Designing Great Beers

I was thinking of getting DGB but I hear it's a bit dated. Is there a newer version or a similar book? I already have How to brew, Brewing for dummies, Clone Brews, and the joy of home brewing. I'd like to know how to design a beer and not just take a recipe and blindly modify it.

 

I am currently using DGB and I don't think it is dated. But everyone has their own preference as to what piece of literature is the best. I think if you can buy it on sale on Amazon I think it is worth the $15.

 

DGB will be a great addition to your library. It will be a lot more technical than Joy or Clone Brews, that's for sure.

Happy reading!

 

DGB is an amazing collection of data. Jamil has eluded to the fact that the recipes in BCS are basically extracted from the data that DGB has organized. If you had both in hand, you can see how much they jive.

If you like the idea of building your own recipes from scratch, you can not beat DGB. I am currectly reading BLAM, and it is set up in a similar fashion. It breaks down malt, hop, and yeast choices, but leaves it up to you to build the recipes yourself. The first time I read it, it gave me a headache, so I closed the book. Two years later, I see how valuable it is.

If that sounds overwhelming, and you would rather just be handed a proven recipe, opt for BCS.

Joe

 

To summarize DGB, it's mostly a collection of statistics of the makeup of the NHC winning beer recipes. You could look at BCS as the exact same thing, but from the perspective of only one brewer.

Frankly, there is only way way to design your own recipes. Brew someone else's first, think about how you'd like to change it, and apply what you've learned from experience to know what to change. It's really hard to learn recipe creation just by reading.

 

I use DGB all the time and do not think it's outdated at all. It will require some experimentation but it sets a baseline for many different styles. When I'm going to create a new recipe I usually go to DGB first and then to BCS. Definitely a book worth having.

 

While I was in the shower I left amazon open, the wife bought the ebook for me, too bad I don't have a kindle and I can't get it to format properly for my Libre. Guess it's straight reading on the pc.

 

I use my regularly. I don't see what would be considered dated in it. The first half covers water, malts, yeasts, color, etc. The second half covers "typical" ingredients for various beer styles. If you are formulating your own all-grain recipes, it's indispensable.

 

I just recently checked out DGB from my local library, and will probably end up purchasing it. I think it has some valuable information on how to go about formulating your own recipe (decide what OG you want, what IBU, then choose grains, etc.). In regards to getting it to a format that you can put on your Libre, I would suggest using a free ebook management program called calibre. It has an option to select which ebook reader format you want, and it will convert it to that type for you. You can check it out here http://calibre-ebook.com/

 

I beg to differ here. DGB is heavy on technique, analysis, science and history but contains no actual "recipes". BCS is light on technique, analysis, science and history but contains very specific recipes, tailored to the extract brewer with modifications for all grain brewers. The two are excellent compliments and don't really hit the same territory. They both address each of the classic styles, but from a very different viewpoint (DGB geared for study, BCS geared for recipes).

I concur. Change (with respect to a recipe) only makes sense if you have something to compare it to; a baseline.

 

I've heard this too but don't really get it. DGB isn't really a techniques book, its an ingredient book. Techniques may change, but I don't think ingredients go out of date, especially when you are talking about styles of beer that are really old.

Maybe people consider it outdated because of the recent surge in extreme brewing, not sure.

If someone does consider it outdated, I'd love to hear why.

 

The problem with DGBs is that it is based on NHC beers from the late 1990s, in some cases with a fairly small sample size. It doesn't take into account the stylistic accuracy of the samples, other than that they made it to the second round (I think; it's been a long time since I read it), which puts a whole lot of faith in the first round judges... based on the scoresheets I have read from this year's competition, many of the judges don't have the foggiest idea of what a fresh, authentic example of some of the more rare beer styles is supposed to taste like, especially the non-BJCP judges. In other words, Designing Great Beers is a neat database, but don't take it as the final word on what ingredients and processes are and are not appropriate to brew excellent examples of the various beer styles.

 

Thanks for the calibre tip, i'll check it out. I'm going to saccrifice getting a tap for my planned bar and get BCS as well.

 

Actually, each of DGB beer style chapters contains whatever information Daniels could glean from commercial examples before getting into the Round II NHC examples.

This information on commercial examples can be pretty variable, but at the very least you get the basics of the commercial recipe: OG/P, IBUs, attenuation, etc.

Regarding the NHC Round II picks, Daniels also does his best to tell you where those recipes deviate from what is typically an ingredient in that particular style (based upon historical or commercial examples).

I get your point about NHC Round II picks not being indicative of style, but they are just another data point on the continuum that tells us what constitutes a particular beer style in terms of color, IBU, OG, etc., etc.