Gordon Strong's New Book

[remilard]

I'm about halfway through this book, and I think it's easily one of the best I have read on the subject. Not a textbook, but a long conversation with one of the best home brewers in the game. Money well spent IMO.

Bingo, this man gets it. You get at a point in brewing where all you can learn is little nuggets that stick out in conversations. Same reason I think the Sunday Session is the best source of information online. It's like a big long drunken conversation, but more often than not you pick up something you can apply.

If someone wants technical brewing discussion in a non-technical tone, read Noonan's book, it has everything you need technically.

 

[MalFet]

Leaving aside remilard's rather tedious insistence that anybody who doesn't agree with his assessment of this book "doesn't get it", I do think that it reads a lot like a written version of the Sunday Session (minus the smutty jokes), for both better and worse.

I suspect that I shouldn't blame Gordon for this, but it seems that a lot of the issue is the gap between how the book was billed and how it actually reads. I continue to enjoy it, but "Master lessons for advanced homebrewers" seems too ambitious for both its style and content. "Shootin' the **** with an extremely talented brewer" would feel more accurate, but in any case the book is worth the $13.

 

[StMarcos]

Bingo, this man gets it. You get at a point in brewing where all you can learn is little nuggets that stick out in conversations. Same reason I think the Sunday Session is the best source of information online. It's like a big long drunken conversation, but more often than not you pick up something you can apply.

If someone wants technical brewing discussion in a non-technical tone, read Noonan's book, it has everything you need technically.

I agree - lots of good info in that book. The mashing instructions are fully focused on decoctions with undermodified malts though imo.

 

[remilard]

I agree - lots of good info in that book. The mashing instructions are fully focused on decoctions with undermodified malts though imo.

Right, but if you can do that, you can probably handle any other type of mashing.

I sometimes joke about how I use almost nothing I learned getting my math degree at work. In reality though, to be an expert at a given level you usually have to be proficient at a higher level first. So I think the best infusion mashers are probably the people that can do a decoction if they need to. All that work to learn the harder case creates a level of maturity and instinct that can be applied to the simpler case but can't have been gained there.

 

[Homercidal]

I think most of the advanced stuff we already know about here. It's stuff that's been more or less common knowledge for a couple of years on either of the forums. But the book goes a bit further IMO. It's more like all of that information, but really how it applies to Gordon's brewing, or how Gordon applies it in his brewing. And beyond that, what's his rationale for doing things the way he does it.

It seems like a book that he wrote because people were always asking his advice and why he does things the way he does. I'm sure he finally just figured one day to write it all down and make it available to everyone.

Keep in mind that there are a lot of brewers who are looking to go beyond extract brewing, but don't hang out here reading up on all of the advanced brewing information. This book might be just what they need to not just learn about the techniques, but understand why this (successful) homebrewer does what he does.

There's plenty of stuff I probably would not do the same as Gordon, but on the other hand, sometimes the book either reinforces my method, or makes me at least think about why I do it my way, and would it be better to change equipment or methods.

 

[sonetlumiere85]

Likewise!

See, but I posted more than "haters gonna hate," I actually contributed to the discussion.

 

[jfowler1]

I'll follow up after the weekend and let you know my own thoughts.

Joe

OP Here.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. It took a bit longer than planned, but I finished the book last night, and wanted to share my thoughts.

First of all, IMO, the "extract isn't brewing" thing got overblown early in this thread. It was a throwaway sentence, and certainly is not the point of the book.

More on point, I really enjoyed the format of;

Here are techniques A,B,C for a given process. I do "B", and this is why.

A few other things I really enjoyed were his thoughts on hop blends (Cascade/Centennial , Simcoe/Amarillo), yeast selections, clashing flavors, post boil hop usage, and his thoughts about top mashing/steeping roasted grains. I also appreciate his opinion that the community may be going a little overboard on the neccessity of extending the primary fermentation timeline. Those are all pretty finite thoughts that came from Gordon's experience, and really lend to the "chatting with a brewer" flow of the book. If I had 10 minutes with Gordon, those are the things I would be picking his brain about. I will definately be incorporating a few of those tips into my process.

I started to lose interest a bit when the book started leaning toward "how to win in competitions". I like the competition format for the sake of honest feedback, but personally, have no interest in entering a competition with the goal of winning a medal. For someone more competitive/involved than me, this may be their favorite part of the book. Small scale blending, carbonating in a soda bottle, etc., are all great tips for the sake of increased success in competition, but for my brewing interests, they weren't very practical.

All in all, a good read. However, IMO, reads more like "brewing to win a competition" than "brewing better beer".

Are they the same thing? Maybe; maybe not.

Joe

 

[Brewpastor]

Are they the same thing? Maybe; maybe not.

Joe

Two different games in my opinion.

 

[taalhiker]

OP Here.
More on point, I really enjoyed the format of;
Here are techniques A,B,C for a given process. I do "B", and this is why.

