy of Home Brewing - Papazian
- This book was the first I read, and was absolutely the best. Just about anything you need to know or understand as a new brewer is there, including information that you may not use at first.

The Homebrewers Companion- Papazian
- This book picks up where he left off in the Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It goes in depth with grain selections, hop selection, yeasts, etc as well as a great break down on all grain brewing. Excellent read, however some of this information might go over your head the first time you read it.

How To Brew - Palmer
This is another great book. I preferred Papazian's books over Palmers, however this book still includes the fundamentals of homebrewing. The appendices are EXCELLENT.

For magazines, I'm reading whatever I can get my hands on. I'd have to say that "BYO" magazine is the best so far. "All About Beer" is another good one. "Beer Advocate" is a great resource on beer in general.


So let the thread begin. Let's hear what others have read and why they read them. This could be a great jumping off point for the rookies in the crowd.

Magazines:

BYO - Is good for the Extract brewer.
Zymurgy - Is more All-Grain centered.

Brewing Techniques - Now defunct but most of the articles are available online and are some very good reads.

Books:

Anything brewing related. First, try searching your library. There are a lot of brewing and beer related books available that are outdated. Goid reads, IMO, but not worth keeping on the home library shelf.

Those that you have cited are excellent choices for a new brewer. Other are more advanced but do offer some deeper technical insight as to how this all comes to be.

Wild Brews, Farmhouse Ales, Radical Brewing, Extreme Brewing, Designing Great Beers, New Lager Brewing, the entire Classic Beers library, Homebrewing for dummies (better if loaned from the library), Homebrew Companion, Brewmasters Bible, ..........okay I have run out.

You might want to have a look at this thread in the Books forum before you go to far into this.

There are also reviews of some books here.

In order of importance:

1. How To Brew by John Palmer
2. Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels
3. Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainischeff and John Palmer

These will get you started.

I got Homebrewing for Dummies, and although he says some things that people on this site don't agree with, it is a good book to get you up and running.

Beerthoven said:

In order of importance:

1. How To Brew by John Palmer
2. Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels
3. Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainischeff and John Palmer

These will get you started.

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All unquestionably excellent books. I think I'd rate Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher just ahead of Brewing Classic Styles, or else very close behind it.

Danek said:

All unquestionably excellent books. I think I'd rate Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher just ahead of Brewing Classic Styles, or else very close behind it.

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I've heard good things about Radical Brewing. I have a birthday coming up; I think I'll ask for it.

yeah, radical brewing did a lot to get me excited about brewing. as a newbie a lot of the instruction was above my head but reading his take on beer styles (especially his chapter on big beers) made me want to put in the extra effort and brew something great. and then i did

I read every brewing book that the harris county library has (houston, tx), they have alot. Then made my decisions on which to buy from that. I am sure that it saved me a ton of money on books that I would never have picked up again. The ones that I purchased, I use like reference books, I am constantly referring back to them.

Radical Brewing is the shiznit.

I'm currently going through Designing Great Beers. It's quite the read.

NoClueBrewMaster said:

The Complete Joy of Home Brewing - Papazian
- This book was the first I read, and was absolutely the best. Just about anything you need to know or understand as a new brewer is there, including information that you may not use at first.

Click to expand...

This was the first book I read on brewing. I picked up at a kindergarden fundraiser for 50 cents, and I must say, it was my bible, and I still refer to it.

I also own JZ's new book Brewing Classic Styles, and it is excellent for brewing to style. A good purchase.

Beerthoven said:

In order of importance:

1. How To Brew by John Palmer
2. Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels
3. Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainischeff and John Palmer

These will get you started.

Click to expand...

Another vote for this 'top three' list. A very complementary set of books. Probably all one needs to really get immersed in the craft of homebrewing.

I've been reading and enjoying Noonan's New Brewing Lager Beer but it's definitely not for those looking to get started!

DeathBrewer said:

Radical Brewing is the shiznit.

I'm currently going through Designing Great Beers. It's quite the read.

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Reading the same book right now.

Damn thing makes my head hurt..lol

A good place to look for books is your local Goodwill or thrift store. I stopped in there to look for lids for my keggles. Walking to the register to pay I saw an old
How To Homebrew book at the end of the isle. I turned the corner and found 8 different beer or brewing books for less than 20 bucks. SCORE....:rockin:

I love Designing Great Beers and Brewing which is the UC Davis textbook.

NoClueBrewMaster said:

The Complete Joy of Home Brewing - Papazian
- This book was the first I read, and was absolutely the best. Just about anything you need to know or understand as a new brewer is there, including information that you may not use at first.

Click to expand...

I picked up a second hand copy of this when I was in Portland, and I think it's the best $8 I've ever spent. Though it really needs a warning on the front telling you that you'll end up spending hundreds of bucks on brewing stuff. I did not see that coming when I innocently handed over the eight bucks.