27 replies to this topic

[realbeerguy]

Palmer, Daniels, Mosher, Jamil are my go to books. Brew like a Monk, Wild Brews, Farmhouse Ales to expand my knowledge.

[chuck_d]

Everyone else is covering the common homebrewing texts, so I'm going to recommend something different, based on my recent experience. The MBAA Practical Handbooks for the Specialty Brewer. Well, really only the first volume, not the other two. I actually wrote up a long review of them for my friend who was looking for a birthday present for his father who is a homebrewer, and then I turned that into a journal post on my site. So, go read that and then let me know if you have any questions. Siebel is consuming enormous amounts of my time and energy, but I try to keep checking in here, however if you have questions or comments it's more likely for me to see them if you post on the blogpost than a reply in this thread.So, without further ado, the review: https://dieseldrafts...cal-handbooks/;)

[weave]

The books on my bookshelf that I would recommend are:In the order I would recommend a new brewer read themThe Joy of Homebrewing by PapazianThe Complete Guide to Homebrewing by MillerDesigning Great Beers by DanielsNew Lager Brewing by NoonanI would like to see some more recommendations from the pros and folks who have been to Seibels etc. as to what texts to purchase that are a step up from usual homebrewer texts.

[japh]

I would like to see some more recommendations from the pros and folks who have been to Seibels etc. as to what texts to purchase that are a step up from usual homebrewer texts.

Yes, this.Also, when looking at my shelf, I found these two books which I haven't seen mentioned yet:Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink by Randy Mosher, which was interesting and had some good information in general about taste buds and perception.&The brewer's companion: A source-book for the small-scale brewer also by Randy Mosher, now seemingly out of print - it has a lot of charts and graphs that you can use to design beers, and record information. Someone with brewing software probably won't need that, plus it was in a little bit of need of a copy editer (at least the edition I have is).

[Genesee Ted]

Although it is not a beer book, I would not want to be without The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm. I wouldn't mind getting a wine or cider book too, but I think that all homebrewers could use the valuable info in Scramm's tome. All the listings of ingredients and whatnot are useful if you ever want to put some non-Rheinheitsgebot stuff in your brew. Plus, mead is a wonderful beverage and I don't know about you guys, but I tend to have empty fermenters from time to time coupled with a creative streak and access to great local honey, so that works.

[MtnBrewer]

...and Charlie's Joy Of Home Brewing was the first one I had ever read ...it came with my first home brew kit.definitely a must

I don't know if it's a "must" but I can't argue with it being on the list. Personally, I never got much value from any of the Papazian books I've read. The Miller book, and now How to Brew are better. Papazian's style never really meshed with my thought processes. He's more from the "relax, it's gonna be beer no matter how bad you goof up" school of thought, which is great for a beginner who worries that if a single bacterium falls into the beer it's going to get contaminated. But he never really took it to the next level the way Miller and Palmer did. If you just want to screw around and make some kind of beer, then Charlie is the way to go. If you plan to get serious, skip Charlie and go straight to Palmer.