Best beverage & wine books according to redditors
We found 3,547 Reddit comments discussing the best beverage & wine books. We ranked the 886 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
3. Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation (Brewing Elements)
84 mentions
Brewers Publications
Found it! https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228 (NSFW?)
4/5 stars
Here's some more resources:
Natural Harvest
Semenology
In case OP wants books with larger text...
Semenology - The Semen Bartender's Handbook
https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
RIP my Amazon search history.
If you move the decimal over. This is about 1,000 in books...
(If I had to pick a few for 100 bucks: encyclopedia of country living, survival medicine, wilderness medicine, ball preservation, art of fermentation, a few mushroom and foraging books.)
Medical:
Where there is no doctor
Where there is no dentist
Emergency War Surgery
The survival medicine handbook
Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine
Special Operations Medical Handbook
Food Production
Mini Farming
encyclopedia of country living
square foot gardening
Seed Saving
Storey’s Raising Rabbits
Meat Rabbits
Aquaponics Gardening: Step By Step
Storey’s Chicken Book
Storey Dairy Goat
Storey Meat Goat
Storey Ducks
Storey’s Bees
Beekeepers Bible
bio-integrated farm
soil and water engineering
Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Food Preservation and Cooking
Steve Rinella’s Large Game Processing
Steve Rinella’s Small Game
Ball Home Preservation
Charcuterie
Root Cellaring
Art of Natural Cheesemaking
Mastering Artesian Cheese Making
American Farmstead Cheesemaking
Joe Beef: Surviving Apocalypse
Wild Fermentation
Art of Fermentation
Nose to Tail
Artisan Sourdough
Designing Great Beers
The Joy of Home Distilling
Foraging
Southeast Foraging
Boletes
Mushrooms of Carolinas
Mushrooms of Southeastern United States
Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast
Tech
farm and workshop Welding
ultimate guide: plumbing
ultimate guide: wiring
ultimate guide: home repair
off grid solar
Woodworking
Timberframe Construction
Basic Lathework
How to Run A Lathe
Backyard Foundry
Sand Casting
Practical Casting
The Complete Metalsmith
Gears and Cutting Gears
Hardening Tempering and Heat Treatment
Machinery’s Handbook
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic
Electronics For Inventors
Basic Science
Chemistry
Organic Chem
Understanding Basic Chemistry Through Problem Solving
Ham Radio
AARL Antenna Book
General Class Manual
Tech Class Manual
MISC
Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft
Contact!
Nuclear War Survival Skills
The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization in the aftermath of a cataclysm
How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything: Basics by Mark Bittman
You could see her gag a bit when she takes the bite.
I hope she got loads of money for that.
Edit: see also: Book 1 and book 2
Okay, I'm gonna give you the "you don't need lessons to home brew" lesson.
First, it's easy. It's easy as hell. All you're doing is boiling sugar, hops, and water, cooling it down, and adding yeast. You can buy the sugar (known as malt extract) in cans, so you don't even have to mess with grains. Later, you can get into creating your own extract (and recipes) with grains and a mashtun, but malt extract is step one.
Second, go buy "How To Brew" by John Palmer. It's the bible of home brewing books. You might see others, like "The Joy of Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian, but start with Palmer's book. It's more recent, and I feel like it's written to grow with you. Once you get past the extract batch and go to steeping with grains, he's got a chapter on that. Once you go from steeping with grains to "mini-mash" (where you make half a batch of extract and make up the rest with malt extract) he's got a chapter for that. When you've been brewing for 5 years and you go "man, I want to figure out what's up with my water and how I can make it better," he's got a chapter on that.
Third, listen to brewing podcasts. I would highly recommend the Brewing Network. John Palmer (the guy I just talked about) and Jamil Zainasheff (he wrote another prominent brewing guide called Brewing Classic Styles) both appear on there, and in fact have a show together called "Brew Strong." The early episodes of the Session are also great, they've gotten away from home brew in later years, but are making a return to it currently. Doctor Homebrew is great when you're ready to start competing, and Lunch Meet is fun as hell and has nothing to do with beer. Seriously, I've learned more from the BN than I have from reading How To Brew cover to cover. They've got a way of talking about things that makes it fairly easy to understand.
Fourth, some equipment advice. When you buy a kettle, you'll be tempted to save a few bucks and buy a 5 gallon kettle. Spend the extra 20-30 bucks and buy a 7 to 10 gallon aluminum kettle. The biggest problem you're going to have in the beginning is sanitation. If you're boiling your beer in a concentrated boil, where you boil 3 gallons and add 2 once the boil is over, you're gonna have a bad time. Just do a "full wort" boil, where you boil everything, transfer it to your fermenter, and add your yeast. There are so many things that can go wrong in fermentation, and they're all caused by bacteria and wild yeast. Boiling the whole shebang at once decreases those chances greatly.
I would recommend finding someone who might be into brewing beer, selling them real hard on it, and at least having a buddy on brew day, if not someone you share equipment and costs with. Cleanup is easily the biggest killer for most people in the hobby, and having two people to mop, sanitize bottles, and scrub the kettle when it's all said and done can really make the difference.
Also, the homebrewing subreddit here is fantastically helpful. I'd start with /r/homebrewing and Palmer's book, and work your way up.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler's book is a great starting point.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bar-Book-Jeffrey-Morgenthaler/dp/145211384X
You don't know what's bad until your friends make you something from the Natural Harvest cookbook
Edit: There’s a version for bartenders as well
The book on the counter is Tasting Beer. Based on the colours, I would say it's this book.
Note: I'm not a creepy stalker. I just like mysteries. I think that in the case of the upside-down beer bottle spice rack, the solution is a beer connoisseur.
Sit down with a beer flavor wheel and use that to guide you.
What the wheel does is help you pinpoint what flavors you're tasting. You may recognize a flavor as fruity but not be able to discern what fruit it is, the flavor wheel gives you some suggestions to help you narrow it down.
Some flavors will be things you may have never tasted but the aroma and feel reminds you of those things - like leather, hay, horse blanket. If you want to get serious check out Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher.
Everyone's palate is different, so if you don't taste what someone else does in a beer don't sweat it, it's all about your personal experience.
Someone else has posted a link to it already but here you go. I'm happy to make you a drink or cook dinner for you any time you like- my friends don't let me anymore.
Semenology - The Semen Bartender's Handbook
The main differences between sours and "standard brews" is the addition of bacteria and Brett yeasts in addition to Sac yeasts, a much lower AA% to allow those bacteria to grow, a mash that allows some unmodified starches into the wort to feed the bugs, and... time- fermentation takes at least six months and more realistically years.
Get /u/oldsock 's book American Sour Beers and check our his Mad Fermentationist website.
It's super fun and rewarding to brew sours. You should do it and ignore all the people that say get two separate sets of gear. They are wrong and I will fight them.
Great, now I have to delete my Amazon browsing history before I start receiving "suggestions".
Oh, it seems I already got one.
A few thoughts:
I'm going to actively try to avoid recipe books here in my links (that said, that means you're missing out on Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails, Death & Co, Potions of the Caribbean, and The Joy of Mixology so.... YMMV)
Liquid Intelligence - IMHO must have guide on the technical aspects of bartending. This book is amazing and is the first thing I share with my coworkers that want to broaden their knowledge
The Drunken Botanist - In depth examination of the plants that go into making our favorite drinks, beers, booze, and sundry
Bitters - Has history of bitters, along with instructional on how to make your own.
Shrubs Kind of recipes but also talks about how to make shrubs and good proportions for them, which isn't super common.
Wine Folly Do you want a good intro-to-wine with good, clear reference sheets about styles and pairings? Here's your book
The Wine Bible Want to know way more than you ever thought you wanted to know about wine? This is what you want to be reading.
The Beer Bible - Same as above, but for beer instead of wine.
Holy Smoke! Its Mezcal Mezcal can be hard to pin down and I've found this one to be decent. Includes a table of things that were available in the US at time of publishing and the author's opinions on quality.
Vermouth - pretty in depth history on vermouth, focusing on its place in American cocktail Culture
Imbibe! In depth history of early cocktail culture, focusing on Jerry Thomas and the Bon Vivant's Companion
...I'm sure I could think of more, given the time. I'm trying to just delve into things currently on my shelf, and not in my wishlist.
My favorite general reference cookbook is How to Cook Everything by Mark Bitman, there is also a Basics version.
My favorite blog is Food Lab by written by /u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt.
My suggestion is learn some basics like Chicken(Grilled, Roasted, Fried), Fish(Grilled, pan fried, baked), Shrimp(grilled, sauted).
And of course every man needs to learn to make breakfast. [Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUP7U5vTMM0) will go with toast, pancakes, potatoes, or french toast.
Cooking totally isn't a hobby. It's basic survival. You just need a few dedicated items to make practically anything. My kitchen is wee and generally always has been. Even with a hot plate, one pan, and a spatula, I could turn out an incredible number of easy recipes.
It's easy, I promise! You'll mess up sometimes, but it's so worth the effort.
Try a cookbook like these (you can check many out from the library, too):
Cooking Basics
Cooking 101
How to Boil Water
I Hate to Cook Book
http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Classic-Styles-Winning-Recipes/dp/0937381926
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500
This will get you started
This guy is pretty incredible. I've been talking with him, and he's helping guide me through the process a little. I plan on doing an exchange with him if I come out with anything viable.
This is the next step
I haven't read this yet, but it's on the docket.
Past those, you start to get into some serious microbiology texts that I'll leave my sister (who just graduated from Cornell University in biology, with a focus on fungi) and just ask her for advice.
www.northernbrewer.com is a great source for brewing equipment and ingredients. They only charge a flat shipping fee and a lot of the equipment is bulky, so it might be a good idea to get everything at once from them.
Here's a basic starter set for brewing beer. It has all the tools you need to get started (minus bottles, but I think he can find his own). It also comes with an instructional DVD, as well as 3 different starting recipe kits. If he likes porters, I'd recommend the Caribou Slobber.
You can also browse for ingredient kits and recipes for different beers. Make sure you look for "extract recipe kits." You can browse this list for a beer he might like.. Remember, each batch will give you 5 gallons of beer (usually).
Also, for books, definitely check this one out. Essential literature for a homebrewer.
Your options vary from 40 - 95% ABV (vodka, Everclear/NGS and other spirits as well). Your choice will depend on several factors:
I generally tincture with a base of 80% 151 proof spirit and 20% lower proof spirit(s). This yields me a base @ 60 - 68%. Given a base in this range, when tincturing is complete, I can usually expect a batch of bitters around 50% ABV. Just where I like 'em. I tend to extract components individually and blend a final bitters. For fresher components (read: with higher water content), like fresh citrus peels and herbs, lean closer to a 68% base. For dried components, like spices, lean closer to a 60% base. With a 60-68% base range, I can normally control the extraction process entirely with time. I can overextract if I want to, or be more controlling with less time.
I hope this makes sense.
I highly recommend Mark Bitterman's Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters & Amari. At <$9 for the epub version, it may be the best resource currently available. I also recommend Brad Thomas Parson's Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas.
~Good luck!
The Mad Fermentationist has quite a bit of information on his blog about the production of sours and wild ales. Links to his site and the book he wrote below.
Site: http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2009/11/brewing-sour-beer-at-home.html
Book: http://www.amazon.com/American-Sour-Beers-Michael-Tonsmeire/dp/1938469119/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1427060330&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=american+sour+beers
Can't believe no one has said The Bar Book by Jeff Morganthaler, aka /u/le_cigar_volante
From the official Amazon description: Written by renowned bartender and cocktail blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler, The Bar Book is the only technique-driven cocktail handbook out there. This indispensable guide breaks down bartending into essential techniques, and then applies them to building the best drinks. More than 60 recipes illustrate the concepts explored in the text, ranging from juicing, garnishing, carbonating, stirring, and shaking to choosing the correct ice for proper chilling and dilution of a drink. With how-to photography to provide inspiration and guidance, this book breaks new ground for the home cocktail enthusiast.
Here's some high praise from a mutual friend:
"...my favorite drinks book of the year is The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique. Mr. Morgenthaler, a well-regarded Portland, Ore.-based bartender and blogger, notes that a great cocktail requires a combination of three elements: recipe, ingredient and technique. He admits that the first two have been well-plumbed in existing books, then lasers in on the third. Just learning how to make his ingenious but simple "MacGyver Centrifuge" with cheesecloth and a salad spinner to filter fruit juices is nearly worth the cover price." - Wayne Curtis, The Wall Street Journal
There’s a funny cookbook my boss got for a coworker called something like “How to Boil Water” with just the basics. Might not be a bad idea to pick that up for him and have him cook 1-2 times/week with your supervision.
And this makes me so glad my DH can cook! He keeps me fed and happy with healthy meals.
ETA here’s the link https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0696226863/ref=cm_cr_othr_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8#cm_cr_carousel_images_section
This is by no means a complete answer (I honestly think that one could write a book on this topic and still not come to a fully satisfying answer) but I hope that this will shed some insight into the history of the taboo and it's social causes.
The earliest academic reference I could find that tried to explain why speaking of money was a taboo was, unsurprisingly, Freud. And, even less surprisingly, he related it to anal eroticism. (As a quick aside, I'm really beginning to wonder if a cigar was just a cigar) 1. There is good reason to believe that the taboo persisted well before that, but it is the earliest reference I could personally find.
Without a definitive start date, some may be inclined to believe that we've always had this taboo-- or at least some type of it. Personally, that's the attitude I went into this question with. After all, money has been around for over 4,000 years 2 and our tribal psychology invites trepidation into situations where our social standing is on the line. Indeed, some have speculated that discussions of money fall under such situations 2 since we often tie worth to income and to financial price 3. This could reasonably lead people to conclude that it's simply inherent to human thought. Talking about money can dredge up a lot of social comparisons and expectations which could trigger that tribal instinct saying "let's not put ourselves in a lower position on the social strata so that we're not eventually ostracized 5."
There's only one problem with this: If it was universal, we would expect different cultures to have a similar reticence to income. But they don't 6. Even countries as geographically proximal as Japan and China have different attitudes about money as indicated by their folklore 7.
So we are left with the idea that this is a western construction. To be clear, I definitely think that the proclivity to tie social worth with the amount of stuff one has probably dates back quiet a while as it would be a handy hint throughout much of human history. But the actual taboo seems to be western in origin.
I don't think that we'll be able to find a specific date, time, or even location to pin this origination on. However, if allowed to venture an educated guess, I would posit that they came from our coffee shops.
It's well known that coffee and tea shops were instrumental to the formulation and actualization of many western uprisings 8. These institutions looked to turn the current social status quo on its head. Inside the shops, everyone was theoretically equal. A certain code of conversation developed, largely thanks to the propagation of two magazines: The Spectator and the Tatler 9. I cannot find any direct quotes from either publication that specifically dictates that one ought not to make note of the socioeconomic differences that exist outside of the shop-- however, there is decent evidence for tacit recommendations via the emphasis on maintaining a tempered and productive conversation 9. I contend that it's difficult to have a good chat when you're being actively singled out as an impecunious peon. Such an account would work fairly well with our theoretical understanding of taboo construction. As it goes, taboos are extremely strong norms and mores that deliver intense social (and possibly even official) sanctions 10. They can develop from social rules and evolve along with the society; hence why some taboo subjects are less taboo as they used to be and others are even more forbidden. I would venture that the taboo for discussing income developed on this track. It could have started off as an expression of politeness and proper etiquette and developed more bite as western society grew more infatuated with the idea of human equality. There aren't any studies that directly prove or disprove this theory (possibly due to a dearth of literature on the topic of money 2), so take it with a grain of salt.
I would also like to recommend the book that U/David_divaD did as well as The Psychology of Money by Furnham and Argyle.
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher will help you to better understand and share how to taste beer. This will help you bartending at a brewpub because you'll be better at helping guests select beers and even chatting with them as you both describe what flavors you experience when drinking beer.
You're either making things up as you go along or working off bad information. No need to be embarrassed about it, so long as you try to get it right rather than just going with it. Posting here with a question like this is a great step and should be supported rather than just being scoffed at...
I'll direct you to this post by Dave Arnold, and recommend you read his follow-ups as well.
TL;DR:
Thermodynamic equilibrium exists for a given combination of alcohol and water. You can get there faster by shaking than stirring, but how you shake won't make much of a difference so long as you use sufficient ice. The texture will be different due to aeration.
Also, check out his just released book Liquid Intelligence or Jeffrey Morgenthaler's The Bar Book if you would like a nuanced and researched discussion of cocktail science.
The most recommended book is Tasting Beer -- www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405466079&sr=8-1&keywords=tasting+beer
It's written by a friend of the creator of the actual exam.
>the DEFINITIVE regiment
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Joy-Homebrewing-Third/dp/0060531053
Get to work, son.
I bought How to Boil Water for a friend needing to learn to cook. It assumes you're a beginner, so explains not only the steps, but the reasoning behind them.
It's also a cocktail book
How to Brew 4th edition
World-class mead can be made in 3 months time. Almost every one of our meads at Schramm's are made within 3 months, and bottled in the 4th month (with the exception of our dry melomel 'Blackberry Sec' - this one gets an additional ML fermentation - and our cyser 'Apple' - this one is made by not pitching any yeast or nutrients at all, and ferments spontaneously over the course of 9-10 months). The highest-rated mead in the world is made in plastic primary fermentation buckets for a month (at ambient temperatures), followed by a month in secondary on glass, followed by another month in tertiary on glass. So I know it can be done by you, at home, without special equipment.
My best suggestion for you would be to understand your yeast: for a standard strength mead use 71B-1122 (low nitrogen requirement), ferment in the range of 61-65 deg F, rehydrate your yeast using Go-Ferm, and use nutrient additions of Fermaid-K (or Fermdaid-O) and DAP (diammonium phosphate) in proper amounts for the first 4 days after lag (as detailed in the January/February issue of Zymurgy). If you don't use fruit or root-spices, then you should look into adding something to buffer the rather rapid change in pH that occurs during fermentation, and potassium carbonate or potassium bicarbonate can do the trick for you here, too. This provides a source of nutrient as well as a pH buffer (something that honey lacks, unlike beer wort or grape wine musts). Above all, study, study, study and remember this axiom: quality in, quality out. You will get better, faster results with quality ingredients. There are a lot of free articles available online but there are also some great books out there that will help you understand yeast health and nutrition. I recommend the book 'Yeast' by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff, and there are some other mead-centric books I can point you to.
Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation is a good one.
If you can, get a copy of Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer, along with all of the other suggestions (Somm, describing what you're tasting) this is a great resource.
Additionally, depending on your location - see if there is a BJCP competition that is happening. Either volunteer to judge or steward. If you judge, you will be paired with an experienced judge (assuming it is a well run competition) and then talk with your partner judge(s). If you decide to steward, then be attentive and hover while working. Listen to what others are saying, and when the flights are done, sample the same beer.
On the plant selection side of things, I highly recommend The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart, which is very comprehensive.
There is even a company that sells cocktail garden kits based on the book (though you will probably be better off finding a local supplier).
I don't know what's worse... that or this:
https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Harvest-collection-semen-based-recipes/dp/1481227041
There's also this:
https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
I prefer a Cumsmo or a Rum n' Cum...
I'm currently reading Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher and love how thorough, yet easily digestible it is. For the more technical read I would check out the Brewing Elements Series.
I'd highly suggest getting your hands on a copy of The Drunken Botanist – it sounds right up your alley.
Designing Great Beers. Buy it.
Most recipes will follow a relatively simple formula of 80%+ some base malt, filling in the rest with specialty malts for color and flavor. Of course, that's where you define the malt character of your beer so you will use different malts for say, an IPA, than you would for a stout. The same holds true for the type of hops used, and typical hopping schedules.
There's no shame in ripping someone's recipe from a forum somewhere and brewing it up - they posted to share the recipe! That said, if you want to make something from scratch, you should understand how different malts affect the brew. The book I linked is a great resource to do just that. It is not a recipe book, but rather a resource to gain a better understanding of what goes into recipe creation.
Designing Great Beers
This is about all you will need.
For lots of simple tips, techniques and recipes, I highly recommend Bittman's book, How To Cook Everything: The Basics.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-The-Basics/dp/0470528060
not sure whether there's a translation, but there's a ton of photos so that might be helpful anyway.
www.amazon.com/Tequila-Mockingbird-Cocktails-Literary-Twist/dp/0762448652
A great resource for this is American Sour Beers, and the author's site: The Mad Fermentationist.
Both great resources with some excellent recipes that I am making good use of now that I am getting into lambics and wild fermentation.
Also, Dr. Miller (aka Dr. Lambic) has a good site - Sour Beer Blog I think.
That recipe will work great for a base beer, but do give this a read first
Designing Great Beers
Dude, that's fantastic news. This comment immediately got me subscribed for updates.
Some other source recommendations off the top of my head...
Tiki drinks:
General cocktails:
...that's... not a bad list to get started. Good luck! I'll be interested to follow along with development.
Frequently bought with
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1482605228/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_Mjd5CbXVX71E0
Does Fotie tend bar there?
Read about building flavor profiles.
There are a couple of good books on the market: The Flavor Bible and The Flavor Thesauraus. They both have a lot of information on what ingredients go well with each other.
Also, learn by doing. Try things you think may go together well, even if it's not conventional. Even if the things you try don't come together, you can still learn from it. Try to understand WHY it didn't work (cooking method, flavor profile, preparation all have an affect), think about what you can do to correct the mistake, then implement that the next time you try that dish. I don't own a copy of it myself (yet), but Cook's Illustrated Magazine's The Science of Good Cooking would probably help in that regard.
In general, I consider Alton Brown, Cook's Illustrated/Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen, and Julia Child to be very reputable in the information they convey.
IMBIBE!
http://www.amazon.com/Tequila-Mockingbird-Cocktails-Literary-Twist/dp/0762448652
How To Cook Everything: The Basics is the book he's looking for. It assumes you know nothing:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-The-Basics/dp/0470528060
Highly recommended for the adult looking to learn how to cook.
How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
My advice is to start simple.
I know it sounds like I'm being a buzzkill, but hear me out. A great beer isn't defined by the number of ingredients, but rather the harmony of those ingredients and the skill of the brewer. Look at Deschutes' homebrew recipes. Most of their non-specialty beers only have 3-4 items on their grain bill.
Also, if you only have a few ingredients (2-row, a specialty grain or two, carapils if necessary, and one hop variety) it will be easier for you to identify the character of those ingredients in the final beer. This is the first step in knowing your grains and hops. A malt/hop chart can only tell you so much. I agree that it's overwhelming at first, which is why my advice is to constrain your first few recipes to just a few ingredients.
Once you understand the character of the more common malts and hops, it will be much easier for you to start experimenting and adding more complexity to your recipes. You will also have more confidence that the recipe you put together will actually taste like what you want.
My method was to first start brewing recipes aimed at a very specific style. I picked up Designing Great Beers and brewed a few different styles out of that book. Since I knew what the styles were supposed to taste like and I only used a small set of ingredients, I learned how those ingredients contributed to the end result. Once I built up a baseline I felt much more comfortable experimenting. For example, I brewed a very good IPA and tweaked the recipe slightly to make a ginger pale ale that also turned out really great.
As for things like amount of malts and hops, boil time, etc. Get yourself some brewing software like beersmith. That will help you calculate IBUs and whatnot. Beersmith also comes with an inventory that has some info about the max percentage you should use for a particular grain in a batch.
To conclude, keep in mind that it won't all fall together right away. You'll research a ton and then you'll research some more. Just keep making recipes and keep brewing and eventually it will start to click.
You should dump it and get a VP9 because that's what I use, and being an insecure, narcissistic piece of shit I want everyone else to validate my decision by using what I use.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
There was also a neat little book out there about yeast Biochemical, Molecular, and Genetic stuff... HAve to remember the name.
Homebrewing!
There are few things as satisfying as making your own beer from scratch. It's easier than you think and it will teach you more than you ever thought you could know about craft beer.
Check out http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html for free or buy the latest edition: http://www.amazon.ca/How-Brew-Everything-right-first/dp/0937381888
This book will teach you everything you need to know to progress from extract brewing (like making cake from a box) to brewing all grain beer (from scratch).
Check out the local community to ask your questions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GTA.Brews/
https://gtabrews.wordpress.com/
And the local shops for supplies:
http://torontobrewing.ca/
http://www.noblehop.com/
Feel free to ask me any questions you have!
The oft-recommended suggestion is John Palmer's How to Brew
www.howtobrew.com/
The first edition is available for free on his website, and subsequent revisions are, of course, available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
Go to a brewpub or brewery tasting room and order the sampler tray. If possible, do this at more than one brewpub/tasting room. If you need helping finding them (or good beer stores/beer bars), check out Beeradvocate's Barfly tool.
You'll get to try a bunch of different styles and, hopefully, find something local that you like. Take what you learn there and go to a good beer store. Tell them which styles you liked and ask for recommendations. If you can't find someone to recommend you beers (shouldn't be too hard, though), you can use beeradvocate or ratebeer to look stuff up or just go with random picks in styles that you enjoy. If you don't like something, move on and keep exploring.
For hefeweizen (Franziskaner) and pale ales, there are lots of good choices. For hefeweizens, Weihenstephaner, Ayinger, Schneider and Sierra Nevada Kellerweis would be good picks. For pale ales, there are just so many solid choices that you should try a few more and come back with more data for recommendations (if you're in Indiana/Chicago, it's hard to beat Three Floyds Alpha King). However, I encourage you to branch out and try other styles since it doesn't sound like you've had much beer that doesn't come from a macro brewery.
If you're moved to learn more about beer, here's a great book.
This book has the recipe in it. The problem with root beer bitters is that they can not be sold commercially due to the use of sassafras (a mild carcinogen) in them. The book is a pretty good read and has a number of homemade bitter recipes.
This is going to be the opposite of what you want to hear. But, you asked for it and I respect that. I think that there's no substitute for going about this old school and traditionally. The good news is that you can mostly do this for yourself, by yourself.
If you're disinclined (due to time or for another reason) to enroll in a culinary program get yourself either The Professional Chef or Martha Stewart's Cooking School
I know what you're thinking, "Martha Stewart? What am I? A housewife from Iowa?" Fuck that. I've been fortunate to have met and worked with Martha Stewart she's smart enough to know what she doesn't know and that particular book was actually written by a CIA alum and very closely follows the first year or so that you'd get in a program like that. It starts with knife work and then moves on to stocks and sauces. This particular book has actually been criticized as being too advance for people who have no idea what they're doing so, despite appearances, it may be perfect for you. If you want to feel more pro and go a little deeper, get the CIA text but know that it's more or less the same info and frankly, the pictures in the MSO book are really great. Plus, it looks like Amazon has them used for $6 bucks.
These resources will show you HOW to do what you want and they follow a specific, traditional track for a reason. Each thing that you learn builds on the next. You learn how to use your knife. Then, you practice your knife work while you make stocks. Then, you start to learn sauces in which to use your stocks. Etc. Etc. Etc. Almost like building flavors... It's all part of the discipline and you'll take that attention to detail into the kitchen with you and THAT'S what makes great food.
Then, get either Culinary Artistry or The Flavor Bible (Both by Page and Dornenburg. Also consider Ruhlman's Ratio (a colleague of mine won "Chopped" because she memorized all the dessert ratios in that book) and Segnit's Flavor Thesaurus. These will give you the "where" on building flavors and help you to start to express yourself creatively as you start to get your mechanics and fundamentals down.
Now, I know you want the fancy science stuff so that you can throw around smarty pants things about pH and phase transitions and heat transfer. So...go get Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking THAT is the bible. When the people who run the Ferran Adria class at Harvard have a question, it's not Myhrvold that they call up, it's Harold McGee. While Modernist Cuisine always has a long, exciting complicated solution to a problem I didn't even know I had, when I really want to know what the fuck is going on, I consult McGee and you will too, once you dig in.
Another one to consider which does a great job is the America's Test Kitchen Science of Good Cooking this will give you the fundamental "why's" or what's happening in practical situations and provides useful examples to see it for yourself.
Honestly, if someone came to me and asked if they should get MC or McGee and The Science of Good Cooking and could only pick one and never have the other, I'd recommend the McGee / ATK combo everyday of the week and twice on Tuesdays.
Good luck, dude. Go tear it up!
In English, that book is called The Flavor Thesauraus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook.
Designing Great Beers
Doesn't cover every style, but breaks down round 2 NHC entries across a couple years by ingredient and percentage.
David Wondrich's Imbibe! is one of my favorites. Not only does it go into a lot of detail about the cocktails but there is also a really nice chunk of history, legend, and anecdotes. Definitely an entertaining read and some great recipes.
Imbibe!
If you can't seem to master regular recipes, I'd just stick with the premade baby food. It's not that pricey (of course, it's more expensive than making it yourself) and it's super easy to use. I consider myself a better than average cook/recipe follower, and I had trouble keeping up with making baby food for my 9 month old.
If you're looking to learn how to cook, I'd recommend buying an actual cookbook. Following recipes online is great, but old school cookbooks have a whole section in the front that teach you the basics. I like this one by Better Homes and Gardens, or How to Cook Everything
I actually have a book by that name. It's filled with tons of good literary-drink puns including: Gin Eyre, Crime and Punish-mint, The Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose, The Joy Luck Club Soda, and A Cocktail of Two Cities.
I guess Gin Eyre is also a good drag name.
How to Brew is the only place to start.
I do a little. It's not too difficult, it's pretty much like cooking anything - follow the recipe at first until you figure out what to change on your own to make different flavors. I'd recommend starting out with How To Brew by John Palmer. It has a good blend of technical plus practical advice.
Get yourself a simple kit, some grolsch style bottles and an ingredients kit. The most important part of brewing beer is sanitation - clean and sanitize everything! You don't want any stray bacteria getting into your batch and ruining it. If you've got a basement, that's a pretty good place for fermentation, otherwise a closet works just fine. The biggest problem I have is finding people to drink 5 gallons worth of beer.
Head over to /r/homebrewing for even more advice.
Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation
by Chris White is a good one
John Palmer's How to Brew is a classic. It was very eye opening for me (also with engineering background) and gave a very wide knowledge about every part of the process. Now I know whats really happening and how different factors affect. Some simple recipes also, but nothing eye opening there.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
The next homebrewing book I'm going to get is Mitch Steele's (brewmaster for Stone Brewing Co.) book on IPA's. Watched couple BeerSmith's podcasts with him on and seems to know a lot and liked the way he talks about the issues.
http://www.amazon.com/IPA-Brewing-Techniques-Recipes-Evolution/dp/1938469003
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1398438574&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=yeast
In Yeast, the authors specifically advocate in favor of raising the fermentation temp into the 70s towards the end of the fermentation. Essentially, the yeast have produced all of the esters and whatnot that they're going to produce in the primary phase (usually about a week). From there, increasing the temp just encourages them to eat more sugar (increasing attenuation) and eat their own byproduct (potentially actually reducing off flavors quicker).
You should be fine.
I get my data from textbooks. Also this one spends a great deal of time talking about dry yeast. You should read it sometime.
Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation (Brewing Elements) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381969/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YpayybWV88PXN
Water has a huge effect on how beer tastes/smells/feels/etc. However, a company like Diageo can absolutely purify and treat the water at one location to be just like another.
In addition, all Guinness draught in the the UK and the US is made at the St. James Gate brewery in Ireland, though some other Guinness products may be made elsewhere.
A couple years ago, I was at the St. James Gate brewery the day before I flew home to the US. I bought a can of draught at both the brewery and then another at my local grocery store, and the day after I got home myself and about 20 other big nerds double-blind tasted them. The consensus was that they were different, though only just. Had I not had them side by side, I don't think I could have distinguished them. There was a slight preference among us for the one from Ireland, but it was not universal, as the beers were extremely similar.
We also all felt that what differences we could detect could be easily explained by the slightly different ages and markedly different shipping conditions experienced by the two cans.
