5 Comments to “The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers”
Review by Chad Baker for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers Rating:
I have used this book so much I wore it out. I now have a second copy. This is no doubt the best recipe book I own. It is geared towards the extract brewer and is a great companion to Papazian’s “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. It is not an instruction book for the new brewer but rather a comprehensive book or recipes. There are simple recipes that a new brewer can use instead of purchasing a kit. There are also more advanced recipes for the more experienced brewer. It contains recipes for nearly every style of beer as well as cider and mead. My personal favorite is the Saison recipe, which most recipe books do not include.Unfortunately I don’t see copies this book at the local bookstores or LHBS anymore. Grab a copy before this gem goes out of print.
Review by for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers Rating:
If you’re looking for a “how-to” book with regard to home-brewing, this ISN’T it, but if you just want RECIPES than this is the one to get. There is a mix of both extract and all-grain recipes. The emphasis on the former is not as great as advertised which I found slightly disappointing–for me, home-brewing is a hobby and not an occupation. (With a little bit of practice, however, it’s not too difficult to convert an all-grain recipe into an extract version.) No matter what your style or taste, you’ll find at least several different choices here, with recipes complete and easy to understand, and usually presented in a very entertaining fashion. Lots of tips, “history of beer” vignettes, and quotes from famous people on the subject of beer, many of which I have found fun to use in label-making. There’s also some very good food recipes in here, all using beer–the Chicken with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce has become a family favorite, and I’m anxious to try the Chocolate Cream Stout Cake!
Review by John P. Stamper for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers Rating:
Anyone can put together a list of recipes for all the classicstyles of beer, throw a cover on it and hawk it for … … or put up a web site and collect a thousand different ways to combine malt and hops… recipes are easy to come by. But this book is more than just a collection of formulas. I give it a wholehearted five stars because the authors fill the pages with their passion for brewing great beer. The pages are a combination of anecodtes, brew tips and best of all quotations from all the greats of literature… Shakespeare to Orwell, they all had something to say about beer. I never tire of flipping through the pages when I am getting ready to make the next batch, and laughing at the wit and wisdom found within. I’ll say it again. Get this book, it’s worth twice the asking price.
Review by Steve Abell for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers Rating:
It’s fitting that Charlie Papazian wrote the foreword for this book. “The Homebrewer’s Recipe Guide” is written very much in the spirit of Papazian’s “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. The book is filled with famous beer related quotes and bits of beer related prose, most of it quite good. The recipes are divided into the usual categories, most of the recipes have whimsical names and a little information about the brew or the person who made the recipe. Everything about the book is light and fun, much like “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. I’ve tried a few of the recipes and they made good beer. I’m sure all of them will make good beer. One of the more interesting ones is a Belgian Wit that involves dry hopping Cascades, definitely not to style but I bet it tastes good.
The authors are right up front that this is not a technical manual but rather a guide, hence the title. I’m puzzled by all the negative reviews that criticize for not specifying IBU’s and not including instructions for partial boils. If you’ve brewed a few batches of beer, you should be able to look at these recipes and understand how to adapt them to your system and your personal taste, it isn’t difficult. The authors weren’t out to write a textbook but rather to share whats worked for them and inspire the reader to brew beer. This, like “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”, is an excellent book just to browse through on rainy days when you can’t brew. For me, both books really capture the spirit of homebrewing. You can follow these recipes to the letter no matter what size boil you’re doing or what %AA your hops are and make great beer or you can change these recipes to hit whatever marks you want to hit. There’s all kinds of software you can plug the ingredients into to figure out what you’re going to get, or you can calculate with pen and paper, or you can just wing it. I don’t think it’s fair to criticize this book for not nailing down all the specifics and for not providing specific conversions for extract, partial-mash, and all grain versions of each recipe. It’s not that kind of book and it doesn’t pretend to be. It is a great recipe guide with some wonderful bits of literature. It’s not a beginner’s guide but it certainly can be used by beginners and it’s not an advanced manual but you’d have to be pretty heartless not to like it.
If you didn’t like Papazian’s “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” because it’s a little too whimsical, not specific enough, and contains “outdated” information, then you’re not going to like this book either. However, if you love “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing”, this book makes an excellent companion. As for the politics several people have mentioned, there are no political discussions in my edition (1996). There is a reference to Jimmy Carter since he’s the one who made homebrewing legal in the US and there is a reference to Thomas Jefferson also in a beer related context, but I find no references to Newt Gingrich or the Democrats in my edition and I’ve read it many times.
Amazon has the “Search Inside This Book” feature available for this book. The sample pages are a good representation of what you get. If you like what you see, I highly recommend purchasing it.
