Although I first learned how to brew from a friend, after a few batches I finally picked up a homebrewing book. I’ve been devouring them ever since.
It’s true, I’m a bookworm. so here is my pick of the top 5 homebrew books.
You are reading: Books on brewing beer
top 5:
08/23/2022 05:42 GMT
the complete joy of homebrewing – charlie papazian
The first book on homebrewing I ever read, The Joy of Homebrewing, is a brewing classic. Charlie coined the phrase, “kick back, don’t worry, have a home brew,” and he repeats it numerous times in this book when the reader tackles a tricky subject.
his laid back “it’s just beer” attitude is very reassuring.
You can certainly learn how to brew from this book, but Palmer’s book is best for a beginner looking for a step-by-step approach. the techniques in homebrew pleasure are a bit outdated and the organization of the book is confusing. That said, people swear by the recipes, and having made a couple myself, I can back that statement.
Reading this book is a right of entry into the world of homebrewing, and Charlie deserves a place on every brewer’s shelf.
- type: how to brew a – z
- level: beginner to advanced
- recipes: yes, extract and all grain.
how to brew beer – john palmer
how to brew by palmer is the best book on how to brew beer out there. It clearly teaches the beginner how to get started with extract, takes them to extract and specialty grains, then shows them how to upgrade to whole grain brewing. the book is written in a direct and no-nonsense style. just the facts, and lots of them.
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just like charlie’s book, this should be on every brewer’s shelf. it’s one of those reference books you’ll come back to again and again no matter how experienced you are.
- type: how to brew a – z
- level: beginner to advanced
- recipes: yes, all-grain and extract. (I was wrong in the video where I said there are no recipes; there is a chapter on recipes).
crafting classic styles – jamil zainasheff & John Palmer
palmer is the instruction guy and jamil is the recipe guy. together they created a great brewing book on brewing classic styles. This is not a book for the new homebrewer. It’s for a brewer with a bit of experience who wants to improve his skills and learn how to brew different styles.
the idea is that I teach you how to make each of the 80 bjcp beer styles. homebrew challenge anyone?
This book is very straightforward and you’ll speed up every type of beer. sets the guidelines for a style, gives you the key factors in crafting it, and then provides a recipe.
- Type: Recipe Formulation/Skill Enhancement
- Level: Moderate
- Recipes : yes, extract and whole grain.
designing great beers – ray daniels
Designing great beers is similar to brewing classic styles in that it focuses on brewing according to style guidelines. think of this book as a continuation of that one.
goes much deeper into the key components of beer styles: malt types, hops, yeast, water chemistry, fermentation temperatures, ibu, srm, etc, etc.
This is a more advanced book, and like how to brew, it’s one of those reference books you’ll always come back to and learn something from. it’s big and packed with information.
what i really like about this book is that it uses real data from the national homebrew competition (nhc) to show you how the winning beers are made.
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daniels provides tons of charts and graphs showing the trends of real beers shipped to the nhc. for example, there is a table showing the most common hops used in the fruit beer category. very good.
- type: recipe formulation/skill enhancement
- level: advanced
- recipes : no
radical elaboration – randy mosher
Last but not least is the radical brewing of randy mosher. Where the brewing of classic styles and the design of great beers were dry and scientific, Mosher’s book nails the art of brewing.
The first third of the book is an introduction to brewing and in my opinion is not necessary as it is a more advanced book and the reader will likely already know that information.
After that, though, there are some real gems.
The book goes outside the box and teaches you things like:
- 12 ways to improve a stout
- how to age beers in barrels
- foreign malts and adjuncts
- belgian brewing
This is also the easiest of all the books to read. includes color, images and graphics. there is a lot of information here, but it is easy to read. top marks.
- type: unconventional crafting/skill upgrading
- level: advanced
- recipes : yes, extract and whole grain.
honorable mention: extreme brewing – sam calagione
I won’t do a full review, but extreme brewing ranks a very close sixth. Sam is the founder of Dogfish Head Brewery and teaches the tricks of the trade for making their beers off center.
Do you want the recipe for his 60 minute ipa? indian indian beer? midas touch? they’re all here.
homebrewer essentials list [do the most]
- the complete joy of homebrewing
- home winemaking
- the noma guide to fermentation
- making classic styles
- the complete mead maker
- drink the harvest
- the flavor bible
- hop variety handbook
- so you want to start a brewery?
- wine analysis and production
Can’t find anything worth investigating on this list? salutations to your sir, as you are a well informed brewer. I challenge you with this list of beer books to complete your experience on the subject.
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