I pretty firmly believe the differences between how we experience Guinness in the US vs. in Ireland are almost entirely due to psychological factors. We're excited to try it in Ireland, and we're relaxed and on vacation, priming us to enjoy the experience far more than we would having it at our local faux-Irish bar here in the states.
Whenever I think back to when I first discovered something I now love, I find that it was a time I was happy, relaxed and open to new experiences. Usually out with friends or family and having a good time well before I tried whatever thing I now love. I think drinking Guinness in Ireland has the same effect. It's not that the beer is different in Ireland, it's that we are different in Ireland!
Freshness, presentation, clean lines, correct gas pressures/mixtures, etc. certainly all play some role, but a good bar should have those pretty well dialed in in either country, minimizing the effect.
My Favorites:
How to Brew by John Palmer
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Charlie Papazian
Brewmasters Bible By Stephen Snyder
Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione
Brew Like A Monk By Stan Hieronymus
Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher
Both kits will get you started. I started eight years ago with something like the $90. kit. The second bucket is not necessary but if you stick with brewing for some time you likely will purchase a second fermenter, this mostly allows for you to clear your beer of some of the sediment. I recommend going with $100.00 kit as you can brew more often as you will have a primary fermenter open on a faster basis if you move beers to the secondary after a week. I also recommend purchasing a book you can keep with you when you brew, like "The complete joy of homebrewing." http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053
I quite enjoyed A Brief History of Drugs. It is not the deepest reads but is quite interesting look at drugs throughout history. Another book from a historical perspective but dealing with beverages is A History of the World in 6 Glasses it looks at 6 specific beverages (beer, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, and Coke) and how they shaped history. This isn't specific to drugs, though all 6 beverages contain drugs so I think it counts.
Here's what I started with: https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595
There are 15-20 different recipes in here and it's a great reference with good instructions for the whole process.
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher.
I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Flavor Bible. When I actually read it, I don't think I've ever been so disappointed in a food book (as you said, it sure ain't a cookbook). Sure, it has lists of ingredients that are "compatible" with other ingredients. Some of their combinations sound just terrible. Others you already know because who hasn't heard of "peanut butter and chocolate" or "sour cream and onion." I love reading food books and cook books, and this was by far the worst IMO.
On the other hand, I have heard great things about The Flavor Thesaurus and I can't wait to read it.
I have and idea for a paper that would connect caffeinated beverages to increased industrialization. Anecdotally, you have tea/coffee (Industrialization)->soda(19th/20th century)->hyper caffeinated beverages (the 21st century and a 24 hour world). But that's another story.
I would suggest looking at A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage for a look at the impact of coffee on the modern world.
I would say take a look at Ray Daniels - "Designing Great Beers" and/or John Palmer - "How to Brew".
How to brew
Designing Great Beers
Those are two books I have used a lot.
Eu começava por conviver um bocado com o pessoal da cerveja para conhecer mais sobre cerveja, trocar impressões e umas dicas em pessoa.
No Porto:
Em Lisboa:
Aposto que há mais locais no resto do país mas, assim de cabeça, vieram-me estes... Outra boa opção é visitar festivais onde podes conhecer os cervejeiros, aficionados, ouvir musica, beber cerveja e conviver!
Depois disso é simples. Começa por fazer cerveja de kit de extrato. Com jeitinho gastas uns €50 em equipamento (que vai servir-te anos) e €15 em ingredientes. Estes kits são mesmo simples de usar e servem bem para aprender algumas das bases da cerveja sem teres que te preocupar com os aspetos mais delicados (como a brassagem). À medida que lhe vais ganhando o gosto vais podendo investir mais ou menos dinheiro até comprares um moinho, algumas panelas e fazeres a cerveja mesmo a partir do cereal.
A partir daí o google e o youtube são amigos dependendo de quanto queres ou não gastar. Tens aqui alguns vídeos que te recomendo:
Estes dois são bons para "entrar no espírito" da coisa.
Para aprender a fazer cerveja a partir de Kit podes ver estes vídeos da BrewUk (boa loja) que mostram tudo direitinho. Lembra-te que o mais importante é a higiene e lavar bem todo o equipamento!!
No youtube recomendo-te muito o canal Brewing TV e o The Craft Beer Channel.
Se te começares a envolver e a gostar a sério da coisa recomendo-te que leias estes livros:
Um livro que a mim me ajudou também imenso foi o Extreme Brewing e o Brewing Up a Business do Sam Calagione (dono da Dogfish Head) se bem que estes dois livros são menos "informativos" e de leitura mais leve. Ainda assim eu acho que o estilo mais relaxado torna-os de leitura mais fácil que os outros (que são considerados bíblias da cerveja) sobretudo para quem está a começar.
Fora isso acredita, o importante é comer e beber cerveja! Conversa com o pessoal e divertir-te com isto tudo! Aprendes mais às vezes numa tarde a beber uns finos com o pessoal num bar de cerveja artesanal do que num dia a ler em casa!
Espero que isto te ajude a ti ou alguém que esteja com a "pulga" atrás da orelha! Mas se tiveres perguntas ou dúvidas estás à vontade. :)
Se alguém quiser acrescentar alguma coisa por favor que o faça! Cerveja artesanal é sobre troca de ideias! :)
It depends on the beer, for malty beer and darker beers I'd say yes, for hefes it's the yeast and grain is second, for pale ales, its the hops then the yeast and malt.
I read Designing Great Beers and it really teaches about how even the water is a big factor, temperature plays a role as well, some yeasts taste like cloves fermented cold and bananas fermented hot.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381500
Buy this book. It will be the best $10 you'll spend.
Congrats on your first batch. Extra water will lower the alcohol content a bit, but will give you more beer. If that's the only mistake on your first batch, you done good.
One thing I recommend for all new home brewers is getting a copy of How to Brew 4th edition, by John Palmer. It has all the information you'll need for quite some time.
https://smile.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Great-Every/dp/1938469356/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=how+to+brew&qid=1574294688&sr=8-3
Cheers! If anyone still needs to order, you can use this Amazon Associates link to give me a slightly larger cut at no cost to you!
Are you just bartending casually at home or are you looking to do it as a job in the future?
Jefferey Morgenthaler's book is great:https://www.amazon.com/Bar-Book-Elements-Cocktail-Technique/dp/145211384X
You'll want to get a jigger, I recommend oxo's graduated jigger, a barspoon, a mixing glass, a strainer, a set of shaker tins (get a small and a large, and seriously splurge for koriko not the other bullshit)
Those are all of the essentials, beyond that everything is fairly unnecessary but there are tons of other things you can buy. I guess a vegetable peeler could be handy for peels but you can just use a sharp paring knife for zest garnishes.
For glassware you can spend as much or as little as you want, depending on how much you care about appearance. When I first starting making drinks at home I had glasses for every variety of drink. I still have those glasses, but basically use these for everything, regardless if it's shaken stirred or whatever. Gimlets taste delicious out of them, manhattans taste delicious out of them.
One little handy thing I've found is these seagram's bottles. Buy a 6 pk of the little glass club soda bottles. Once you use the soda, rinse them out and they're perfect for storing syrups, juices, etc. Plastic caps won't deteriorate like metal will in other styles of bottlees. They're short so they fit in weird parts of your fridge, hold enough syrup for plenty of drinks, etc etc.
Natural Harvest...and the companion book Semenology
Semen cocktails.
Pozdrav.
Za početak bih ti preporučio knjigu: "Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipes". Kasnije možeš eksperimentirati i sa "Semenology - The Semen Bartender's Handbook" ako te to područje zanima.
lp
Eller den her
Jeg er især vild med "Driven by a commitment and passion for the freshly harvested ingredient, Semenology pushes the limits of classic bartending. Semen is often freshly available behind most bar counters and adds a personal touch to any cocktail."
A) Tanken om at bestille en drink, og så går bartenderen lige ud i baglokalet i 5 minutter for at "skaffe ingredienser"...
B) Hvad gør de hvis der virkelig er run på, og alle bare gerne vil have en Semen Sour?
I've made some bitters from Brad Parson's Bitters Book, definitely a good starting point.
It all depends on what you're looking for. If I had to go for one general book to start out with it'd probably be The Essential Bartender's Guide - great intro with some history, as well as discussion on what different types of drinks are, etc. Good Jack-of-all-trades book. As you get a little deeper, the standouts for me are Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, Bitters, Imbibe!, and Punch. Vintage is a great resource to get an idea of what's been done (and lost) over the years, and is a great place to learn about what types of flavors work well together, plus there's a great blurb about the history of the drink with each recipe. Bitters is pretty self explanatory, but it has a nice intro to cocktail history, and s ton of great recipes, both new and old. Really interesting to see how slight tweaks in the bitters used (Fourth Regiment vs a Manhattan, for example) makes a huge difference in the ultimate product. Imbibe and Punch are simply brilliant history lessons, with a few recipes thrown in for good measure. Cheers!
Here's a list of some good General Books on beer.
I'm fond of Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. It does a great job of introducing the history of beer, the different styles, and other great info. I recommend it to everybody who wants to learn about beer. http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
If you're interested in the history of American beer, Ambitious Brew is a great read. It's limited in scope to just the history of American beer, but that proves to be a rich subject. http://www.amazon.com/Ambitious-Brew-Story-American-Beer/dp/0156033593
Beer is Proof That God Loves Us, It's not the greatest book, but for free on Kindle, it's worth checking out. The guy knows his beer, he just is a big time Macro brewing apologist, and his constant praise for the big brewers, and his disdain for hops make it not my favorite book. There are some good anecdotes, and history of beer. http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Is-Proof-God-Loves/dp/0137065078
And I've heard good things about the Oxford Companion to Beer, though I haven't read it myself. http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Beer-Garrett-Oliver/dp/0195367138/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z
I've read Designing Great Beers and it's a great resource as a style guide, but it leans much more towards the empirical side when it comes to explaining things. If you're looking for something a little more scientific and data-driven there are some other really good options.
Suggestions:
/ Yeast
/ Malt
/ Hops - Very specific and science driven focus on each element.
I just got in a home brewing kit for me and my gf to play with. We both are crazy about craft beer and we've been wanting to do it forever. Spent a good amount on the best one I could find, as well as some add-ons and kits. I took live five hours last night reading an awesome [book] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888) on home brewing. I'm loving the chemistry and the mixture of precision and creativity. I think we are going to really fall in love with it. It was an anniversary gift, one year coming up in a couple weeks. So weird.
I would, but someone already beat me to writing the best beginning homebrewing guide ever.
Cool gift idea!
I'd say, first and foremost, that you aren't going to be able to kit out your boyfriend for homebrewing. There are too many styles for different types of equipment, and it gets very expensive... But a basic kit is good enough to brew just about anything, and it gives him the option to buy new items piece-by-piece as he outgrows the starter ones.
If you want to give him a good start in the hobby, get him 3 things:
For a starter kit, it looks something like one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Share-Enjoy-Homebrew-Brewing-Starter/dp/B0179ZH89Y/ref=sr_1_3
You get a plastic bucket to ferment the beer, cleaning chemicals, hydrometer, bottles, bottle capper, siphon, etc. This should be perfectly adequate for him to brew beer dozens of times before he might want to start tweaking his equipment. The best part is you can replace individual parts of the kit any time you want - it makes it a very flexible upgrade path.
For a starter book, it's How to Brew all the way. I'm pretty sure everyone in here owns a copy.
For a starter kit, you can pick kits off Amazon. You should know there's 3 major types of beer recipe:
So, for all of these things, I gave Amazon links, but you don't have to buy them online at all. I'd strongly recommend looking up local homebrewing stores and just walking in. Most of my local shops are cheaper than shopping online, the staff are fun to talk to (because they really care about brewing), and it's nice to be able to examine some of the things before you buy them.
Whether you shop locally of online, everything I listed above should come in at less than $150.
Always do a streak plate first to get isolated colonies. Then aseptically transfer 8-10 of the most uniform colonies to 5 mL sterile media, then 50 mL, then 500 mL allowing for 24 hrs of growth in each volume. The exact volume isn't super critical, but increasing each by a factor of 10 is typical.
Highly recommend the Yeast book from Brewing Elements series:
https://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
The long answer requires a PHD in microbiology and about 6 hours worth of lecturing. See: Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation. Note: the book is not at all "practical" as advertised unless you have a PHD.
The short answer is, if you do not initially pitch enough yeast at the start, the yeast will be overworked, stressed out, and kill itself before it has a chance to grow into more yeast. If you pitch an adequate amount of yeast then there are enough cells around to comfortably handle the workload and continue having an orgy in your beer.
Most breweries would want to know at least:
Brewers sometimes add minerals to our water to control things like perceived bitterness, mash pH, etc. Certain beer styles "require" water with certain mineral profiles. For example, Pilseners are often brewed with very soft water, similar to the water in Pilsen, Cech Republic. Certain British styles might use hard water with a lot of sulfates. I'm being somewhat ambiguous, because lots of people will say they brew pilseners with hard water, and ESB with soft water.
There is a great book on it written by John Palmer, a legend in the brewing world. If you're interested in water as it relates to brewing, I'd highly recommend it.
I usually suggest The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charles Papazian which was a less dry read to me. However, both are informative and either will serve as a great introduction to homebrewing.
[This] (http://www.amazon.com/Imbibe-Professor-Featuringthe-Selection-Contributed/dp/0399532870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1408553910&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=imbibe) book has an amazing and entertaining history of just how rough spirits were back then, and how that shaped our drinking culture today.
With these elements in place, plus some groceries like fresh fruit (limes, lemons, orange, etc), sugar (remember simple syrup is 1 part water 1 part sugar), and soda water, you'll be able to make old fashioneds, rickeys, collinses, manhattans, and dozens of other cocktails.
If you enjoy reading and history, check out Imbibe. It's basically a history of cocktails in the US along with recipes, etc. even if you have no intention of making the drinks, the history and evolution is really neat.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0399532870?pc_redir=1408718170&amp;robot_redir=1
I just picked up How to cook everything: the basics
And it's pretty great so far! Would recommend!
Check out the book "Brewing Classic Styles" to learn more about recipes and beer styles. Designing Great Beers is another helpful book.
In most cases, using a secondary vessel for fermentation isn't required and in fact increases your chances of infection or oxidizing your beer. You can read more in the wiki here.
Since he has never brewed before I would recommend a basic kit. I'm not saying that you have to get this from NB, but this is an example what comes in a starter kit. I strongly recommend purchasing, How to Brew by John Palmer. This book will clear up a lot of brewing mysteries.
I'd also recommend going to your local homebrew store (LHBS) and ask them for help. If you have one close by, and they are any good, they can be an invaluable source of knowledge for a new brewer. Good luck, this can become a life long hobby if he chooses to pursue it.
As your husband grows into the hobby he will
Coffee appeared in Europe around the late 16th century and early 17th century. Of course, like many liquids, there were all kinds of opinions about its purported health benefits.
However, the main benefit was the fact that it lead to a decline in the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol had previously been the best way to consume uncontaminated water, so it was common for much of the population of Europe to be mildly intoxicated for much of the day. Coffee offered a better way to consume uncontaminated water without getting drunk, and the mild amount of caffeine was purported to encourage clear thinking.
Coffee was hailed as part of the age of rationalism. Coffee shops became centers of intellectual engagement as part of an increase in interest in philosophy and sciences more generally in Western Europe. While coffee was later surpassed by tea in popularity in the UK, it continued to be popular in continental Europe.
One of the better written sources on the subject is http://www.amazon.com/A-History-World-6-Glasses/dp/0802715524
Radical Brewing and Designing Great beers, were the ones I followed How to Brew with.
http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Brewing-Recipes-World-Altering-Meditations/dp/0937381837/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1393807281&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=radical+brewing
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1393807312&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=designing+great+beers
How to Brew - John Palmer
Designing Great Beers - Ray Daniels
Brewing Classic Styles - Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer
Brew Like a Monk - Stan Hieronymus
Clone Brews - Tess and Mark Szamatulski
Yeast - Jamil Zainasheff and Chris White
Beer Captured - Tess and Mark Szamatulski
Radical Brewing - Randy Mosher
Brewer's Association Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery - Randy Mosher
You should probably read the book Designing Great Beers if you really want to make your own quality recipes.
