What order would you read these books in?

My wife recently visited the US, so (obviously) I took advantage by ordering a stack of brewing books on Amazon (they're much cheaper in the US, compared to South Africa).

I got the following:
How to Brew - John Palmer
Yeast - Jamil Zainasheff
Designing Great Beers - Ray Daniels
Brewing Classic Styles - Jamil Zainasheff
Hops - Stan Hieronymus
Water - John Palmer
Brew Like a Monk - Stan Hieronymus



Now to decide what to read when

Obviously some of these are more "reference" than "end-to-end" reading, but, if you were to read them "end-to-end", what order would you read them in?

 

Personally I would go in the following order:

How to Brew
Designing Great Beers
Yeast
Water
Hops
Brewing Classic Styles
Brew Like a Monk

Of course I've already read the first two in this list, but even if I was just starting out I would go in that order.

 

I agree with this. Although, I think "Brewing Classic Styles" is less a book you read, and more a book you open up every time you want to brew a particular style..... Whenever you feel like brewing a beer, open up BCS and check out the style summary and recipe ideas. Generally, it is always a great starting point for any style recipe.
But, that is exactly the order I would suggest too.

 

I would probably put the Water book very last. As a brewer, water is really the last frontier. It is far better to master all the other aspects of brewing before diving into water chemistry and treatment. You will find far more benefits in perfecting your mash, boil, proper yeast pitch rates, aeration, fermentation temperature control, sanitation and packaging techniques than you will with fiddling with your brewing water. That book is a beast... I would recommend a primer in organic chemistry as a good idea before reading that, its that heavy.

 

That really depends on your water. If you have good water then you will gain less from learning about it. If you have highly alkaline water, or chlorine/chloramine, or other water issues - it is impossible to make consistently good beer with it (without amending it).

And - you cannot perfect your mash if you don't understand water...

That said - I think there is a big difference between having a functional application of brewing water and "understanding" water chemistry. You can brew great, great beer without a total understanding of the chemistry. However, you absolutely need to have a functional application of treating water in order to brew good beer, across styles.

So, while you may not understand all of the chemical equations - make sure you learn about water basics (Brew Science Sub Forum - Water Primer, Palmer's book - water chapter, And reading through the water book - paying attention to the less technical parts first.)
The basics are easy:

*Chlorine/chloramine must be eliminated in any water source - always.
*Controlling mash pH to 5.2-5.6 (depending on style) is necessary
*Knowing what is in your brewing water is essential before you can do much of anything.
*Cutting your water source with RO water and adding gypsum, CaCl and acid will get you where you need to be 90% of the time.

These are broad concepts that even a novice brewer can comprehend easily. So, while you may put the comprehensive understanding of all aspects of water on the back burner - don't put the basic application on hold. Learn about it ASAP.

 

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated