German brewing book suggestion.

I find myself enjoying German styles more and more. I've read Kaiser's website top to bottom and it has a TON of great info. I'd love to learn more about brewing German styles and learning more techniques. I've googled the hell out of it and I can't find much info about the subject. Any help is much appreciated.

 

Brewing Lager Beer by Gregory Noonan

 

That's a tough one. Here's a google search page for your amusement...https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=home%20brewing%20german%20beers%3F

 

In English or in German? I have a German homebrewing book which so far has yielded pretty good instructions. I think it's from the early 2000's, but still references first wort hopping, which from what I understand the American homebrewing community rediscovered in the last 5 years or so.

 

This book looks great! I love brewing lagers and it says that book goes into depth with decoction mashing which I LOVE. Thanks!

Iv already done that same exact Google search and I've seen most of what that pulled up. Thanks though!

I would need it in English, although I'm sure the best ones are in German. I don't read or speak German

 

I live in Germany and I haven't found a German home brewing book that I would recommend. Home brewing is still a niche in Germany, and while we're now getting decent supplies (mail-order mostly, there are no walk-in LHBS here), I found literature lacking in quality. There is great literature for pro brewers, such as the publications by Narziss and Kunze, but they may not be of much value to home brewers.

There is, however, the Classic Beer Style Series that may be interesting:
http://www.brewerspublications.com/books/bavarian-helles/
http://www.brewerspublications.com/books/altbier-history-brewing-techniques-and-recipes/
http://www.brewerspublications.com/books/bock/
http://www.brewerspublications.com/books/german-wheat-beer/
http://www.brewerspublications.com/books/kolsch-history-brewing-techniques-recipes/
http://www.brewerspublications.com/books/vienna-marzen-oktoberfest/

 

Yeah. I have found some great stuff for pro Brewers that's a bit steep on the price for a hobby. I haven't seen that series though. Looks promising! I have plans for an Alt, an Oktoberfest I plan to brew in spring, to enjoy in September of course, as well as a few other styles. I have sampled a few imports that have been FANTASTIC. Although I have yet to find a good representation of an Alt in the U.S., or at least one I've been told is a true Alt. So I'll be brewing one myself. Hopefully it will come out true to the style. I really enjoy german styles and brewing lagers. I love a good malty lager!! I'm also finding myself brewing more session beers as well.

 

You probably already know about them, BYO and the Jamil Show also have details about German beer styles.

If you're tuning your water, be aware that the modern pale Munich styles (such as Helles) are brewed with treated water, not the historic Munich water profile that you see on many web sites.

 

Look for Greg Noonan's books on brewing lagers.


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Good to know. Thanks! I have been looking more and more into water profiles as well.

That's what someone mentioned above. That one is definitely on my list. Looks like some great stuff! Sounds detailed about lagers and decoction mashing.

 

Who does kaiser reference all the time? Narsizz or something like that.
+1 for Noonan's book

 

So I definitely need to buy Noonans book. I've heard of the Narziss fermentation method which creates a very crisp, clean, and virtually diacetyl free lager. Kaiser references that guy on his site. I never thought to look for a book written by him though. That could be a great lead. Thanks!

 

I've looked it up. It's in German (Dutch) and there has been no translation other than as references in other brewing textbooks or on brew kaiser site. If you translate it and reformulate all the math to imperial I'll buy a copy for $100.

 

Noonan's book is great, but I'd say it's also polar opposite philosophy from Papazian. 'Every step must be absolutely perfect or the beer will be crap!'

 

I love Noonan's book, it is technical but highly informative. Also, Kai's website is loaded with info: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Braukaiser.com

 

I've found that Homebrewing isn't very big in Germany at the moment. Most books are in german and very advanced. I will be buying Noonans book for sure. I have brewed many lagers now and done a lot of research on them. Kaiser's site has a TON of great information with lots of details about lager brewing. I feel like I have my lager brewing down pretty well and efficient. I can usually turn around my lagers in 4 weeks. Granted some need more time, like my Oktoberfest I'll be brewing in March. This one will also be my first decoction and I'm going to make it a triple.

 

German (Dutch)?

This makes no sense...

 

I just wanted to mention Noonan's books again. Brewing Lager Beers is a bit leaner than New Brewing Lager Beers. It's a decent primer for the decoction method. There is a book on Bock in the Classic Beer Series that is more of a history but contains some good descriptions as well. Noonan is good insofar as he describes how mash pH effects temperatures and times for enzymatic reactions. If you could read only one book about how to make lagers, then I would go with Noonan.

deClerck and Kunze are on my future reading list once I have all my equipment squared away. They write for the professional brewer but there is a lot of information in their books that can be used by the home brewer. They are, however, quite expensive.