On my bookshelf:
I think you should set aside your dog related fears, there are plenty of common household items that you already have that would be way more dangerous than hops. (for the record - I do brew with my dog)
As far as taste goes, that's a much more valid argument. I've read that wormwood has been used as a bittering agent, you might look at some of the traditional Scandinavian brews since they have a different climate and have used berries and such. Finally here is a book that will have some ideas:
http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&amp;coliid=I3H9CZKONQPOV2&amp;colid=1K1774R5OH8L9
How to Brew by John Palmer IMO is the best beginner book out there. He even has the first edition of his book available on his website for free.
Not only does it give you all the information and knowledge you need in the beginning bit he also has trouble shooting tips and a more advanced section for intermediate brewers.
Depends on what kind of learner you are. I prefer book learning over watching videos, and the clear favourite for learning the basics is How to Brew by John Palmer.
This book is an indispensable resource for noobs. John's such a cool dude that he literally posted the full text of the book on his website for free. However, the book is still worth the money for the pictures, charts, and updates since the free version.
Aside from books - shadowing a brewer is pretty key. Find your local homebrew club, and ask to shadow a brewer. I just mentored an allgrain batch with a noob from my local homebrew club.
I wouldn't start with a site, but rather a book, How to Brew by John Palmer. Go ahead and spend the 10 bucks on it right now, this isn't an option. You can't just skate by without this book and annoy everyone on /r/homebrewing, homebrewtalk, or IRC channels with questions answered beautifully and organically in this book.
This book answers the basics, from what beer is, what is fermenting, to the process, to the advanced, including building advanced all-grain setups. This will answer nearly all the questions you have, from now to three years of experience on down the road, and it's here in one handy book you can doodle and highlight all over. This is your first investment. Equipment is not your first investment. A gallon of cider and a pack of baker's yeast is not your first investment. A craigslist posting of someone giving away their old equipment is not your first investment. Paying the money right now for this book is your first investment.
While the book is in the mail, you can start reading the first edition online, which gives you an opportunity to reread it all over again in print when your copy arrives. Write stuff down. Highlight stuff. Go to google and bing something if you aren't fully clear. No questions yet, understand what the whole process is, and be committed to a few very important core rules: cleaning is the most important, timeliest part of brew day. Quality goes into the work you do, quality comes out as the finish product. And finally, it's necessary to have a beer while you make beer -- respect the craft you've taken up as a hobby by respecting those who have done so before you.
Finally you can begin to ask the question you are asking now. Where do I go before I brew? First, Midwest Supplies has a coupon about thrice a year that is a big savings and comes with mostly everything -- if you want to wait around for that, in the between time is a good time to invest in the other things, like a large pot, star-san, empty bottles, and so on. If not, do research and don't go buying the cheapest kit -- buy the kit that comes with everything that you want; don't feel short-handed or inundated with extras.
Lastly, that book is your new bible. It has all the answers. Now the bible is a historical recording, and new evidence disproves things in the bible. Some things you'll learn like quick tips and such you'll find just browsing the web, but what's in the bible makes for a correct and complete brewday. But the bibles of the world would be great if it came with the empirical evidence of video recordings. This episode of brewingTV is pretty good at showing what your first brewday should look like. But again, this religion will be lost on you if you don't buy and read the bible first.
And remember, "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew".
Throw extreme brewing away... or use it as a big coaster! All it is a glossy showcase of his ego. Just kidding, but not really... It doesn't really have much useful information in it. The others you mention are the books I learned to brew with and refer to the most. I hear Jamil's and Chris' new book "Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation" is awesome.
For reusing and maintianing commercial yeasts there are a few links in the sidebar, also the book Yeast by Jamil Zainasheff and Chris White. For cultivating wild yeast, a good place to start would be the King's Coolship episode of Brewing TV...or just about anything else Jeremy King has written in blogs.
Yeast, I think.
Jeffrey Morganthaler's fantastic new book on cocktail techniques has a great little section on this (page 158). When dry shaking, he says to align your tin/glass (tin/tin) centrally, rather than at a slight angle as you usually would when sealing a boston shaker. He says this gives a better seal, as the tins wont contract as they would with ice.
You said that you do not want a paid bartending gig, and that's good, because very few places will hire a person from bartending school, ANY bartending school. Those schools are a rip off.
But, you said that you just wanted to learn some bartending skills. You're in luck because that's easy . Pick up some good books on bartending and read them, make drinks, and share those drinks with your friends.
Jeffrey Morganthaler just put out a really good book on the craft of bartending, and I highly recommend it ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/145211384X?pc_redir=1405569504&amp;robot_redir=1). Read this first.
Look at how much money and time I just saved you! Plus, you'll learn a lot more useful information.
Good luck!
Just wait.
There's a great book on how to make cocktails out of semen called Semenology: The Semen Bartender's Handbook. They did say "any".
Also great: Crap Taxidermy
I want the first one, but I can vouch for the second. The finest crappy taxidermy you'll find in a book under $10.
I found the recipe in this bartenders cookbook
I recommend the velvet cake recipe too. Fluffy and moist.
Hey! Finished on my birthday. When should I expect my shipment? :P
What's your favorite of the lot so far? Also, the description of your process lines up with every recipe I've read so far for bitters -- except the infusion typically is 3 weeks with the water infusion sitting for 1 week after the boil. Several of the recipes in the book I have (https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595) do seem to add syrups, molasses, or even honey to the mix, so take that as you will. Looks like someone already suggested adding a little bit of simple to the bitters as well.
I kindof agree with your points on peach/lavender/chocolate bitters, but I don't know if I feel that they can never have their place in a drink. They probably should be called tinctures in stead (see bottom for distinction), as they are basically single flavored.
However, I do feel you're leading up to making a point of how "the proper bitters" are used as rescue operations for a cocktail, by removing unwanted finish/adding nose - and then you shy away from that point entirely, saying it's okay to do so. I think if you're working on a new cocktail you should wait for as long as possible in your workshop process before adding the bitters, as otherwise you may be using this to amend an off acidity profile/remove unwanted taste. When you get a base recipe down though, using bitters to add some complexity or enhance certain aspects of the flavors that certainly does have it's place. In this context, I feel the "single flavor bitters"/tinctures have their place. In a stirred cocktail f.ex., adding some chocolate bitters to the drink may add an element to it while not sweetening it any more, which could be something you'd want if your drink isn't already using a sweetening agent/syrup that you could remake and incorporate the chocolate into.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN BITTERS AND TINCTURES:
Tinctures: a single ingredient boiled down to extract flavour, and then put on alcohol to preserve it.
Bitters: a collection of tinctures carefully blended to create a complex flavor profile. I'd say you need probably three tinctures together to get a "proper" bitter, mixing two doesn't quite feel like it has too much purpose/complexity to it.
If you really want to get nerdy about the subject, I can recommend this book. I have a copy and have read through it, but I'm still too put off by the complexity/time aspect of the whole process to get started on something like that. Also, getting a bigger apartment and a better grasp on taste compositions is something I'd prefer to have before really going into this stuff...
I think most bartenders consider this to be the bitters Bible, $6.99 on kindle. Happy bittering =D
https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595
I recommend Bitters and The Drunken Botanist as well!
I liked this book that was recommended on this sub a while back
https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
If you make it back down to Seattle, try to track down some of Georgetown's Bodhizafa IPA if you liked Space Dust. It's become my go-to IPA as of late.
Here is an imgur gallery of the glassware section from Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. It defines all modern glasses and states their use. It covers your examples.
http://imgur.com/a/96kdA
http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. This book continues to be the number one book I recommend when it comes to starting your journey to learn everything about beer. It is also the book that the Cicerone program wants you read for the first step of their certification process.
As far as beer tasting goes, all I can recommend you do (or keep doing) is to taste as many different beers as possible. People have their opinions on beers, and choose to drink some rather than others for many different reasons (taste, corporate/independent ownership, political leanings, etc.). It's very polarized, and there may be a general consensus about one beer or another, but the only way you can arrive at your own conclusions is to drink those different beers yourself and come to learn what you like.
first off, know what types of beer you'll be selling. all the knowledge in the world won't help if you don't know what you're serving to customers.
second, Tasting Beer is a great book. it goes over the history, some brewing notes, and goes over the major styles you'll encounter.
Ahhhh, my condolences, how tragic!
I'm something of a cookbook minimalist, and keep my personal collection pretty concise; I'm quick to give away books if they've been on my shelf too long without much use. I used to be a cookbook hoarder, but I don't have the space for it anymore, lol.
The cookbooks I have on the shelf rn are Season, The Palestinian Table, Arabesque, Afro-Vegan, Donabe, and several Japanese-language cookbooks.
For dessert-related things, I have Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft, Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique, SUQAR, and the Flavor Thesaurus.
This and good homebrew shop are all you need. My 2 cents, don't get into it just to save money. Also wait until you can afford an extra $300 for a kegging system. Every home brewer I know that quit did so because bottle conditioning sucks. It's slow and extremely time consuming.
this book, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, was very highly recommended at my LHBS. and i would recommend it as well.
Imbibe is a good history lesson.
The American Cocktail from Imbibe! magazine is great and just came out. A lot of stuff from the current movement.
A gift subscription to Imbibe itself would also be very welcomed.
DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail is a beautiful book.
Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails is one of the early books of the cocktail revival. Still essential.
How to Cook Everything: The Basics by Mark Bittman will walk you through absolutely everything from scratch, including what tools and spices you need and how to set up your kitchen.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food/dp/0470528060
How to Cook Everything?
https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food/dp/0470528060/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=HFC803YQH279CXFY3EM3
My understanding is that the story about the goat herder is, unsurprisingly, hard to prove.
I'd like to see more about how coffee has been served over time. For instance, when it was first popularized in Europe, the brew would be stored for months at a time before being served. I imagine it was not very similar to what we think of today.
Also, coffee was popular in England before tea was imported there. Blows my mind.
My "source"
I don't think the truth of my claim and /u/Mutand1s post are not mutually exclusive. I wasn't referring to whether the beer had this mythic provenance so much as the taste of that beer you call IPA is one that will hold up to heat and I think there is a difference. The story about developing this special formula for the voyage sounds a little too clever by half considering that climate and other conditions were the reasoning behind every style of beer.
Brewing, like baking is science as much as art. Humidity, heat and altitude will effect your bread and your beer. This whole thing about inventing a beer is probably a bit overstating things because if your making beer that will go in the hull of a ship sailing for months through the tropics you know that heat will be a factor and you would choose a traditional style off the shelf to meet your needs. Since you are a brewer; you might even add your own twist but that's just it right, you start off with something that has been refined for years and years and you might tweak it a bit with more fermentable sugars but it's mostly still the style someone has been drinking for years.
If you think about it a little bit though this is a question that can seem more obvious as you drill down. The history of brewing, like baking is one of refinement and an effort to bring consistency. There is a reason we arrive at Wonder Bread and Budweiser in the 20th century. These are two very refined and difficult to realize pinnacles of their craft that reflect the eras obsession with science and industrialization to create millions of items that are exactly the same and transparent enough to reveal flaws, remember this is the era that brings us Six Sigma. Try and brew a Bud/Miller/Coors beer or bake a loaf of Wonder at home and you will see how incredibly hard it is. Make fun of them all you want but these two foods were the subject of thousands of years of intellectual evolution.
Which brings us to why an IPA is hoppy and a little stronger than its counterparts. Someone mentions in this conversation that the beer was simply adapted from an existing traditional style, which makes sense. You take into consideration what the characteristics of the voyage will be and you come to the conclusion that a beer that holds up to summer is your recipe.
If you look at German and English styles that are brewed to stand up to summer heat and they tend to be stronger and hoppier than the beers made for other seasons. This is because hops, in general, was added to do a few important things for beer, stabilize flavor and mask off flavors (go to the end of page 262 in the link). High heat is no friend to beer that is sitting in a barrel and higher alcohol and hops is there to help counter and mask the effects. As a historical matter this is what hops is introduced for, make beer taste better under various conditions, help the brewer to attain a level of consistent quality.
Certain yeasts can help too, ale is better for warmer temps than lager. So you pick a hoppy beer brewed to stand up to summer heat for an ocean voyage. Whether or not that was some intricate formula or just an off the shelf solution is an interesting debate, but not the whole story. As you can see from just about any book on brewing history and styles, From Michael Jackson's World Guide to Beer to Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Home Brewing you will see that styles came about as a result of the conditions for which they were brewed. Bud/Miller/Coors are brewed the way they are because of the technology that allows for strict and precise measurement throughout the manufacturing/brewing process. Ale is more forgiving and IPA is probably the most forgiving style for a new brewer to make because you can screw a lot of stuff up and still get it right. That's also the reason why that kind of beer is ideal to sit in the hull of a ship until you get to India.
The best way to start, if you have an equipment kit, is to buy a recipe kit. You can find them at Midwestern Supplies or Austin Homebrew. The ingredient kits have all the ingredients, in the right amounts, that you need to make one 5 gallon batch. They also contain instructions. Once you get the hang of it with a kit or two, try tweaking those recipes a bit and go from there. Of course, reading on the subject while your beer ferments wouldn't hurt either. Good luck!
I have been brewing for 3 years and IMO start with at least a 5-6.5g glass carboy (or 2), a brew bucket w/lid, caps/bungs/airlockers, brew kettle (4-6g for extract/7-10g for AG), mash paddle, funnel w/filter, auto-siphon, hose, bottles/caps/capper, StarSan sanitizer, and if your first starting a basic kit (go with a Better Brew/Norther Brewer/Any HBS Extract Kit over a Copper's) or grains. Oh and always A Clean Water Source!
IMO The best brew book is http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053
Hand's Down!
I spent 150 on craigslist and found a starter set better then any sold in stores! oh and check out /r/homebrewing for more info!
Looks like https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Joy-Homebrewing-Third/dp/0060531053
Also the complete joy of homebrew is really good.
This book has a recipe for it.
City Tavern would be your best bet but looking on the website now, it doesn't seem to have it.
Also ask the folks at Art in the Age this book is recent from them and they might know more.
Might be a bit obvious for this sub but Dave Wondrich's book Imbibe! is a fascinating look into the history of American bars, cocktails, and the Professor Jerry Thomas. Highly recommended reading!
Find your local cheap grocery store...Sav-A-Lot, Aldi, etc. I think it depends on where you are...but...a discount place will help you b/c they usually have smaller packaging, and cheaper ingredients.
Find a basics book like this. You can get books from your library, I also use Overdrive app to borrow ebooks (I use it through my local library, but you can sign up with an email). These kinds of books will explain the steps and process, more than just give you directions on putting ingredients together.
When using a recipe: read through the whole recipe and ingredients first. If you don't recognize everything...look it up, but consider that if you have to look up a bunch of stuff, it might be beyond your scope for the time being and attempt something else.
On supplies: You really don't need a lot, utilize thrift stores, craigslist, FB marketplace - a lot of people give these things away when they get new. For basics:
A lot of this stuff might be sitting in relative's kitchens unused...and they might even give you a few things if you let them know you're looking for some supplies.
In the future, also look into a crock pot. You can use it with minimal effort and make enough to save food for later (large pot of soup - split it up into quart freezer bags and thaw for meals later).
Meal planning for beginners...Find 3 or 4 dishes you can learn how to make and keep making them until you know how to do them without messing up at all. Basic dishes. A rice dish, a pasta dish, a soup, a casserole (like chicken pot pie). Don't worry about trying to make everything from scratch...You can buy minute rice, and pre-made pie crusts, canned and frozen vegetables are cheaper than fresh and don't go bad in the fridge if you can't use them quickly. But frozen tends to be better for most varieties...and you can even buy frozen diced onions...and since many recipes start with cooking onion...using frozen saves you time and effort. You can also buy minced garlic in the jar...which I prefer to powdered, and lasts longer than fresh.
It's a very good place to start. In addition to that book, there is How to Cook Everything: The Basics, which does a fantastic job of covering method. https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food/dp/0470528060 It has a lot of pictures and straightforward instructions.