A few other things I really enjoyed were his thoughts on hop blends (Cascade/Centennial , Simcoe/Amarillo), yeast selections, clashing flavors, post boil hop usage, and his thoughts about top mashing/steeping roasted grains. I also appreciate his opinion that the community may be going a little overboard on the neccessity of extending the primary fermentation timeline. Those are all pretty finite thoughts that came from Gordon's experience, and really lend to the "chatting with a brewer" flow of the book. If I had 10 minutes with Gordon, those are the things I would be picking his brain about. I will definately be incorporating a few of those tips into my process.

Joe

Gordon is speaking at my local homebrew club (DRAFT - Dayton Regional Amateur Fermentation Technologists) this Friday night to discuss tips for entering the NHC. Guests are welcome. See www.daytondraft.org for information. I'm looking forward to having him try some of my homebrews. I'm a glutton for punishment.........

 

[BrewThruYou]

I continue to enjoy it, but "Master lessons for advanced homebrewers" seems too ambitious for both its style and content. "Shootin' the **** with an extremely talented brewer" would feel more accurate, but in any case the book is worth the $13.

I agree with your thoughts on the title. It was basically Gordon just saying "This is what I do...here are some reasons why."

 

[overflow]

I'm about halfway through this book, and I think it's easily one of the best I have read on the subject. Not a textbook, but a long conversation with one of the best home brewers in the game. Money well spent IMO.

Quoted for truth.. to me, this book read like a long forum post from an engineer who's had tons of experience brewing. It's not meant to be a technical manual if that's what you're expecting.

 

[boo boo]

They talked about how he will often cold steep his dark grains like chocolate or carafe. Now I had heard about steeping these once or twice before, but what I hadn't considered was the fact that it allows you to not have to buffer your water so heavily with salts to balance the PH against the acidity these grains add in the mash.QUOTE]


One of the things I picked up from reading the book also.
I'm only part way through and must say it is one of the better books I have read so far. It is very readable and do throw some light into what he does to make his beer so good.
Most of what I have read only rehashes what I have read somewhere else, but then again, where is anything really new being introduced in the brewing world that will relate to us homebrewers?

 

[taalhiker]

Quoted for truth.. to me, this book read like a long forum post from an engineer who's had tons of experience brewing. It's not meant to be a technical manual if that's what you're expecting.

I'm hoping he brings some of his beer to share with others tonight.....

 

[remilard]

They talked about how he will often cold steep his dark grains like chocolate or carafe. Now I had heard about steeping these once or twice before, but what I hadn't considered was the fact that it allows you to not have to buffer your water so heavily with salts to balance the PH against the acidity these grains add in the mash.QUOTE]


One of the things I picked up from reading the book also.
I'm only part way through and must say it is one of the better books I have read so far. It is very readable and do throw some light into what he does to make his beer so good.
Most of what I have read only rehashes what I have read somewhere else, but then again, where is anything really new being introduced in the brewing world that will relate to us homebrewers?

I think I said this earlier in the thread, but a lot of the cold steeping stuff originally came from a Briess employee and George Fix wrote about it on HBD.

I bring this up because, if you liked Gordon's book and want similar insights and tips from two other great brewers and are willing to do some extra work and accept less organization, the following are two really good exercises.

1. Read everything George Fix every posted to HBD.
2. Read everything Jamil Z. every posted to the morebeer forums.

With Jamil I specify the morebeer forums because I think the forums he posted on later (like brewing network) he was in TBN/Celebrity mode and had packaged answers for everything. The morebeer stuff is largely before anyone outside of California had every heard of him, a lot of it was around when he won his first ninkasi. I think he gets into more detail because he wasn't used to answering the same questions over and over yet.

 

[Kevminator]

Gordon Strong is a damn good homebrewer, and he has the awards to prove it. I will not belittle him in that respect. We all want to be that good, or consistent, or competitively successful. It is an admirable achievement winning the Ninkasi award, let alone doing it three times. I will not detract from his accomplishments. His credentials are impeccable in that area.

However, if you have ever met Gordon Strong or had a beer judged by him, you will understand what I am about to say. His book is written exacly like he writes up a BJCP scoresheet. Lots of "I LOVE ME AND I AM THE BEST JUDGE AND HOMEBREWER EVER AND YOU ARE NOT" language with not a lot of useful information to be had about improving your beer. So, if you get his book and if you can get by the man's ego, filter out everything he's said he's done, and get to the brass tacks, nuts and bolts of what he is saying, you will find that the 20-30 pages left of his book a great tool. If you can't, then you will find his book 300+ pages difficult to understand, confusing, contradictory, and counter intuitive. Is it worth the money, that's your call.

Some day, when you try to have a conversation with the two of them (Gordon and Gordon's EGO), you will quickly find out exactly how much more he knows about the subject of homebrewing and judging than you, Charlie P, Greg N, Michael J, Stan H, Jamail Z, all other BJCP judges combined, etc. and if you don't, not to worry, it just means that he has not got around to telling you in the first 5-10 seconds but he will tell you. Just how big of an ego you ask? Well, I'll have to bring attention to the fact that he is the head of the BJCP. He wrote the qualifications for GM V certification in such a way that he and only he could be rated as GM V with all others ranked below him. He loves to call peoples' attention to that little tidbit of information to show how great a BJCP judge he is. You know, the FACT that HE is the only GM V rated judge is one of the first things he wrote in his book. Now if that isn't an ego out of control, I don't know what is.

