Books

[lmd]

I am looking to get some homebrewign books fo rthe Summer. Can anyone tell me the difference between the new joy of homebreing and the homebrewing companion. I am also looking to get the book yeast.

Are there any others I should loko into?

 

[GrogNerd]

how to brew, john palmer

not sure about homebrewing companion, don't have that one

I do have Designing Great Beers, ray daniels. like it, use a lot of the suggestions

also have Radical Brewing, randy mosher. some good history, some recipes

 

[Mongrel]

Yeast, Designing Great Beers and Radical Brewing and How to Brew belong in any collection. Brewing Classic Styles is another good one to add early on.

OP, is there a particular style you just love? Brewers Publications has a series dedicated to the individual styles. So far, I've picked up the Alt, Barley Wine, Mild Ale, Brown Ale, Stout, Porter, and Scotch Ale books. New Brewing Lager Beer is great if you ever want to do Lagers. Brew Like a Monk for the Belgian fans, I'm not a big fan of Belgians but the book is still a great read.

 

[daksin]

I highly recommend YEAST, and think you should skip "Brewing Better Beer." I don't think that one was useful or entertaining. I haven't read "Designing Great Beers" yet or "The Brewmaster's Bible" but they're on my list. Also recommended is "Brew Like a Monk" if you're into Belgians.

 

[HerbieHowells]

Can anyone tell me the difference between the new joy of homebreing and the homebrewing companion?

I have read the Joy of Homebrewing, and Amazon reviews of the Homebrewing Companion. Joy of Homebrewing is a step-by-step how to guide that will help you brew your first beer from a kit, your first beer from extract, and get you enough information to get started on your first all-grain beer. I believe that Homebrewing Companion is more of an expansion on some of the topics covered in Joy of Homebrewing. It is aimed at someone who has already brewed a few batches using the Joy of Homebrewing and wants more information.

The fact of the matter is that both books are a bit out of date, and better how-to and reference guides exist. Nonetheless, Joy of Homebrewing is still worth checking out from the library, as it is a lot of fun to read. The only book that comes close to "Joy" in terms of expressing how much fun homebrewing can be is Radical Brewing. Charlie P has a way with words that other brewing authors cannot touch.

 

[Mongrel]

I highly recommend YEAST, and think you should skip "Brewing Better Beer." I don't think that one was useful or entertaining. I haven't read "Designing Great Beers" yet or "The Brewmaster's Bible" but they're on my list. Also recommended is "Brew Like a Monk" if you're into Belgians.

Yeah, I was also disappointed with Brewing Better Beer.

 

[lmd]

I ended up buying Yeast and How to Brew...

 

[Nightshade]

Designing Great Beers and Radical Brewing are two I always recommend.

Brewing Better Beer was a nice refresher but no real eye opening moments unless you are new to brewing, then I could see it being a good book to have around for a while and pass on.

Yeast I got a lot out of regarding handling, washing and the whys and hows it does it's job. As you advance it is a more appreciated volume to have on hand at times.

 

[Pratzie]

I started offwith the Brewmasters Bible. Then went with Palmers How to Brew. I'm actually leafing thru it right now, thats def a mandatory purchase. I also recently purchased Brewing Classic Styles by Palmer and Jamil as well as Clone Brews 2nd Edition and recommend these four for any brewers, regardless of the amount of experience.

On my wish list are Radical Brewing along with Tasting Beer, both by Mosher, Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagionne.

Once Palmer releases his book about brewing waters, i'll grab that as well.