It looks like Amazon has two main options for that book. How to Cook Everything revised 10th anniversary addition and How to Cook Everything basics.
Would you pick a specific one over the other?
For context, the extent of my cooking skill is putting spaghetti in a pot and adding sauce from a jar.
I'm going to chime in here and recommend Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, The Basics.Buy a used copy and it's all you need (technique and recipe wise) for a really solid start.
what's a snowqueen, exactly?
I copied it from a literary pun cookbook
This is argued to also be why coffee and tea became so popular. Check out A History of the World in 6 Glasses. It goes over the rise and effects of Beer, Wine, Liquor, coffee, tea, and soda.
I'm a bit late, but as a really really quick look at something similar to that is:
History of the World in 6 Glasses
Probably one of my favorites that is similar to what you asked for. I can direct you to more if you want, but that one is mainly the 6 drinks that changed the world
Ale/Beer, Wine, Spirits, Coffee, Tea, Cocacola
The history of food and drink really interests me. One of the coolest books I ever read from the library was A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage.
It traces the development of human civilization by what people drank. Starting off with beer and Egypt and Mesopotamia, then moving on to wine and Greco-Roman civilization. Jumping forward to British colonialism, it details the development of spirits and fortified wines, then moves on to tea and coffee, before springing forward again in time and talking about colas and soft drinks. Very, very interesting stuff.
I liked the book so much, I went out and bought my own copy, that sits proudly on a shelf of my bar, next to my scotches and bartenders guides.
Get an audio book of The History of the World in 6 Glasses and listen to it on your commute.
Or just read it.
Since I see this topic is posted twice, I'm posting my thoughts here as well:
You're missing How to Brew, and Extreme Brewing (while it has a few decent recipes and has lovely photos) isn't that great a book IMO. Designing Great Beers is good, but a bit outdated and IMO is a lot better after you've gotten a few batches done. Haven't read Jamil's yeast book, so I can't comment on it. Brew Like a Monk is a great volume, but doesn't have the general information you want when you're starting out.
I recommend:
How to Brew - The best single reference on brewing I've seen
Radical Brewing - Great for creative recipes and information on different ingredients
Also, just go and brew something. I brewed my first batch without reading any books and it turned out fine. Brewing will help make the texts make more sense, and the texts will then make the brewing make more sense.
Throw hops at it.
Like absurd amounts.
Think of ludicrous amounts and triple that. Then every single addition but a small bit of clean bitterness FWA, is made at the flame out or later. Your fermenation hop schedule is three times what your flame out schedule was, and you dry hop it twice.
I'm being sarcastic. But hop usage these days are insane on certain styles.
This series:
Water
Hops
Malt
Yeast
Oh, remember to enjoy it.
If you really want the "sciency" aspect of attenuation and flocculation get yourself a copy of Yeast by Jamil Zainasheff
Excellent read though it forced me to brush up on my cellular biology a little more than I expected.
Stick with your Mr. Beer kit for a few more sessions. Refills are $20 for two gallons which seems reasonable. Just stick with ales and don't brew lagers. The more flavorful the beer is supposed to be the easier flaws are turned into tasty features. I'd go with this porter: https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Beer-Churchills-Homebrewing-Sanitizer/dp/B01D5J7ZIW/ref=bdl_pop_ttl_B01D5J7ZIW
The amber ale and stout would be on my list too. If you like IPA's try that.
If you want a piece of equipment I'd buy a hydrometer or a bottle capper. https://www.amazon.com/Homebrew-Guys-Hydrometer-Specific-Potential/dp/B012YLS62G/ref=sr_1_21?s=home-garden&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1524334825&amp;sr=1-21&amp;keywords=brewing+hydrometer
Make sure you do a good job sanitizing everything and you'll be 90% there. Star-san is an excellent sanitizer. I don't know what Mr. Beer uses. Bleach or iodine can also be used if done correctly.
If I were to suggest one thing to buy, it would be a good book. The John Palmer How to Brew is an excellent choice. What you learn will apply to Mr. Beer kits and as advanced as you want to go. https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Great-Every/dp/1938469356/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1524335575&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr&amp;keywords=palmer+how+to+brew
Lastly, I'll double down on my advice to stick with flavorful ales and stay away from lagers and pilsner. Best of luck.
Someone might come along and tackle your list of Qs but sounds like you could use a book or two.
https://www.amazon.com/American-Sour-Beers-Michael-Tonsmeire/dp/1938469119
https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Brews-Beyond-Influence-Brewers/dp/0937381861
Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0937381500/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_BD6pDbE1C32YM
A must own book I keep beside my copy of how to brew.
Designing Great Beers - this book assumes you know how to brew so it won't teach you about the brewing process. But it instructs on how to fine tune all the small points.
Edit: I assume you are just starting out. As a tip of advice I can give because of something I just had happen to me. Have extra parts lying around. Like airlocks, tubing etc. They come in handy in emergencies when the brew store is closed at midnight and they cost a buck or two.
This book is pretty great
As jaxonfairfield says.
You had 27 or so IBUs, on a gravity of 1.055, so 55 bitterness units. Thats a BU:GU ratio of 0.49. I like my ales to go a little north of 0.5. So 30 would have made it 0.545.
With your latest edit, you're at 37.94 (let's just say 38) and 1.055 (55 GUs), so now you're at 0.69. A lovely number. Should have much more hop flavor (since you added the Saaz at 30 min) and will be a little on the hoppy side now - a fine ale.
See this and this for some good reading along these lines. Also, there's continuing mention of this ratio in Designing Great Beers, which I haven't read yet but understand to be a must-have in the brewing bookshelf.
Not one I've encountered, but a quick flick through it on Amazon's 'look inside' shows some interesting recipes - though a lot of them come from speculation, rather than historical records.
A book I do use for making 'traditional' beers is Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers which gives both an anthropological history of brewing around the world, and a huge variety of recipes - everything from tribal recipes from indigenous populations, to medieval recipes, as well as meads, psychotropic beers and medicinal recipes.
Horseballs already put a very good list, but I'd add Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing, which is very, very good.
Come over at /r/homebrewing there's a lot of friendly folk over there.
I would recommend you the How to brew book from John J. Palmer. https://www.amazon.ca/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
It start simple and then go more in depth later on, it's really well made.
There is a beginner recipe in the begining of the book that is fairly easy to do, but very tasty.
Good luck.
When I was learning (in a similar environment that OP described), I had a mentor teach me. I believe that is by far the best way to learn in any industry whether it be in the kitchen, behind the bar, on a construction site, etc.
In lieu of a mentor, there are several books worth picking up to bring up your knowledge, with the combination of internet research:
-Craft of the Cocktail
-Death & Co.
-Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails
-Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique
-Imbibe!
-The Drunken Botanist
-The Curious Bartender
-The Joy of Mixology
Some helpful links:
-Kindred Cocktails
-The Spirits Business
-Good Spirit News
-Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Blog
-Jamie Boudreau's Blog: not updated but still has good info.
I recommend reading Death & Co and The Bar Book.
The author of The Bar Book has this website you can check.
Here. GL:HF /u/fingerblasters69
Here's their recipe books:
https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Harvest-collection-semen-based-recipes/dp/1481227041
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1482605228/
The trinity of bitters is Angostura, Peychaud's, and Orange bitters. Since you have experience with 2 of the 3, I'd start by rounding out with orange bitters. They're typically used more with herbal spirits, although anything you garnish with a citrus peel is a good option. Regan's is the go-to, but there are plenty on the market these days.
From there, look into chocolate and celery bitters, which add flavors that aren't present in any of the above. Chocolate works well with almost any dark spirit, but tequila/mezcal especially. Celery is a bit harder to work with, but it works in savory drinks, as well as adds a different dimension to a martini.
If you really want to deep dive, look into the book Bitters by Brad Parsons. It has a lot of history, ideas, and several recipes for homemade bitters.
Google "DIY Cocktail Bitters" to find dozens of online references.
Two books that are fantastic...
Let Randy Mosher be your guide! Seriously though his book, Tasting Beer, helped me up my beer review/description game immensely. https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
I suggest you get a copy of Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. It opened my eyes to everything in the world of beer, and tasting, understanding, and appreciating it. 10/10 would recommend again and again.
You need the flavour thesaurus!
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Thesaurus-Compendium-Pairings-Creative/dp/160819874X
Two that I haven't seen mentioned:
The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit: This is a bit more of what I was hoping the Flavor Bible would be. It focuses a bit more on unconventional pairings and the "why" of how they work. While the ingredients involved are limited, it's a book that like SFAH, can be applied everywhere.
The Drunken Botanist by Amy Steward: I really appreciate the breadth of knowledge that this book provides. While it's cocktail oriented, it really gets into the history and process of creating each alcohol. This book really is a delight.
Other than that, I really adored Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, and Thug Kitchen (for a more traditional cookbook).
/u/oldsock's new book comes out April 7th. That seems like a prudent time to do an ABRT on Cat 17 :)
Go pick up the book 12 Bottle Bar by the Solmonson's, work your way through that, then pick up The Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, and work your way through that. Then if you want to get all crazy on recipes get the PDT app on your iPhone or pick up the PDT or Death and Co books if you don't have an iPhone. Then if you want to get crazy with techniques... Pick up Liquid Intelligence
Brand suggestions?
Bourbon - Old Granddad or Buffalo Trace
Scotch - Famous Grouse Blended and Laphroaig 10
Irish Whiskey - Bushmills
Brandy - Paul Masson VSOP
Cognac - Jacques Cardin VSOP Cognac
Vodka - Tito's
Gin - Aviation/New Amsterdam and Tanqueray
Tequila - All the Espolon stuff for Blanco, Reposado, Anejo
Mezcal - Del Maguey Vida
Rum - Flor De Cana 4 year+Plantation 5 year+Myers (people may scoff at Myers, but it's a signature style in a way, good for the price too)
Vermouth - Dolin Dry Vermouth and Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Keep them in the fridge after opening!)
Bitters - Angostura, Regan's Orange bitters
Others - Campari, St. Germain, Benedictine, Pernod Pastis, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Non-alcoholic - Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Fever Tree Ginger Beer, Fever Tree Tonic Water, Fever Tree Seltzer, Eggs, Cream, Orange Blossom Water
Watch small screen network's videos, read jeffrey morgenthaler's blog, and keep an open mind.
Don't know if I missed anything.
A Bar Above is pretty good, their podcast is good as well.
Morgenthaler's Blog, his Playboy stuff and his Food Republic stuff is worth checking out (as is his book. Go buy his book.)
Weirdly for some but Jamie Oliver's Drinks Tube can be a good resource, better than almost all drinks videos out there and a decent range of stuff. It's meant for the 'home bartender' but there's plenty there to learn, once you sift through the Bacardi product placement.
Paul Photenhauer would disagree.
Don't hate, OP is just "Driven by a commitment and passion for the freshly harvested ingredient".
Why wait?
Get some of these https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Harvest-collection-semen-based-recipes/dp/1481227041
https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
There's one for mixed drinks, too.
I am the buddy! I finally found /u/buzcauldron's posts in the wild :)
I used Brad Parsons's Orange Bitters recipe from his book Bitters: https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595
If you search around, you can find a few bootleg blog posts floating around, but I highly recommend you get the book. Great resource.
People who asked in this thread:
/u/austinmiles
/u/sequoia_summers
I recommend picking up Randy Mosher's 'Tasting Beer'. Here is an excerpt regarding pouring for a creamier head:
"To get the best head on a beer, pour boldly down the center of an absolutely clean glass. It will foam up, but this is good. Really. Allow it to settle and then repeat until you have a full glass. By delaying gratification and allowing a large amount of foam to build up and then shrink, you have created a dense, creamy foam, filled with tiny, long-lasting bubbles. As a side benefit, you have knocked some of the excess gas out of the beer, and the result will be more like the smooth creaminess of draft beer."
Second for Garret Oliver's Brewmasters Table, though an even better book for introductory purposes may be Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer. Nice pictures, easy to read, covers just about everything on an easy to understand basis.
This book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Thesaurus-Compendium-Pairings/dp/160819874X
Is pretty much a 250 page list of good ingredient mixes, with about paragraph describing each. It's a book I use heavily.
Joy of homebrewing. I found it quite helpful, lots of recipes and tons of good info on everything a beginner may want to know
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian is the book that got me and most every homebrewer I know started. I'd pick that up first if I were you, its super easy to follow and I still use it.
> I'm not sure what the distinction is between say, brandy and "Brandy Cocktail", but it is so-listed in the manifest.
A brandy/gin/bourbon whiskey cocktail in the 1860s likely would have been alcohol, water, sugar, and bitters, and maybe a twist of lemon or orange.
Source: Imbibe! by David Wondrich.
I second this, and I'll add my 'starter cookbook' to help you out. How to Cook Everything: The Basics by Mark Bittman. My copy is older, I've had it since I was a teenager, so no photos in mine, only diagrams. I still learned a lot from it, and it's still my go-to for a lot of basic recipes.
Cooking at home it's also easier to control your calorie intake, especially if you use recipes that go by weight. A good tip to make it easier for a beginner is to use bowls. Just like on cooking shows, measure out your spices and ingredients into bowls and then they're all ready for you. (Also always chop your veggies before your meat, food safety.) Kitchen timers and a meat thermometer are your friends when you're just starting out, and you're not sure if it's done or not.
go to your library and check out how to cook everything: the basics. this will give you a very good, easy start!
Mark Bittman's cookbook "How to Cook Everything" is really great to learn the basics, and has tons of easy-to-follow pictures in it. Just making all the recipes in this book taught me how to cook very well.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food/dp/0470528060
This is actually the name of a literary pun cocktail recipe book.
Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762448652/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SnInxbT67664K
In World War 2 Coca-Cola was so synonymous with the war movement that the company was exempt from war-time rationing. It was famously said that the goal of the Coca-Cola Corporation was to give any American soldier anywhere in the world fighting for their country the ability to buy a Coke for a nickel whatever the cost. Coca-Cola plants were built on military bases across the fronts. The reason Coca-Cola is the global company it is today, and one of the first global corporations, is because World War 2 brought it across the world.
Sorry to ruin the joke, I just think its an interesting bit of history.
Source:
http://www.amazon.com/A-History-World-6-Glasses/dp/0802715524
History of the world in Six Glasses https://www.amazon.ca/History-World-6-Glasses/dp/0802715524
Its from the perspective of the things people were drinking :)
"A History Of The World In 6 Glasses" does a good job of placing tea and coffee and their influence in their (Western focused) historical context.
If there are red flags I'm doing in these pictures, please let me know.
edit:
1st batch: Craft-A-Brew APA Kit
2nd batch: Northern Brewer's 1 Gallon Bavarian Hefe Kit
3rd batch: DrinkinSurfer's Milk Oatmeal Stout Recipe @HBT
If I could start over I would go straight to the 3-gallon batches. I hovered around them but I think it's the perfect batch size for beginners -- 1) Most people have a stockpot lying around the kitchen big enough to hold three gallons, 2) The batches are small enough so you don't have to drink two cases of bad brew, but big enough so if you enjoy it [which I'm thoroughly enjoying my first APA], you'll have plenty to taste and rate the evolution of the flavors over various weeks of priming and give out to family friends who are interested to try out what you made, 3) I ordered 3 Gallon Better Bottles for several reasons including worrying about shattering a glass carboy as a newbie. They also qualify for free shipping on MoreBeer's website with purchases above a certain price. 4) Even though I brewed a 5 gallon batch, and since I'm brewing solo, I'm already not looking forward to bottling the whole batch at once so I plan on breaking up bottling between two days.
For resources, I lurk this sub like a crazy stalker. The Daily Q&A is full of information both crucial and minute. I listen to James Spencer's Basic Brewing Radio podcast and practically substituted it for all music recently. It's family friendly and entertaining [I heard the other podcasts aren't so much]. I read Charles Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing, 2nd ed. and For the Love of Hops by Stan Hieronymus to get a better understanding of the hops varieties and characteristics. I plan on reading John Palmer's How to Brew and Ray Daniels Designing Great Beers in the future, as well as Brew Like a Monk. Also, the HomeBrewTalk stickies in the forums provide good picture tutorials for several different styles of brewing.