Review by Chad Baker for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers
Rating:
I have used this book so much I wore it out. I now have a second copy. This is no doubt the best recipe book I own. It is geared towards the extract brewer and is a great companion to Papazian’s “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. It is not an instruction book for the new brewer but rather a comprehensive book or recipes. There are simple recipes that a new brewer can use instead of purchasing a kit. There are also more advanced recipes for the more experienced brewer. It contains recipes for nearly every style of beer as well as cider and mead. My personal favorite is the Saison recipe, which most recipe books do not include.Unfortunately I don’t see copies this book at the local bookstores or LHBS anymore. Grab a copy before this gem goes out of print.
Review by for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers
Rating:
If you’re looking for a “how-to” book with regard to home-brewing, this ISN’T it, but if you just want RECIPES than this is the one to get. There is a mix of both extract and all-grain recipes. The emphasis on the former is not as great as advertised which I found slightly disappointing–for me, home-brewing is a hobby and not an occupation. (With a little bit of practice, however, it’s not too difficult to convert an all-grain recipe into an extract version.) No matter what your style or taste, you’ll find at least several different choices here, with recipes complete and easy to understand, and usually presented in a very entertaining fashion. Lots of tips, “history of beer” vignettes, and quotes from famous people on the subject of beer, many of which I have found fun to use in label-making. There’s also some very good food recipes in here, all using beer–the Chicken with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce has become a family favorite, and I’m anxious to try the Chocolate Cream Stout Cake!
Review by John P. Stamper for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers
Rating:
Anyone can put together a list of recipes for all the classicstyles of beer, throw a cover on it and hawk it for … … or put up a web site and collect a thousand different ways to combine malt and hops… recipes are easy to come by. But this book is more than just a collection of formulas. I give it a wholehearted five stars because the authors fill the pages with their passion for brewing great beer. The pages are a combination of anecodtes, brew tips and best of all quotations from all the greats of literature… Shakespeare to Orwell, they all had something to say about beer. I never tire of flipping through the pages when I am getting ready to make the next batch, and laughing at the wit and wisdom found within. I’ll say it again. Get this book, it’s worth twice the asking price.
Review by Steve Abell for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers
Rating:
It’s fitting that Charlie Papazian wrote the foreword for this book. “The Homebrewer’s Recipe Guide” is written very much in the spirit of Papazian’s “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. The book is filled with famous beer related quotes and bits of beer related prose, most of it quite good. The recipes are divided into the usual categories, most of the recipes have whimsical names and a little information about the brew or the person who made the recipe. Everything about the book is light and fun, much like “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. I’ve tried a few of the recipes and they made good beer. I’m sure all of them will make good beer. One of the more interesting ones is a Belgian Wit that involves dry hopping Cascades, definitely not to style but I bet it tastes good.
The authors are right up front that this is not a technical manual but rather a guide, hence the title. I’m puzzled by all the negative reviews that criticize for not specifying IBU’s and not including instructions for partial boils. If you’ve brewed a few batches of beer, you should be able to look at these recipes and understand how to adapt them to your system and your personal taste, it isn’t difficult. The authors weren’t out to write a textbook but rather to share whats worked for them and inspire the reader to brew beer. This, like “Complete Joy of Homebrewing”, is an excellent book just to browse through on rainy days when you can’t brew. For me, both books really capture the spirit of homebrewing. You can follow these recipes to the letter no matter what size boil you’re doing or what %AA your hops are and make great beer or you can change these recipes to hit whatever marks you want to hit. There’s all kinds of software you can plug the ingredients into to figure out what you’re going to get, or you can calculate with pen and paper, or you can just wing it. I don’t think it’s fair to criticize this book for not nailing down all the specifics and for not providing specific conversions for extract, partial-mash, and all grain versions of each recipe. It’s not that kind of book and it doesn’t pretend to be. It is a great recipe guide with some wonderful bits of literature. It’s not a beginner’s guide but it certainly can be used by beginners and it’s not an advanced manual but you’d have to be pretty heartless not to like it.
If you didn’t like Papazian’s “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” because it’s a little too whimsical, not specific enough, and contains “outdated” information, then you’re not going to like this book either. However, if you love “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing”, this book makes an excellent companion. As for the politics several people have mentioned, there are no political discussions in my edition (1996). There is a reference to Jimmy Carter since he’s the one who made homebrewing legal in the US and there is a reference to Thomas Jefferson also in a beer related context, but I find no references to Newt Gingrich or the Democrats in my edition and I’ve read it many times.
Amazon has the “Search Inside This Book” feature available for this book. The sample pages are a good representation of what you get. If you like what you see, I highly recommend purchasing it.
Review by thalgott@konnections.com for The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers
Rating:
This is a delightful book of recipes, tips, and antecdotes. As an extract brewer, the book meets my needs perfectly. The recipes are varied and wide ranging, from classic recipes to historic and seasonal brews.