Discovered great book for beginners

[HalloweenGod]

I just started brewing again and found a brewing book my sister had bought me that I never had read before. Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher. It is great! I think it gets the right balance between being overly complicated and overly dumbed down. Mosher doesn't assume your a ******* and explains how to make your first batch not from a kit but of your own creation, and it works! He keeps the book light and fresh with humor, beer and brewing history. Even an brewing expert might learn something. Check it out Radical Brewing.com

 

[alpo]

Hi, Randy, how's it going?

 

[HalloweenGod]

Hahaha, it does look that way was doesn' it?

 

[shaundesjardins]

Ha ha ha. Wow, are you getting a cut off the sales of this book or something?
Just kidding. It does look like a pretty good book for a beginner like me. I'll consider it once I'm done with the books I got for Christmas.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

I think it is a pretty good intermediate book myself. He covers the basics only very briefly.

I started with The complete Joy of Homebrewing (as have many), however I would recommend How to Brew by John Palmer as the best beginner book currently out there.

 

[McKBrew]

I definately would not recommend Radical Brewing for the beginning brewer, but if you were able to use it, then I guess it worked.

It is definately one of my favorite brewing books.

 

[shaundesjardins]

I think it is a pretty good intermediate book myself. He covers the basics only very briefly.

I started with The complete Joy of Homebrewing (as have many), however I would recommend How to Brew by John Palmer as the best beginner book currently out there.

I own both those books and have learned tons from each of them. I prefer How to Brew by a slim margin.
Both great though.

 

[Bluelinebrewer]

Homebrewing for Dummies is a good one too. Great bathroom material......

 

[Zenman]

Before I brewed a drop Radical Brewing was much easier and entertaining to read, especailly like the breakouts where he does some history, etc.

How to brew is much more technical, and I found it great to read the 2nd time after brewing a few batches so i could make sense of what he was talking about, but initially I couldn't figure it out, to technical, I am a very hands on learner (and I am an IT guy so am used to reading technical stuff, but still....)

I'll have to go back and reread Radical Brewing again now that I have a few batches under the belt and understand the process & terminoligy better.

Both are great books for beginner, but as for the first time, never done it before, no clue on it at all, I would recommend Radical Brewing to get you excited & to the store to buy your equip, then How to Brew to nail process understanding after you made some 'drinkable' batches.

 

[shaundesjardins]

After reading more about Radical Brewing I've decided I will buy a copy. My local bookstore happens to have a copy in stock so I'll pick it up tomorrow. Seems quite interesting.
Thanks for the head's up on this book HalloweenGod.

 

[Danek]

Just a +1 to everyone that said it's a great book. It's really not a how-to book for beginners, but as the second or third brewing book you buy, it really can't be beat.

[EDIT:] Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is also good. It's less enjoyably readable than Radical Brewing, but it's superbly informative when it comes to designing recipes.

 

[alpo]

I think I am going to buy a copy also, thanks. I've already read How to Brew cover to cover (some chapters more than one time), so I've been looking for something else.

 

[OmahaMike]

I got both the Radical Brewing and Joy of Home Brewing for Christmas. I've been reading a little from both and I enjoy reading Radical Brewing, although some is a little much for a beginner like myself. The Joy of Home Brewing seems easier to follow, but I haven't gotten into to that one to far yet. Overall, I think they both will be helpful in the long run.

 

[CGengo]

+1 again on Radical Brewing. My wife got me this as a stocking stuffer for Christmas...4 days later she was starting to get upset with me because I wouldn't put the book down - I had read 160 or so pages in just 4 days which is a LOT for me. I agree that this is not a book for the true beginner, but it is a great intermediate book. It has really gotten me excited about moving away from brewing just standard styles and into my own tastes and creations. For some reason I also really want to move into all grain brewing now, but I think I'll have to take the intermediate step to mini-mashes until I can upgrade the equipment.