I got into homebrewing so I can brew the, then, only beer style I liked: Imperial Stouts. But as I learned more about the balance and flavors of beer I surprised myself by branching out to enjoying other beers [even the odd IPA every so often]. My narrow scope of beer has broadened more vast that I ever would've imagined it. My brother got me this beer tasting tool kit used for blind taste tests so I try to keep good records and actively taste and appreciate craft beers. I even keep a couple in my wallet for tasting beers on draft.
I really wish I had an immersion wort chiller, a bigger boil kettle, a mash tun, and a propane burner. Those few equipment pieces hinder me from exploring more advanced style of homebrew. I intend to upgrade to all-grain but making the switch is really expensive. I'm still in the look-to-see-what-I-have-lying-around-the-house phase equipment-wise.
Which leads me to: don't be scared to spend money while DIY-ing. Many of you have probably seen my (and many others', most likely) shitty stir plate. DIY should be a balance of doing things on the cheap, but still making it work and function well. There's no point in DIYing if you're not going to be happy with it and just end up buying the commercial equivalent anyway. That's where I am right now.. I'm currently trying to salvage a cooler [no-spigot] I found in my garage and turn it into a mash tun instead of just buying a new cooler with a plastic, removable spigot. I'm certain it would make DIY easier but slightly more expensive.
But the suckiest thing for me about homebrewing is that I don't have a car so getting local, fresh ingredients and supporting my LHBSs is a piece of PITA bread.
Honestly, find a reliable source for the White Labs vials or Wyeast smack packs. They're $5 or $6 a piece, but a fresh, healthy, properly pitched culture is one of the most important things you can do for your beer. Harvesting and reusing is good if you're brewing at least every two weeks, but if you're letting it sit longer than that without some serious lab procedures you're probably better off culturing a starter from a commercial culture.
(Read Yeast by Jamil Zainasheff and Chris White for a far more detailed explanation by two experts.
A great book that would answer all your questions is:http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1462387187&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Yeast+book
But I'll give a couple quick responses that hit some highlights:
What is the difference between yeasts? Each yeast strain is a different organism. Each one is going to impart its own flavor profile. Some yeasts leave a lot of flavor behind in the form of esters, phenols, etc (like a saison or belgian yeast). Others will leave little behind and allow the hops or malt to shine (cal ale, us-05). Along with the flavor profile they add, some are more voracious eaters than others so certain strains will give you a lower finishing gravity (san diego). Others may end up more sweet (some english yeasts). Some like to ferment warmer and others cooler. Many times, the yeast determines your beer style more than the grain bill. You LHBS or the yeast manufacturer has literature telling you the yeast profile. Like what temperatures it likes, gravities it may ferment to, flocculation characteristics, and more.
difference between dry yeasts (Safale US-05, Nottingham, etc) and liquid yeasts: Dry yeasts are cheaper to manufacture, ship, and store. They are not recommended for propogating/reusing but they are cheap enough and easy enough to handle that it doesn't matter. Liquid yeasts are better fresh. They can be propogated. THere are more liquid yeasts available than dry. I suggest you go with the yeast that best suits the style you are brewing and not worry about the form it comes in (unless the reasons above impact you).
is low flocculation ever a good thing? Sure. Think about what kind of flavor and appearance you are going for. If you are looking for a beer like a heff, low flocculation may be desired because you want the yeast flavor to be perceived in a beer and it is not supposed to be a clear beer. High flocculating yeasts may also drop out to quickly resulting in incomplete fermentation. For example: if you don't have a fermenation chamber and your house gets cooler at night a high flocculator may drop out and you could end up with a stalled ferment. You could also end up with more diacetyl in the finished beer since it didn't finish up.
A good profile for WLP 001 California Ale (Wyeast 1056 / Safale US-05) is to pitch around 67F-68F, then monitor the heat and keep the beer temperature (not just the ambient air) around 68F-69F for the first 80% of fermentation. It can help to bump a couple degrees to 70F-71F for that last 20% to ensure you finish fermentation completely and don't get stuck with a few extra gravity points to go.
General Fermentation Temperature tips:
There are some great shows by the Brewing Network on this (itunes podcast or get it from their website) - Jamil does a great breakdown of WLP-001 fermentation profile on the "Jamil Show" about Robust Porters (towards the end of the episode, maybe 3/4 of the way through). They also have a fantastic episode of "Brew Strong" all about fermentation temperature control and why it matters.
Enough about them... First off you want to keep in mind that during the first couple days of a fermentation the temperature will be elevated by a few degrees by the heat generated by the yeast themselves, so if you're fermenting a beer with ambient air at 64F, the beer may be around 67F or 68F. Problems can arise on day 3 or 4, once you're 75% done with the fermentation and that heat source begins to fade; the beer will drop back down to ambient temperature at that point and the yeast may decide to go to sleep early. This is a major cause of incomplete fermentations and can result in a beer that's too sweet at best or create bottle bombs at worst (as that extra sugar slowwwly ferments later)
On the other hand, if you go warmer than around 72F-73F (the temperature of the BEER, not the AIR) then you can start to generate unwanted esters and fusel alcohols. This is particularly impactful on stronger than normal beers (watch out when doing anything over 1.070)
The biggest impact investment i've made to increase my beer's quality and consistency (on par with going all grain) was without a doubt my fermentation fridge. I have a basic dorm fridge that fits a carboy, with a temperature controller hooked up to the fridge's power supply. It allows me to control fermentation at all steps to within about 1/2 a degree, keeping it cool during the initial activity and warming it up at the end to help it finish. There are plenty of resources around the internet if you're interested in doing something like this; i would HIGHLY recommend it.
Edit for some really good knowledge on yeast and fermentation, i'd highly recommend the book "Yeast" by Jamil Zainasheff and Chris White (White Labs)
Designing Great Beers
Water
Hops
Malt
Yeast
This book will be a great resource to you, there are also entries in the series for Water, Hops, and Malt. I'm working through the Hops book right now, and while its an interesting read, it probably won't be too helpful in a technical sense. Malt I dont know about, but Water is worth a read for sure for whoever is working on that subject.
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459272811&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=beer+yeast+book
IIRC from Yeast (White/Zainasheff) –
I recall W&Z say that plates are good for isolating cultures but not as effective for long-term storage as other methods. Slants & stabs will be better for storage and roughly the same for propagation into a fresh starter, I'd think.
In most cases your biggest problems with long-term storage are infection and viability. I've had good viability results with a refrigerated starter even after several months, as long as I stored the yeast under the starter in the jar, as opposed to having a jar of yeast slurry.
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
Pretty good read I your interested in yeast and the first chapter says they didn't really even know why they beer fermented but to make them drunk they needed to make it happen. It was thought to be a chemical reaction with no living organisms involved.
I think you would benefit form this.
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
Reading Yeast by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff right now.
Claim is pitching directly can result in 50+% death while rehydrating can revive up to 100% of the dry cells. Pitching directly into wort means high levels of sugar/hop acid/nutrients may enter the yeast causing it to die. 50% death may result in extra autolysis flavors. Tap water is fine (250-500ppm hardness) but they also recommend rehydrating with a bit of GoFerm (vs. using malt extract or sugar) if you want.
I noticed you already pitched, but for future readers: Start between 95-105F and then carefully work your way down to wort temp before pitching to avoid shocking.
Principles Of Brewing Science
Yeast and also Water, Malt and Hops, a very informative series.
Also Oxford Companion to Beer is a great reference to look up general questions or terms.
Like most water reports, that one lacks most of the brewing-specific pertinent info. Call or email your provider and they'll give you the complete report.
Taste is FAR more important than content, IMO. Make sure you enjoy drinking the water out of the tap before you brew with it. I personally HATE my local water, so I get the filtered dispenser water at my grocery store. For hoppy beers, I add 2-4g of gypsum(/5gal), for non-hoppy beers I add the same amount of CaCl. Either way, the yeast need Calcium. I like to keep it simple, unless I know I want a specific mineral profile for a beer style.
Generally on water:
Palmer does a great job setting the foundation. http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter4.html
If you really have not read anything yet, this is an excellent place to start (you will likely be told a lot of conflicting info on this topic, which would be confusing even IF most people used a common vocabulary, which is of course not the case).
The "Water" addition to the Brewing Elements series is pretty new, so the stuff discussed in there won't be common knowledge most likely. http://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1383162459&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=water+book
That one is next on my list, "Yeast" was the best brewing book I've read since "Brewing Better Beer."
Cheers!
Did you, by any chance, learn this from Tom Standage's A History of the World in 6 Glasses? It was a really entertaining read for my flight home.
http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/a-lesson-in-beer-stout-vs-porter/
If you're really interested, Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels has a great chapter on the history of stouts and porters, and how they came to be known today.
They both started as dark roasty beers from different origins around the same time. Some stronger or weaker, on both the sides of porters and stouts. They merged into one style, stouts, with a few breweries choosing to keep a dark beer on the books with the name 'porter.'
Today, in modern craft brewing, stouts are usually include roasted barley with more coffee-like flavors, while porters typically taste more chocolatey. Although this is a very fuzzy spectrum, and there aren't any real rules.
For more info, check out the BJCP style guidelines. Category 12 is porter, 13 is stout.
You can't go wrong with two books, both of which are readily available on Amazon.
I'd start out with the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, and then move on to Designing Great Beers.
After that, I would recommend joining a local homebrew club, and there will be a big community to support you. And if you need yeast, come on down to Sixpoint with a clean mason jar and we can hook you up.
Let us know how it goes!
Yep, Designing Great Beers is the one you want. You might also find Brewing Classic Styles useful, since it'll give you a couple recipes per style with a write-up.
Designing Great Beers?
Stephen Harrod Buhner's Sacred and Healing Beers
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381667/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/184-4529911-3710004
This is the book that got me into herbs and medicinal brewing. Not only is it full of recipes and plant profiles but great lore and history and perspective. A must read- a great chapter on bee products too. I've been eating pollen and honey by the spoonful ever since.
Hops are a relatively recent addition to brewing (I think ~1500's?). Radical Brewing covers the wealth of herbs that were used previously to impart bitterness, including things like juniper and bog myrtle. Honestly, though, these aren't as good of a match compared to hops, and it sounds like you dislike the bitterness over the flavor. Any alternative you use will need to provide bitterness, otherwise the beer is going to come out very sweet and unbalanced (look up the BU:GU ratio if that's unfamiliar to you).
Honestly, don't let the dog thing worry you. Just be conscious about how you store and dispose of your hops.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
Buy this book and read. Read it a second time, and possibly a third time.
You may want to think about these two books:
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500
http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Classic-Styles-Winning-Recipes/dp/0937381926/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1410207249&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=brewing+classic+styles
How to Brew by John Palmer, as others have mentioned, is wonderful. I am also a huge fan of Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1322590396&amp;sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1322590351&amp;sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1322590396&amp;sr=1-1
I'm just started reading "Designing Great Beers" so I can learn how to make my own recipes. The book comes highly recommended from several respectable sources. I also read Brewing Classic Styles, which, besides great recipes, it has great descriptions and guide lines for each style.
"Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels really got me into thinking about water pH, etc. It's a good intro to the chemistry. I've read all the Papazian books, it takes it a little further, but still accessible to the non-biochem major.
Sounds good!
In terms of learning more about beer styles, I'd recommend buying and tasting a bunch of different beers - when you find something you like, make a note of it and do some searching to get a general sense of why it tastes the way it does (usually you'll want to look into the basic types of malts, yeast, and hops used, along with any other ingredients that may be of interest). Sites like Beer Advocate are great resources for learning about new styles and figuring out what you might want to try next, and there are tons of local microbreweries with employees/brewers that are happy to talk with you about what goes into making their beers.
Once you actually take the leap into homebrewing, I'd recommend going to a local homebrew store (like Stomp Them Grapes), chatting with the employees, and picking up equipment and ingredients to do a basic extract-based recipe with steeped grains. My personal preference at that point would just be to jump right in - it's not really that difficult, and you'll learn a lot as you progress. From there, you might check into some local homebrew clubs, get some books like The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, How to Brew, or Designing Great Beers, and start creating your own recipes by tweaking existing ones.
Really, the biggest thing is just to have fun. Beer is surprisingly hard to screw up as long as you follow the basic steps and sanitize everything well enough.
If you have any other questions, or want to chat at some point, feel free to send me a PM. I'm in Boulder, but would be happy to help out if possible!
Also: Designing Great Beers
I picked up a book which really got me excited about brewing again, I mean really really excited. I would think it would go a ways to answer some of your questions, and if you are trying to make your own recipes it gives a great starting point for each style that you can build off of, it's called Designing Great Beers
This is my full list of books from /r/homebrewing but it includes pro level books:
New Brewers:
Continued Learning:
Specialty/Advanced/Other:
Business Books:
Technical Readings (Textbooks might be expensive):
Also recommend Designing Great Beers.
Hear great things about it all the time. As soonami said, can't go wrong with buying him some beer. :)
You'll eventually want a copy of Designing Great Beers. It has all the tables, formulas, and descriptions of ingredients you need to roll your own.
This book could help:
https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500
it's a bit old, but it's still a very nice book and in the second part of the book it goes through various styles and tells you about them.
It has tables with what commercial breweries put into beer and NHC second round entries did. It goes over the amounts of malt (the types and variation), hops, yeast, covers water chemistry for each style.
There is also cool historical info about styles and how they evolved.
It's pretty good in showing you what options you have and the ranges of each addition. If you mostly brew hoppy beers I would get a different book since this one is old and hops for IPAs changed a lot since the book was published.
Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers has several interesting chapters on the history and mythological lore surrounding mead, gruits, beer, and numerous indigenous drinks such as pulque (Aztec fermented agave cactus). There are also a ton of recipes and discussion about traditional ingredients, although you might want to consult some modern scientific information about any alleged medicinal or healing properties these ingredients might have.
Juniper and bog myrtle were two of the most common ingredients in traditional Norwegian brewing. Yarrow was also used throughout Scandinavia, often together with St John's wort. Bog myrtle, wild rosemary, and yarrow was a popular combination for gruits. Looking into what people have done with those would be a good place to start.
Check out Bruce (George) Heilshorn's book "Against All Hops". https://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Hops-Techniques-Extraordinary/dp/1624143792
Another good read which Bruce recommends is Buhner's "Sacred and Healing Beers" https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3VDTYQE3LECM4&keywords=sacred+and+healing+herbal+beers&qid=1568459625&s=books&sprefix=sacred+and+hea%2Cstripbooks%2C139&sr=1-2
If you're into that, you might like to read this book: Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers. I think the author gets a little too caught up in the sacred/spiritual malarkey behind the beverages, but there are really quite a lot of interesting beer-like creations in there, most of them with recipes of various levels of detail (most will at least take some guesswork and creative sourcing of ingredients).
I'm from Scotland myself, but I've been transplanted to California. Mugwort is all over the place here, too.
I pulled a recipe from Buhner. I haven't made it before, so I plan on reducing the recipe by 1/4 so I can make a gallon tester.
>Mugwort Ale
>
>(Buhner, pg 379)
>
> 3 pounds brown sugar
> 24 oz molasses
> 4 gallons water
> 2 ounces dried mugwort herb
>* yeast
>
>Boil sugar, molasses, water, and herb for 30 minutes. Cool to 70 degrees F, strain into fermenter, and add yeast. Ferment until complete, approximately one week, siphon into bottles brimes with 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and cap. Ready to drink in 10 days to two weeks.
>
>
Good for you! Honestly, you can't do better than Mosher's Radical Brewing to start you off.
I'd take a look at The Brewmaster's Table by Garrett Oliver. He's the brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery and world renowned for his beer/food pairings and experience.
One caveat: he loves his superlatives. I remember one passage where he discusses how cheap and widely available Schneider Weiss is and how it's surprisingly a "tour de force," or something like that. Not sure why it's a surprise that one of the most highly respected/awarded breweries in the world turns out a good beer. Still, for beginners who are serious about learning beer it's a good read.
