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FlyGuy

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So, what are everyone's favourite books on brewing science?

I own the two really popular ones:

George Fix (1999) Principles of Brewing Science

Lee Janson (1996) Brew Chem 101


There is a lot of useful information in these books, but neither is an outstanding read. Both books suffer from providing a technical, but relatively superficial overview of the science behind the brewing process.

While not a 'brewing science' book per se, I have found this book to be immensely useful:

Greg Noonan (2003) New Brewing Lager Beer


And my top book for brewing science is this one:

Dennis Briggs et al. (2004) Brewing Science and Practice

Outstanding book. My #1 go to reference.

Anyone else?
 
Those are all great, though I've not read Brew Chem 101. Designing Great Beers has a few tidbits in the front section that are useful. I also found some surprising brew science-type information in Horst Dornbusch's Books Altbier and Bavarian Helles.
 
It took me less than a night to read Brew Chem 101, and I a total newbie to brewing (although I do know biochemistry OK). I got nothing new out of it.

I am reading Fix's book right now, and am finding it much more informative. If you can only get one of the two, make it Fix's.

Briggs' looks a little expensive for my pocket right now (and I don't plan on getting Kindle either).
 
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Kai what books would you recommend?

Fix's book is good and has a lot of useful information.

Have a look at Google-Books. There are many books (including the Briggs one) for which you get a limited preview. This means you get to read a few pages.

Aside from that good textbooks are expensive and not necessarily worth the investment for the homebrewer. And you'll have to read them with a very critical eye. Not everying said there applies or matters in home brewing.

Kai
 
I too recommend Fix's book over Janson's book for content. But neither are particularly well written. Fix's book is popular because it is really the only brewing science book (with any substance) that is written for homebrewers. My problem with it is that it is poorly structured and has a surprising number of errors in it.

The Briggs et al. book has far more information and is very well written. It is aimed at pro-brewers, but is written without a lot of industry jargon so a homebrewer should have no problem reading it. Like the other industry books, it is expensive to purchase a hardcopy. But keep your eyes open for other sources.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/brewing-book-106097/
 
Brew Chem 101 is great for people who have absolutely no idea of any aspect of chemistry and want to be able to spout buzz words about brewing science to their drinking buddies...

Fix's books is really good if you have a chemical background...

Basically what it comes down too, if you don't have the chemistry background a book is either going to be so basic it's useless of too complicated that it doesn't matter... That's just IMHO...
 
I have two pretty advanced textbooks but haven't plowed through them...

'Brewing: Science and Practice' by Briggs, etc. Mine's a PDF file...

Then I bought 'A Textbook of Brewing' by Jean De Clerck in December when I found a copy of it on sale for cheaper.
 
I'd like to pick up the DeClerk Book Somewhere, heard a lot about it.

One that has not been added is Brewing New Technologies by C. W. Bamforth - 2006
It's even more micro-brewery oriented than Brewing Science and Practice, but there is information covered that Briggs et al. does not cover.

Also, Brewing Yeast and Fermentation by Chris Boulton and David Quain - 2001
goes very in depth with yeast and fermentation... as that's all it's about.

Brew Chem 101 is garbage.
Brewer's Companion by Mosher is nice for the beginner wanting to learn more of what is going on than Palmer or Papazian(can never spell his name) ever go into.
 
Dennis Briggs et al. (2004) Brewing Science and Practice

I am reading this now. Managed my way through the first 100 pages in 2 sittings. All I can say is;

Wow! :drunk:
 
Screw it, I'm just going to post this.. I've gotten so many PM's.

Brewing New Technologies
[ame=http://rapidshare.com/files/121889726/BrewingNewTechnologies.rar]RapidShare: Easy Filehosting[/ame]

Brewing Science and Practice 2004
[ame=http://rapidshare.com/files/107178743/Brewing_Science_and_Practice__2004_.pdf]RapidShare: Easy Filehosting[/ame]

The Complete Joy of Home Brewing
[ame=http://rapidshare.com/files/120668839/The_Complete_Joy_of_Home_Brewing.rar]RapidShare: Easy Filehosting[/ame]

BEER Tap Into the Art and Science of Brewing
[ame=http://rapidshare.com/files/65721333/BEER_Tap_Into_the_Art_and_Science_of_Brewing.pdf]RapidShare: Easy Filehosting[/ame]

Brewing Yeast and Fermentation
[ame=http://www.esnips.com/doc/ca04fa6e-6395-4b34-9460-ab00517fbb08/Brewing-Yeast-and-Fermentation]Brewing Yeast and Fermentation - eSnips, share anything[/ame]

Homebrew Favorites
[ame=http://www.esnips.com/doc/9395a141-6f08-4967-a137-c8ad3516568c/Homebrew-Favorites]Homebrew Favorites - eSnips, share anything[/ame]

Brew your own beer (600+ recipes)
[ame=http://www.esnips.com/doc/70070912-a394-4662-9c69-1b30c1c06e7f/how_to_brew_your_own_beer]how_to_brew_your_own_beer - eSnips, share anything[/ame]

25 BEST BEERS IN AMERICA
http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/imgpdf/25_best_beers_in_america.pdf

Essays in Brewing
[ame=http://rapidshare.com/files/208104344/essays_in_brewing.tar.bz2.html]RapidShare: Easy Filehosting[/ame]
 
I have about 50 books on brewing. Hands down favorites in order are:

The Brewing Handbook (2008); Goldammer (IF I COULD ONLY HAVE ONE) Does an amazing job of organizing brewing into each step and summarizes hundreds of major sources including Fix, De Clerck, Briggs, Kunze, Narsizz, Lewis and Young, etc.

