Beer Book?

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Photohype

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Since I'm jumping into the world of home brewing head-first, I'm very ignorant to just about everything that all you professionals have known for quite some time. I was wondering if there is a book out there that can be used by the masters of the trade as well as those just getting their feet wet, such as myself. Is there a specific book that is the holy grail of beer brewing? If so, please share. Thanks!
 
I concur. How To Brew is the go to book. I'm new as well and I read it before even starting. Still use it a couple times a week to reference. Can find it used on Amazon pretty cheap. Good luck. Cheers.


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You can also check out The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It's a little dated, but still contains tons of great info.
 
I liked the brewmasters bible when I started


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How to Brew +1.... It is substantially better than Joy of Homebrewing. It is probably the single best, broad book you can buy. It is the right mix of simple explanations, but also accurate processes. I think that the Joy of Homebrewing relies a little too much on the "Relax have a homebrew" aspect of brewing. Sure - relax and have fun - but do it right. How to Brew gives you that and it gives you enough advanced info that you can use it for years.
Also - this forum - and in particular the "Sticky Notes" at the top of each forum provide some of the best information available.
Also check out the various podcasts - they are VERY good - scroll back through old episodes and you will find every topic covered. The Brewing Network (Brewstrong and Jamil Show in particular), Beersmith, Basic Brewing... Great info there.
 
How to brew is better especially for all grain. It's more technical...

I did one extract then went to all grain. What I did was pretty much searched the forums for specific questions. I learned the process, so I understood what steps needed to happen. Then I broke those steps down and researched specific questions I had about each process. And I would read several opinions on each question, because sometimes not all processes or techniques are the same. Some are better, some don't matter and some are plain wrong. For example fly vs sparge or no chill methods or brewing in a bag...etc.

While I read, more questions popped up, so I would research those as well and so on.

Start researching the mash process. It'll lead you to questions like temperatures. So then you'll learn why it is important and how it relates to the beers final product. Then that leads to how to maintain those temps. Then it'll lead to efficiency, so you'll learn how to be efficient with your conversion. That'll lead to grain crush, sparging techniques...etc.

Once you have a solid understanding of the processes and techniques,then you can start researching malts, and hops, and yeasts, and all the science behind them. Such as beta and alpha acids. Or the converting process of simple vs complex sugars and how that plays a role in the beer style. Learning about starters and what under pitching does to beer. Also learn about attenuation and flocculation... Etc.

Then you get into water quality and the addition to salts and PH as well as infections... How to diagnose one, how to understand what the infection is doing...etc.

Once I had a good understanding of the process and techniques, then I read how to brew because I felt I understood it more, and my questions were being answered. I felt I retained the info better that way. But each their own.

Don't try to get it all in at once. Just learn the basics first.

Understand the mash and sparge those are really the most important processes during all grain. Make sure you have good temp controlled fermenting too. Then start brewing because you'll learn that it'll take a while to get your gear where you need it and also to fine tune your techniques.

Like you'll miss your mash temp, so you'll research more about how to obtain it and maintain it better. Then you'll upgrade equipment to help. Lol

Good luck.
 
I always recommend it because I never see anyone else do it...but Homebrewing for Dummies is a good book. Yeah...it doesn't have the best name, but the book is fairly wide so the layout is nice, the text seems a bit bolder and larger so if you have bad eyes that helps, and it's printed in a very user-friendly way. There's even charts and stuff on the inside of the cover.

I highly recommend the other books listed here as well. For additional reading I recommend checking out Brewers Publications because they are the publisher for the largest majority of brewing books that I know of.
 
I always recommend the above as well as "Yeast" by Chris White as yeast make beer! Gordon Strong's "Brewing Better Beer" is also a great resource that will serve you well as you move forward.


Also +1 to perusing the Brewers publication library, there are a lot of great resources there! Another good place to go is the BJCP style guide to learn about the myriad of styles. "Brewing Classic Styles" is another good resource.

Cheers!
 
Yeah, to be clear, Complete Joy of Homebrewing is not geared toward all grain brewing. I also have not read How To Brew, just used the online version as a reference. It seems to be more technical, and that can be intimidating to someone just starting out. Just my $.02.

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If you have trouble sleeping I would suggest "Water A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers" by John Palmer and Colin Kaminski

I can only read a few pages a night and I'm out like a baby. It might take me 6 months to finish.
 
I'll mention some books but I'll also say you're in the right place with these forums. Check out the stickies associated with whatever method you wish to employ. After several batches you'll discover the Recipes section and not be seen for days :)

Books:
1. How to Brew (Palmer)
2. Radical Brewing (Mosher)
3. Brewing Classic Styles (a recipe book - Zainasheff)
4. Designing Great Beers (Daniels) - save this one for down the road

Those are just the ones I've immersed myself in so far. "Brew Like a Monk" and "Yeast" are on my short list. Also I enjoy getting BYO as much for the recipes as the articles.
 
Thanks everyone for your recommendations on my question about books. I visited my local brew store this afternoon and picked up How To Brew by Palmer. I've read the first few pages and will continue to read as much tonight before my brew tomorrow.


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