I've also really enjoyed Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher. If you have any interest in brewing it's highly informative and a great historical look at all kinds of different beer. Michael Jackson (the wine critic, not that other guy) wrote the forward, which is about as much endorsement as I needed.
Yeah, this is one of the beers listed in one of the best homebrew books I've seen, Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher. I love edible wild mushrooms, and have been meaning to try this one sometime.
Buy How to Brew. Completely worth the investment many times over. There is also an older version of it available online for free, but buy a hard copy it's changed quite a bit since the version that is posted online.
From How To Brew
I highly highly recommend that everyone who brews to pick up a book (the print version of How To Brew is much more in depth and up to date). No matter how much you think you know, a book will tell you more. And whenever you have a question, you just need to skip to the proper chapter. No need to scroll through dozens of forum posts and listening to people fighting or misquoting sources.
My first bit of advice would be to check out the side bar to the right for an extensive collection of links with excellent advice.
If you're interested in extract brewing then I'd recommend you start with these bare minimum items:
(http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/powdered-brewery-wash.html))
If you're doing all-grain then things change up quite a bit and equipment costs jump a bit.
Read How to Brew by Palmer or The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Papazian. Palmer is a bit more technical, but either will give you a basic understanding of homebrewing, including the equipment needed.
Probably the best single piece of advice I can give, however, is to not blindly believe everything you believe on the internet from homebrewers. For some reason, homebrewing has a lot of hot button issues (glass versus Better Bottle versus plastic bucket, primary versus secondary, stainless steel versus aluminum) and a lot of people who tend to believe the only right way to do something is the way they do it. The problem is, they only do it that way because that is the way they were taught and a lot of homebrewing myths are perpetuated this way. Read, study, decide for yourself what makes sense and find out what works for you. There are lots of ways to make good beer and for a lot of issues there really is no right or wrong way to do something. Except fermentation temperatures. Listen to the people who tell you to control your fermentation temperatures. They are correct.
Take Charlie Papazian's advice to "Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew" (RDWHAHB) to heart. It is harder to screw up beer than you think and even when you do screw up you usually end up with beer. Brewing when you are relaxed is much more enjoyable than when you are stressing about every little thing. You are not going to taste the difference if your hop addition is at 19 minutes instead of twenty.
-RDWHAHB!
Sounds inane, but is utterly crucial for success.
-Check out the Side Bar -->
-Purchase this book and read it.
The book How to Brew it's a great place to start doing some research. It's like the home brewer's Bible. There are also a lot of free resources online like discussion boards and how-to guides.
When you're ready to purchase a kit, [Northern Brewer] (http://www.northernbrewer.com/) and Midwest Supplies are both great retailers. I would recommend signing up for their mailing lists as they will often have starter kits on sale.
I would recommend staying away from the cheaper Mr. Beer kits. It can be a cheaper, easier option but it's like the easy-bake oven version of homebrewing. You'll make beer, sure, but you won't learn as much using these kits and there's little room for customization/upgrading if you decide to get more into it.
On Black Friday, both retailers that I mentioned always have starter kits on sale. I've gotten brewing equipment and 2 recipe kits for less than $100. That's enough to make roughly 100 bottles of beer for less than $1/bottle. You don't have to buy bottles, just save used ones, (no screw-offs) rinse them out, and you'll be able to fill and re-cap them.
Finally, when brewing, sanitize everything. The quickest way to ruin a batch of beer is improper sanitation.
Cheers.
Have them start growing you a new liver asap.
Here's tons of good info about getting the most out of your Mr. Beer on homebrewtalk.
Also, How to Brew is probably the best intro to brewing online. The web site is a free version of the book.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
Can recommend this book. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition (Harperresource Book) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0060531053/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZoYjDbMJ49RNP
It have a fair few extract recipes that incorporates specialty grains. Spells out how to do everything and what it all means!
Another good book when you start off.....The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Parpazian.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Edition/dp/0060531053/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1371682020&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=charlie+papazian+joy+of+home+brewing
Start with extract recipes.
HAVE FUN!!!!
In my opinion, this is probably the best book out there. It has great advice for homebrewers of all skill levels, and a bunch of terrific recipes too. I can't imagine my brewing life without it.
You'll be monopolizing the kitchen for a couple hours when you start a new batch, then you'll need someplace to put the fermenter (which may just be a 5-gallon pail, more or less). Then after the fermentation you'll be monopolizing the kitchen again for another couple of hours while you bottle. Then you need someplace to keep the bottles of beer. Bottom line: no, doesn't take up much room. I've homebrewed in small apartments, no problem.
Protip: when you boil your malt the place is going to reek of maltballs for a while. If you have others in the domicile who aren't agreeable with this, trot our the scented candles and incense :)
Anyone thinking about getting into homebrewing would do very well to invest a few bucks in a used copy of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. That book got a lot of homebrewers started, and it tells you everything you need to know. Easy to read.
Completely agree with this.
Also, you may find out you hate brewing (impossible I know!!) but better to start with a small kit you get for Christmas, brew a decent beer and then upgrade as you see fit, rather than jumping in head first.
More than likely you will find that you really enjoy your first brew and it will have let you get the process down without worrying much about the "extra" stuff. I suggest brewing the kit as-is and buying The Complete Joy of Homebrewing to learn more about the process and the equipment needed to take it to the next level.
And sanitize, sanitize, sanitize - a friend of mine couldn't figure out why his beer kept skunking and it was because he cleaned but didn't sanitize - good luck and welcome to the club!
After seeing a friend do it, I've recently decided to try to brew some beer on my own. It's not hard, apparently, since basic beer is just four ingredients, and this book makes it really friggin easy.
Honey Wheat Ale, here we come!
There are no bacteria, that can grow in beer, that can make you sick (source: Charlie Papazion's Complete Joy of Homebrewing), so I wouldn't worry about it.
Could just be a coincidence, or like others have said a reaction to ingesting too much yeast.
Relax, don’t worry, and have a homebrew! Read the book from Charlie Papazian, every brewer from amateur to world class pro has read this book and will speak highly of it. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Joy-Homebrewing-Third/dp/0060531053
It is a wonderful hobby that you can make work on a broke college student budget or go for a complete balls to the wall home micro-brewery. Do not go into it expecting to save money though. Just like tech there is always something new and shiny to get your hands on.
I've only been brewing for ~8 months but the one thing I have now that I wish I had at the start is The Complete Joy of Hombrewing. The recipes for both extract and partial mashes are great.
Also, you could save some money, effort and risk by not doing secondary fermentation.
This forum post does a good job looking at the pros and cons of doing so.
Edit: forgot to add link
It's usually cheaper to buy everything you need separately than buy a kit. Or check out craigslist; lots of homebrewers will sell their equipment if they are moving or if their wife is nagging them :)
Lots of restaurants and bakeries throw out perfectly good food-grade plastic buckets, and will save one for you if you ask.
An airlock, a bottle of Star-San, crown caps, and a bottle capper from the local homebrew store will run you about $35, plus another $35 for all the ingredients necessary for a batch of beer. You'll also need a large stock pot and maybe a racking cane.
Recipes and advice are free on the internet, or you can buy a book. I suggest The Joy of Home Brewing.
The moral of the story is that for about the same cost as a Mr. Beer kit and ingredient pack, you can make twice as much beer, and at a better quality.
I think The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is better to get started with. How To Brew is the resource I go to now, but TCJoH is much easier to read.
Started with an equipment kit like the basic kit on Northern Brewer. Read the basic sections in The Complete Joy of Homebrewing to figure out how to do it. Then I just tried! My first beer was drinkable, but not great. But it was mine and I was hooked. Been brewing regularly for 3 years now and have no plans of slowing down!
Get the Papazian book, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
Also, there is homebrew shop in the district now
I am 100% all for the pursuit of knowledge behind the bar. I believe it's a great way to show initiative to get behind a craft bar, elevate your cocktail game, and just to learn something cool. Feel free to message me if you have questions on where to get started, what to do after you've read some of these books, what to expect when you're working your way up, etc. I'd be more than happy to lend some helpful advice!
Here are some of the books I'd recommend:
"The Bar Book" by Jeffrey Morgenthaler
I'd start here if you're interested in and are brand new to craft cocktails. Morgenthaler's Bar Book is threaded with great insight on what and why certain techniques are used behind the bar and is riddled with beautiful photography.
"Imbibe!" by Dave Wondrich
Hands down, the first book you should read if you want to get into the lore behind craft drinks. It opens up with the story of our great forefather, Jeffrey Thomas, and then continues to discuss the various eras of bartending and what they represent, as well as the drinks within those eras.
"Craft Cocktails at Home" by Kevin Liu
If Bar Book is your high school Geometry, Liu's, "Craftcocktails at Home" is your college Linear Algebra class. Provides you with hard science on what exactly going on in the glass if we shake VS stir or the happenings in an egg-based drink. Awesome read.
"How's Your Drink" by Eric Felten
Felten runs through history and entertains with stories behind some of the biggest drinks in cocktails. Did you know the Vesper (a vodka/gin Martini hybrid of sorts) was created in a Jame's Bond book and was named after the sultry villain? That President Theodore Roosevelt loved himself a good mint julep and even had his own mint bed to supply himself plenty when he wanted one? Fun read.
"Drunken Botanist" by Amy Stewart
Alcohol is derived from things. This is the best book that talks about those things. Agave, Juniper, Barley, Cinchona Bark. Understand the drink from a Botanist's point of view.
"Bitters" by Brad Thomas Parsons
Bitters are an incredible way to add both aromatics and flavor into a cocktail. This book will help you not only understand what they are and what they do, but will kickstart your own bitter brewing process if desired. Homemade Orange Bitters kick ass.
Barsmarts
Last but not least, Barsmarts is a great online tool to help rundown the basis of what we with cocktails. It goes through the various spirits, a brief look at cocktail history, and even has a "drink builder". Definitely worth the $30.
I sent you a message separately since I don't want to be spammy and link to my own site here. But I'd like to address your general concerns of where and how to begin.
If you want to make some honey BBQ or apricot chicken, that's great. However, starting at that level may actually be a disservice to you, especially as most recipes are structured to assume some base level of knowledge that you don't have. The result can be frustrating as you try to piece together bits of knowledge from wherever you can scrounge them.
The worst part is not understanding why certain things are happening. The Alton Brown recipe that /u/MercuryCrest shared will be unusually good because he's teaching you why you're doing certain things. That will make recipes repeatable and your skills generalizable.
If you can get access to all of Good Eats, that's typically what people recommend. But I'd also like to recommend just a good book, like Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything The Basics which will walk you through a bunch of beginner recipes.
How to Cook Everything The Basics - Awesome book with hundreds of step by step photos.
I have several more recommendations but this one is the best, I think.
Edit: formatting.
Here ya go - you can both learn!
http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food--/dp/0470528060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1426772178&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=cookbook+for+beginners
Not an online resource, but "How to Cook Everything: The Basics" by Mark Bittman would probably be useful to you. It explains "why" in detail. I got a used copy for $10. Money well spent.
There is a book of literary themed cocktails called Tequila Mockingbird.
All of the drinks came from this book. It was a super fun nerd fest.
Tim?
Try some fresher styles.
For red you might enjoy Brachetto D'Aqui and I concur a white you might enjoy includes Moscato D'Asti.
If you want to try fortified wines, that are excellent for winter, seek out a Rutherglen liqueur Topaque or liqueur Muscat.
Find a local fine wine merchant and talk to them. They should be able to guide you to the transitional wines that you're seeking.
If you want to increase your knowledge of wine, two books I can recommend are Jancis Robinson's "24 Hour Wine Expert" and Tom Standage's excellent book "History of the World in 6 Glasses." both shed light on different aspects of this beguiling drink.
YES! It's pretty well documented in A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage.
Also, the "How Beer Saved the World" documentary on Netflix mentions it. I assume you've seen?!
Awesome. It's a fantastic book and I highly recommend it. If you want to zoom out and casually take a look at a larger period of time and beverages, Tom Standage's A History of the World in Six Glasses is a really fun read.
My understanding is it partially started when the church of England split from the Catholic church. Coffee was strongly associated with the Catholic church at time, and to distance themselves, people in England began to stop drinking it, and instead started drinking tea. There is actually a theory that tea helped out the industrial revolution, because it has minor antibiotic properties. Right when people started really bunching up in cities, is when tea got popular. It also may have contributed to British naval superiority, due to it's vitamin C. This helped fight off scurvy, and major problem at the time.
I would check out this book http://www.amazon.com/A-History-World-6-Glasses/dp/0802715524 If you are interested in more information. It goes too far to the side of "this caused this" but as long as you keep in mind things are rarely as cut and dry as he implies, it has some great information.
You mean A History of the World in 6 Glasses https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802715524/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_8D8WBb39Y5M4Y
A History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage. Seriously, it is as interesting and informative as it is entertaining.
https://www.amazon.com/Bar-Book-Elements-Cocktail-Technique/dp/145211384X
The Bar Book by Morgenthaler.
Book-wise, I'd recommend picking up the Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler. It's pretty easy to find recipes online and there's no shortage of great classic and craft cocktail books, but the bar book covers techniques that would otherwise take a lot of time and experience to pick up.
I don't really have any specific rules, per say, other than drink what you like. If you read enough around here, you'll notice that vodka doesn't exactly get put up on a pedestal by many. I personally find I use gin in almost any situation that calls for vodka so I don't really sweat which brand I have in the house (currently Tito's).
As for tequila, it's not so much about avoiding gold tequila (my house tequila is the lunazul reposado which is a gold tequila), it's making sure that you're using a quality 100% de agave tequila. Most brands that produce tequila this way will let you know somewhere on the label, but brands like espolon, lunazul, milagro are all safe bets. Otherwise, they're making the tequila from some percentage neutral grain spirit (typically distilled beet sugar) and adding tequila flavoring.
Read around here and on specific spirit subreddits to get further recommendations. I also recommend picking up a beginners cocktail book to give you an idea of which elements of your bar to stock first and prioritize what to buy later. 12 Bottle Bar focuses on what bottles to buy to make an array of classics. Bar Book is more focused on helping shape your technique and palate.
https://www.amazon.ca/Bar-Book-Elements-Cocktail-Technique/dp/145211384X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=the+bar+book&amp;qid=1571369884&amp;sprefix=the+bar+&amp;sr=8-1
The Bar Book is a great book.
Pas besoin d'attendre le fruit, tu peux manger ou boire les semences ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I'll admit there's a certain appeal to doing a girl on her period. I've done it before and it was kind of hot in a dirty way but WTF they are cooking with bloody tampons!?! Now I'm not sure which is worse!
Natural Harvest: A collection of semen-based recipes
Despite all of these positive qualities, semen remains neglected as a food. This book hopes to change that.
Semenology - The Semen Bartender's Handbook
Semen is often freshly available behind most bar counters and adds a personal touch to any cocktail.
I'm guessing there's a subreddit somewhere for this nasty shit.
For those willing to experiment
source
And let's not forget the follow-up book about cocktails.
Now this is in my Amazon suggestions.
I can't lie, I might buy it.
https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
As am I.
This looks just as... interesting.
Check out these cookbooks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1482605228
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1481227041
> Semen is not only nutritious, but it also has a wonderful texture and amazing cooking properties.
> Like fine wine and cheeses, the taste of semen is complex and dynamic.
> Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants.
Edit: Now Amazon is recommending this and this to me. Lovely.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1482605228/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1482605228&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=cookiwithcum-20
I use the recipes in this book, and I quarter the amounts. Some of the ingredients are already in small amounts (like 1/4 tsp) so I just eyeball those.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1580083595/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_h6.5ybAM2MS49
As for the alcohol, I'm sure you can find some kind of high percentage neutral spirits in Canada. I would try calling some liquor stores or speciality liquor stores and ask for neutral spirits or grain alcohol. But if that fails just stick with the strongest vodka you can find.
I got the recipe from this book. The hardest part was finding all the ingredients. I had to order cinchona bark online after trying 5 different stores, including two stores that specialize in herbs only. For the bottles, I ordered these.