Brewing, Science and Practice (2004); Briggs 878 pages. This covers virtually every part of the brewing process commercially from shipping the grain to the maltster to marketing. Very scientific but easy for most of us to understand. Many of the issues we grapple with as home brewers are dealt with and the information is applicable.

A Textbook of Brewing (2 vols)(1958 English, original in French 1947); De Clerck Although somewhat outdated it had alot of information in volume one especially that was down to earth and very practical for home brewers. Siebel has it as required reading.

How to Brew; Palmer. Does an outstanding job of simplifying for homebrewers the major issues that are addressed for big breweries in the other tomes I've listed. Just wish it was indexed better.

Handbook of Brewing (2006); Priest, ed. Consistently addresses issues not found in other major sources listed above. You can search it online free at Amazon.

Brewing (2001); Lewis and Young U.C. Davis professors who summarize what is covered in much more detail in Briggs, above.

Principles of Brewing Science (1999); Fix (more info applicable to home brewers)

Brewing(1999); Hornsey Covers brewing from a British ale perspective. Lots of practical information for us homebrewers.

Handbook of Brewing(1999); Hardwick A compendium of authors cover all relevant subjects from grain to bottling. Excellent.

Brewing, New Technologies; Bamforth, ed. The latest info on what the big guys are doing to address the issues we encounter; often with technologies way beyond our reach. Still very helpful. Bamforth has a great sense of humor.

Tap Into the Art & Science of Brewing; Bamforth. Simplified version for everyman.
 
If anyone wants an advanced, scientific book of brewing based on chemistry then check out Beer: Quality, Safety and Nutritional Aspects, Baxter and Hughes. Kind of intimidating but intriguing.
 
Thanks for the info. I'd like to read some in-depth books on brewing, not just how to brew.
 
Screw it, I'm just going to post this.. I've gotten so many PM's.

5000%20Desu%20In%20Desu%20We%20Trust.preview.jpg


5000 INTERNETS TO YOU KIND SIR.
 
I've heard some recommendations for Michael Lewis's Brewing, 2nd Edition. I believe this is used as a textbook for some university brewing programs. Any opinions on this one? I just ordered it.

I've read his Essays in Brewing Science (2006), and loved it.
 
I've heard some recommendations for Michael Lewis's Brewing, 2nd Edition. I believe this is used as a textbook for some university brewing programs. Any opinions on this one? I just ordered it.

I've read his Essays in Brewing Science (2006), and loved it.


I've heard Lewis' book is outstanding. Any feedback yet?


Of course, Technology Brewing and Malting by Kunze. The Gold Standard.
 
I own A Textbook of Brewing by De Clerck. It's great!
Not a PDF though and I'd be way too lazy to scan it...

I haven't read Technology Brewing and Malting but I wouldn't be surprised if it'd be considered the current gold standard since it's more current and that's what they use at Siebel for the main textbook and probably UCD too.
 
Handbook of Brewing, Second edition edited by Fergus G. Priest and Graham G. Stewart is loaded of information, especially on hop chemistry.

Intended for microbrewry, with Steam Calculation and things like that.

Covers any part of the brewing process, beer history to quality control.
 
"Brewing Yeast and Fermentation" is by far the best resource I have come across -- highly technical, but at the same time extremely practical. Based almost entirely on peer-reviewed published research. "Essays in Brewing science" is very good. "Brewing" by Lewis is great for some topics, but he frequently gets caught up on particulars of chemistry which aren't always apposite to brewing. "Brewing" by Ian Hornsey is very good, sufficiently technical but not to the point of being tedius. "Handbook of Brewing," Second edition edited by Fergus G. Priest and Graham G. Stewart is another nice resource. Next on my list is Fix, De Clerk, and "Malting and Brewing Science", though the latter two are going to be difficult to obtain. "New Brewing Lager Beer" seems like it would be a good book, but it seems to me to too prescriptive "x is bad, don't do it", and based upon the author's own beliefs, rather than on solid research.
 
I'd like a sticky in the beer beginners --- The best beer brewing books to read, and then some other books to read..... I can't read this forum all the damn time!
 
I see this thread is largely dead, but...

Are there any books that are devoted to the mash process or chemistry? I'm going to assume that many of the books mentioned do so, but I haven't gotten to them yet. I'm reading Yeast by White and Zainasheff and Designing Great Beers by Davis. I'll probably pick up Radical Brewing or Brewing, Science and Practice next.

I'm not confident that our mashes are going well and I'd like to focus my learning on that topic next. Thanks.
 
I've been getting lots of PM's on the stuff I posted in the past. I no longer really visit this site, but I do still have everything. I zipped it up and It's hosted on some random file storage website, subject to go down again I'm sure, but for now here's everything I've got.
If someone keeps a torrent client running 24/7, you might consider hosting this and providing the magnet link.

https://anonfiles.com/file/e1cb9cff93e8075aa4687d2e9e35786f
 
This is a really good thread. I am torn between 4 or 5 books, and given how much they each cost - I certainly cant buy all of them!


Brewing: Science and Practice
Essays in Brewing Science
Michael Lewis's Brewing, 2nd Edition
Handbook of Brewing, Second Edition (really cant justify this one atm)

The Brewers' Handbook: The Complete Book to Brewing Beer (looks good but not as BIG as those above...

HELP!
 
Anyone happen to have those PDFs that were posted by z987k earlier? Both links are dead now. Thanks!
 
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