Brewmasters and home brewers, I need your help.

[CrispyDelicious]

I'm kind of dancing in my seat, because today I accepted my offer of admission to Canada's only Brewmaster and Brewery Operations program. Aw yeah.

That said, I obviously want to go beyond the course materials. I need suggestions for any and all literature on the brewing of beer. I've looked on Amazon but have no idea what is worth buying and what I should not bother with. I'm only slightly experienced with it, since my father owned a u-brew for a few years after retirement from teaching; I helped him out, brewed a few batches, but never really understood the finer points of what i was doing. So anything, anything on the subject that you think is essential literature, please, let me know; I want to be as educated as possible on the subject before I start in September.

Thanks!

[Phalex]

John Palmers book (I think it's just called "How To Brew Beer") is the only reference I've ever used. That and the Home Brew Forum.


Check it out! http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

I'm kind of dancing in my seat, because today I accepted my offer of admission to Canada's only Brewmaster and Brewery Operations program.

Congratulations!

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

Aw yeah. So anything, anything on the subject that you think is essential literature, please, let me know; I want to be as educated as possible on the subject before I start in September.

Thanks!

edit: Saw your edit, no need to ask the "where are you starting from?" question any more.

That said, from my homebrewer's perspective, I'd start by cranking through the whole 18 volumes of the "Classic Beer Styles" series:

Amazon.com: classic beer style: Books

and then "Brew Like a Monk" to add more detail on the Belgian styles:

Amazon.com: Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them (9780937381878): Stan Hieronymus: Books

+1 on the Palmer book

Might want to add "Designing Great Beers" as well, but IMO it's not quite as useful as the other ones mentioned.

Amazon.com: Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles (9780937381502): Ray Daniels: Books

This is all stuff that's useful no matter how large a batch you're brewing.

Really, the best advice is to get brewing. And tasting the results. Repeatedly.

I'll also add Beersmith, which is software for planning, designing and managing the brewing process. Might be useful if you want a more organised approach to your brewing and a deeper understanding of what's going on.

[CrispyDelicious]

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

Congratulations!



How much do you know already? It's difficult to make recommendations without knowing where you're starting from.

Thanks! And let's assume I know very little. When I was brewing with my father, he really dumbed it down for me. I recall the physical process, but beyond that... I'm a little rusty

I will definitely check out those books.

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

Thanks! And let's assume I know very little. When I was brewing with my father, he really dumbed it down for me. I recall the physical process, but beyond that... I'm a little rusty

OK, start with Phalex's recommendation of "How to Brew" then and get 2-3 under your belt before moving on to the rest.

Have fun, brewing good beer is a lot like learning an instrument: There's a bunch of technical stuff and theory you have to learn to be able to make it work, but the technical stuff and theory isn't the point.

[CrispyDelicious]

Will do, thanks for the advice guys

[macaroni tony]

Anytime

[CrispyDelicious]

Originally Posted by macaroni tony

Anytime

The colt 45 thread is that way ----------------------->

[hbarcat]

24 year homebrewing veteran, here.

This book is essential:
The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing - Charlie Papazian

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

The colt 45 thread is that way ----------------------->

LMAO!!!

funniest post of the day

[MatticusMania]

B is for Beer

[spade2you]

Papazian and (a different) Michael Jackson both have great books.

Beer Captured is also a worthy book for a lot of the tables inside and some clone homebrew recipes.

[TJ55]

Another vote here for Papazian's "Joy of Home Brewing" and anything else he writes. JOHB starts out by giving you the basics to get you started and then gets more technical with all the chemistry and yeast biology later in the book. I thought the layout was well thought out and easy to follow. Lots of references to other resources and great index and glossery too.

[CrispyDelicious]

Awesome, thanks for the input! I'm compiling a list that I'm going to mass-order from amazon.

[spade2you]

The Brewmaster's Table isn't about brewing itself, but offers a lot of insight to certain beers, beer styles, as well as beer and food pairing, which is always a good thing to understand.

[UncleFluffy]

I finally cleared out my "brewery" area, which had been full of boxes for the last few months. Here's a side-on photo of my personal "brew library":



They've all got usable info, except "A sip through time" which is interesting but many of the recipes use decidedly dangerous ingredients.

[Phalex]

Niiiiice!! Got anything in the works?

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Can't offer any help, but good luck!

A friend of mine from back home studied brewing and has worked throughout the UK and New Zeland, and is currently in Canada. My old flat mate did his Masters in brewing here, and is currently back over in Canada working as a brewmaster, so, there certainly seem to be jobs in it!

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by Phalex

Niiiiice!! Got anything in the works?

Probably going to knock off a couple of kegs of lawnmower beer now that the weather's getting warm again, then something big and chewy so that it's got plenty of time to condition ready for the end of the year.

[matt descending]

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