Kev

BTW, Gordon Strong is the Gilderoy Lockhart of Homebrewing! (A Harry Potter reference for those who don't know)

 

[MalFet]

Wow, that was the most astonishingly vitriolic ad hominem thread necro rant I've seen in a while, and the fact that you threw in a Harry Potter reference at the end made it just pitch perfect.

 

[doctorRobert]

Gordon Strong is a damn good homebrewer, and he has the awards to prove it. I will not belittle him in that respect. We all want to be that good, or consistent, or competitively successful. It is an admirable achievement winning the Ninkasi award, let alone doing it three times. I will not detract from his accomplishments. His credentials are impeccable in that area.

However, if you have ever met Gordon Strong or had a beer judged by him, you will understand what I am about to say. His book is written exacly like he writes up a BJCP scoresheet. Lots of "I LOVE ME AND I AM THE BEST JUDGE AND HOMEBREWER EVER AND YOU ARE NOT" language with not a lot of useful information to be had about improving your beer. So, if you get his book and if you can get by the man's ego, filter out everything he's said he's done, and get to the brass tacks, nuts and bolts of what he is saying, you will find that the 20-30 pages left of his book a great tool. If you can't, then you will find his book 300+ pages difficult to understand, confusing, contradictory, and counter intuitive. Is it worth the money, that's your call.

Some day, when you try to have a conversation with the two of them (Gordon and Gordon's EGO), you will quickly find out exactly how much more he knows about the subject of homebrewing and judging than you, Charlie P, Greg N, Michael J, Stan H, Jamail Z, all other BJCP judges combined, etc. and if you don't, not to worry, it just means that he has not got around to telling you in the first 5-10 seconds but he will tell you. Just how big of an ego you ask? Well, I'll have to bring attention to the fact that he is the head of the BJCP. He wrote the qualifications for GM V certification in such a way that he and only he could be rated as GM V with all others ranked below him. He loves to call peoples' attention to that little tidbit of information to show how great a BJCP judge he is. You know, the FACT that HE is the only GM V rated judge is one of the first things he wrote in his book. Now if that isn't an ego out of control, I don't know what is.

Kev

BTW, Gordon Strong is the Gilderoy Lockhart of Homebrewing! (A Harry Potter reference for those who don't know)

Well, you can back up your process and technique two ways, scientifically or through results. His book is results oriented as proof of concept.

Just read the intro before buying. You get a sense of the writing and what its all about.

Its not a fun read, you will feel like you are being lectured at but it will help you make better beer. Put aside your own ego and read it

 

[Ryush806]

I bought and read his book. Maybe I'm not sensitive to that kind of thing but I wasn't put out at all by the contents or style. The "how to drink a lot and not die" section at the end was a little weird, but besides that I thought the book presented lots of useful ideas and information.

 

[SC_Ryan]

I didn't find it condescending at all. I think maybe Gordon Strong stole this dude's girlfriend?

 

[SC_Ryan]

That fact that he bumped a one year old thread for his diatribe is amusing as well.

 

[MisterTipsy]

That Harry Potter zing at the end really hit hard!

 

[AnOldUR]

Gordon's is one of my newer books, but it has more place markers and the pages are more tattered than any other I own.

 

[govner1]

Sounds like "somebody's" beers haven't faired well in competitions!

 

[duboman]

I have read Strong's book and found it to be very informative and educational and I picked up a lot of useful information that has improved my final product as an all grain brewer. That being said I find Strong to be a little rigid and , excuse the expression, a little stuck on himself in some cases but obviously very knowledgeable. I definitely recommend the book!

Also mentioned was Yeast and I highly recommend this book to any style of brewer, yeast seems to be the most misunderstood ingredient we use and this book helps explain all aspects of using yeast in a very straightforward manner and why it is the most important consideration in the process of brewing beer.

 

[befus]

That fact that he bumped a one year old thread for his diatribe is amusing as well.

AND he joined in 2005 and now has five posts! He came here to hunt the guy down. More to this story somewhere.

 

[MisterTipsy]

Sounds like "somebody's" beers haven't faired well in competitions!

This is the most likely explanation. Home brew competitions are serious business apparently.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Maybe he's just a lurker who decided he had something he wanted to say? Maybe he does have an ax to grind. Who knows. Can anybody dispute the allegations? I think that's the more interesting question...

 

[govner1]

I figured it out! It's all George Bush's fault!!

 

[trailbrew]

I am half way threw the book it has been great I have just started AG and learning a lot of good things from this book I didnt know or think about. Its well worth giving a read.

 

[bob1852]

I had no intentions of buying that book, but because of that rant, I think I will now!