Tasting Beer is by far an away my favorite read. It covers every aspect of beer well; styles, glass ware, serving, pairing, history, science of brewing and more. I have found myself referencing this book more then any other. I highly recommend you pick this one up for a good read. Enjoy!
http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
I find that Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher is a good resource for beer education. Probably the best thing to do would be to organize flights for him, so you can start to work out what styles he likes. Obviously there's a lot of variation within styles, but perhaps if you give him a selection to rank or pit against each other, you can start to see whether he likes hoppy vs. malt-forward, etc. So you could start with a pilsner, a wheat beer, an IPA and a stout or a similar line-up and work your way out from there.
If you're nervous about getting him a beer he might not like, you can always spring for something like glasswear or an experience. For example:
Glasswear - very few beer drinkers have a good set of tasting glasses or a nice Teku glass. They tend to spend their money more on the beer than the proper glasswear. Here are some to consider:
Teku Glasses
Tasting Glasses
Experience - This is completely scalable based on budget. Need to do something cheaper? Check out Yelp reviews and Beer Advocate reviews to find the best local brewery near you and take him there, followed by dinner at a great tap room or gastropub. Have more budget? Take him on a beer roadtrip or brewery tour around some of the local breweries in your area.
Beer books and merch - There are a lot of great books about the history of beer, tasting beer, etc. Here are a few to check out:
Tasting Beer
Oxford Companion
You can also get merch from his favorite brewery's online store or taproom. They'll have shirts, branded glasses, etc. All of those things should score points with any beer drinker.
For reference, go to Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, or this book. For flavours, I'll usually go with the Flavour Bible or the Flavour Thesaurus.
I picked up a copy of The Flavor Thesaurus which doesn't cover alcohol at all, but let's you match flavours with other complementary flavours. The 44 flavours that compliment anise which could provide hours of exploration/experimentation alone.
Ohh sure thing! I've got a small collection but the one I always rec and lend out isn't a cookbook, but actually this really useful guide called: The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook. For baking, I really like watching Great British Bake off for recipes and have Mary Berry's Baking Bible, it's been a good guide. I also like Ricardo, and made his apple+pecan and raisin cake over the holidays and it was really good. But my true love is actually cheese making (despite my lactose intolerance lol) and so Nick Haddow's Milk Made is my baby, there's a recipe for saffron+honey cheesecake I'm planning on making for my brother when he finishes his midterms. Martha's good, you can actually find her recipes online but nothing off the top of my head I can recommend rn.
There's a great book called Flavour Thesaurus which has lots of interesting and creative pairings.
This book explains it much more succinctly than I ever could. But yes, co-mingle, although vague is exactly what is happening. The flavors play off of and compliment each other the longer they co-mingle.
The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook https://www.amazon.com/dp/160819874X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_qEaMDbBKB1QE1
The Flavor Thesaurus is a really interesting book, and may give you some ideas.
I can't figure out how to link in mobile :/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/160819874X?pc_redir=1410775647&amp;robot_redir=1
Qrow: "Here, read this."
Yang: "What page is it on?"
Qrow: "Just start on page 1 and keep going."
https://www.amazon.com/Drunken-Botanist-Amy-Stewart/dp/1616200464/
Assuming you mean that one. I have it, and it's more about the plants that are used to make cocktails. There's a small bit of information I found useful in terms of spices/herbs, but I would definitely recommend other books. I'll update this when I get home and have access to my bookshelf.
The Drunken Botanist. Gives you backstory into the plants that make and flavor alcohol.
It’s a different science, but I thoroughly enjoyed “The drunken botanist ” by Amy Stewart
If you're going the sour route and venture away from strictly Belgian styles, u/oldsock has a great book called American Sour Beers that I would recommend picking up.
It's all about taste and palettes. If you don't like sours, that's fine. A lot of folks don't. I gather the recent shift isn't far different than the lupulin threshold shift. It's my perception that sour fan-boi's are a bit more strong in their opinions and beliefs due to the amount of time and effort that goes into creating proper, delicious sour beers. An excellent IPA can be cranked out in less than a month, while sour beers require many months, even years to make, and require some advanced techniques such as blending in order to achieve a desired flavor or for consistency. Some may come off as elitists, or beer snobs because of this extra effort required, which isn't going to help them bring more to their cause.
It also may have something to do with the recent release of /u/oldsock's book back in June, which is one of the only really well written books on sour beers. Even if you don't like them, it's a great book to read through, as it really does open your eyes to just how complex they can be, and why their is such an appreciation for them among their loyal tasters.
Yes, he lives in DC. He consulted (or consults?) with Modern Times in CA. He wrote American Sour Beers which I highly recommend. He's also pretty active in /r/homebrewing answering questions from people like me who are just getting into making sour beers.
I'm at work so here is a quick and dirty list.
Compleat Distiller: Your Technical Resource
Excellent Forum
How To Brew: Tips on fermentation
The Joy of Home Distilling: Good Resource in general
Moonshine!: Great beginners Guide with simple recipes
Welcome! Northern Brewer and the like sell some decent $100-$150 starter kits. They'll get you into the process with extract pretty quickly to see if it's right for you. Please check out the FAQ and Wiki for a lot of information....or just use the search bar. You'll want to learn about yeast health, fermentation temperature control, and bottle conditioning for your first brew.
As for the types of beers you like: If you have 0 experience, you won't try to make a sour for awhile. They're a bit more involved and require knowledge and some extra equipment. I can't say I know what a "polish beer" is but a Belgian style shouldn't be too hard for your first couple of brews.
Either way, give NB or More Beer or someone a look at check out their starter extract packages. You need a 5-7 gallon pot and a place to crank up the heat. Just don't make the same mistake I did and think that you could get a full 5 gallons up to a boil on a gas stove. I was better off trying for 2-3 gallons and topping off with water :).
Edit:
Almost forgot about How To Brew.....
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Great-Every/dp/1938469356/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
I recommend How to Brew 4th edition.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Great-Every/dp/1938469356/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526519348&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
If you are still pretty new, you'll want to be comfortable making clean beers before trying your hand at sour and wild beers. There are so many factors that go into sour/wild ales, that you'll definitely want to have your brewing process down because one small variable can have a huge impact on the final product more so than a clean beer.
That out of the way, nothing says you can't start reading up on it. A good resource on sours is American Sour Beers by Michael Tonsmeire and his website The Mad Fermentationist, which has a bunch of recipes. I also highly recommend the Milk the Funk website, wiki, and Facebook group.
Brewing a sour can be only slightly more difficult (if kettle sour) or painfully tedious (if cold side sour) from a normal beer.
Assuming you know the standard process, kettle souring is throwing a bug into the sweet wort after you collect from the mash but before you boil (and depending on the bug, you might need to chill this first). You then get to sit on your pot and wait overnight to 2 days for the bacteria to get a foot hold and drop your pH to a respectable low 3 or high 2. Then you boil it and continue like normal.
Cold side sours are just like making a normal beer. The only major difference is you can't put a lot of hops in the boil since most sour cultures don't like them. Where it becomes tedious is after everything is done you need to super clean all of your gear or every beer you make from now on will be a sour.
Some great reading on how to make sour beer in your own home is the book American Sour Beers by u/oldsock
How to Brew is what I learned a lot from. Pretty cheap but teaches you a lot about how to actually brew beer.
I read A LOT of the style guidelines on BeerAdvocate to understand glassware and styles, also terminology.
I also got lucky and had an amazing beer monger at my local wine/cheese/beer shop. He taught me a ton, as did the guy I was dating. I'd try literally every beer I could get my hands on and would go from there.
Now I know exactly what styles I like, how to pick beers I'm likely to like, what glassware it should generally go in, etc.
I have also helped homebrew multiple times. It gives you a good understanding of the whole beer making process.
If it's a book you're looking for I strongly recommend Palmer's How to Brew, as available on amazon.
One thing that I did forget is that sanitation is probably the most important part. Be paranoid and go overboard (not too far overboard, I mean you don't need an autoclave and a hood and all that), it won't hurt. I use StarSan, but everyone has their own approach to it.
At any rate, happy brewing!
You can start with this book.
You don't have to read all of it, you can skim it. It'll give you a very comprehensive view of the beer-making at home. You'll revisit the book often later too.
On top of that, visit some homebrew supply websites and look through the equipments they sell. This will give you an idea as to what tools/equipments are out there. This helps with getting the idea of the process and how the hobby looks like and cost.
Read this: "How to Brew"
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
Then this: "Brewery Operations Manual"
http://www.amazon.com/Brewery-Operations-Manual-Tom-Hennessy/dp/B00EGTTE6W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1421342697&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=brewery+operations+manual&amp;pebp=1421342699608&amp;peasin=B00EGTTE6W
Pick up a copy of Palmer's How to Brew. You can read the first edition online at www.howtobrew.com.
Check out the beginner's forum at www.homebrewtalk.com; it's a friendly, helpful community. /r/Homebrewing is as well.
For entry-level equipment, I'd recommend waiting for a Groupon to Midwest Supplies. They usually run them every month or two and you can get everything you need to brew (minus a 3+ gallon pot) for $64 plus shipping, including ingredients for your first batch and a GC good for a second batch. It's really a steal.
Dive right in, have fun, ask stupid questions, and above all RDWHAHB (relax, don't worry, have a homebrew)!
If you haven't already, pick up How to Brew by John Palmer. Its probably the best collection of techniques, as well as tips and tricks in one single place.
Though it's not as practical, particularly if you one of the first of your friends to start the hobby; one of the most helpful things I did when I started brewing was to brew my first batch with an experienced friend. It helps smooth out a lot of kinks.
Heres a link to the book
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1368381468&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
Well before you begin, start saving your pry top brown beer bottles. You'll need them.
First, buy How to Brew and read Section I.
Next, buy one of these kits and a semi-easy recipe kit...like the Autumn Amber Ale.
Finally, have fun with it. Start small with the equipment, ingredients, and procedure until you get a feel for it. /r/Homebrewing is great resource and pretty friendly to beginners. It's a fun hobby and I always brew if I have a free weekend. Enjoy!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381888?pc_redir=1412945057&amp;robot_redir=1
This book has lots of useful information for beginners. Most home brewing kits include instructions as well though. I like to order from Northern brewer. Most places can help you figure out what equipment you need to get started (you can get everything you need for basic stuff around $100)
Hey, welcome to reddit, I haven't read the complete joy of home brewing yet but one book I do recommend as something every one should read is "How to Brew" by John Palmer.
He starts off with the absolute basics like sanitation then has a really well structured progression from extract brewing through nutrients, how all your temps and proteins work, water chemistry, all grain brewing even how to fabricate your own equipment! Definitely cant praise it enough, I know it certainly made me step my game up lol.
the first edition is free online http://www.howtobrew.com/
But I highly recommend getting the hard copy 3rd edition and for $5 secondhand you really cant say no lol http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0937381888/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&amp;me=
Does he have a good book on homebrewing? I loved How To Brew -- http://amzn.com/0937381888
"How To Brew" by John Palmer.
How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time
http://amzn.com/0937381888
[as per chris whites book Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation (Brewing Elements)] (https://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969) no dont do a starter on dry yeast. just rehydrate to spec.
It's interesting that Jamil and Chris are saying different things about this considering that they wrote the book Yeast together.
Stop reading the internet, and get this book
If you haven't read it already, this is a fantastic book. It will answer just about every yeast question you'll ever have about yeast. I make all my new employees read the whole Brewing Elements series as part of their training here.
Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation (Brewing Elements) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381969/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_FYkpzbVGYWFQJ
Before this gets downvoted to oblivion, I want to say that this will get downvoted because it's a lazy question, not because you're a homebrewer.
Read Yeast by Chris White. https://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1543266001&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=chris+white+yeast&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51yGg2L1kTL&amp;ref=plSrch
The Yeast book says it can be okay to use another strain of yeast, notably if it's clean-fermenting. The first pitch can be for flavor/character, and the second pitch can be to finish off fermentation. The second needs to be generous, highly active yeast.
However, using something like champagne yeast may not help because the simple sugars (that the champagne yeast would target) have probably been fermented already.
OP: In addition to /u/sanseriph74's questions, at what temperature(s) have you been fermenting? Have you tried rousing the yeast at all?
You probably want to start with this - https://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
Finally watched the whole video. Be on the lookout--her slides seem correct, but she mis-speaks quite a bit and even misreads the slides. She also wings a few answers to questions that she clearly should have said that she didn't know the answer to. This video proved to be a good "test" for me since I finished reading the new Yeast book and it really taught me a lot. Interestingly, Neva is acknowledged for her help on the book so she's certainly no slouch.
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
This is a great read.
Yes, it actually will. Brewing relies heavily on the salt and mineral content of the water. Salt and mineral content changes significantly if they change a water source like that. Water content is also the reason why breweries are located in certain areas in certain states/countries around the world.
The other ingredients that you mentioned really don't have a huge impact, even with seasonal variations. Yeast is the only other factor that can seriously change flavor, and the yeast used in these beers is highly controlled and not subjected to conditions that will cause mutations.
For someone with the username 'Eddie_The_Brewer' you seem to not know a lot about brewing science.
Edit: And if you really don't believe me, there's a freaking book dedicated to water science: http://www.amazon.com/Water-A-Comprehensive-Guide-Brewers/dp/0937381993/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1371673133&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=water+brewing
http://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993
This is a great book on everything water.
People have written entire books on the topic, e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993
This book is a good read for everything water.
This is correct. The calcium in your water and the added calcium from calcium sulfate (gypsum) reacts with phosphate in the malt to precipitate calcium phosphate, which releases protons that react with dissolved carbonates to create water and CO2, which reduces the alkalinity and lowers the pH. Not to mention this is all a function of malt color (darker malts are more effective at lowering pH, ceteris parabus)
Blindly adding gypsum while testing pH will get you nowhere if you don't know where you are starting from. Go here or anywhere else that will test your water and learn what you've got coming out of the faucet.
Then go here and learn what it's all about. There a useful excel sheet, instructions on how to use it, and the science behind it. You get your head around this and your next move is this book Get through all that, and not only will you understand what is happening, but you'll improve your efficiency and flavor profile by default. Knowledge is power brother.
My top suggestion would be "How to brew" By John Palmer or "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" By Charlie Papazian and read before buying anything. You will get a strong understanding of the process and be able to make sure it's something you will want to do before dropping $100 dollars on getting started.
If you want to jump in with smaller batches (1 Gallons) I would suggest buying one of Brooklyn Brew Shops kits or another small batch kit. The process is pretty much the same just in smaller portions. If you decide from there you want to go bigger you always can and then you have a better grasp on the process and what will be needed to make better beer.
Little bit of a different issue, but I would also suggest having a homebrew session with the staff before you open one day. Nothing will teach you about the process of making beer better than doing it yourself, and it really isn't hard. If you still want to accompany that lesson with literature, two great books on brewing are How to Brew by John Palmer (aka the home brewer's bible, full text is also available for free online) and The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian
As far as general history and beer tasting knowledge, I'll back up those who have recommended Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher, and pretty much anything written by Michael Jackson. Many of Jackson's books are separated by regions, so it would be helpful to find which one applies to the area your pub/the beers your serve are from
I recommend the book How to Brew. The first couple chapters explain in more detail you'd ever want to know why yeast, what it is, how it grows, what it eats, in what order it will eat those things, and how temperature effects it's metabolism and thus it's products. If you're interested in brewing beer, you can get away with knowing almost nothing. Boil malts, bring the temperature down, add yeast in a sterile container with an air lock, and you will make beer. But pretty soon you'll want to up your game. For $12, this is one of the few books that should be on every amateur homebrewer's shelf. Also check out r/homebrewing and exBEERiments.
Is this the one? http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1415054388&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
This? I sure will. I'm making a list of things I found out I need, such as, big ass brew pot, and lots of bottles. Thank you for your reply!
Beer and science you say! I have a few recommendations for you then.
The essential book to beginning homebrewing is John Palmer's How to Brew. This dives right into the science and explains things clearly for a beginner.
And what is science without some equipment! For the scientist there is a nice refractometer that can be used to measure the gravity of your beer and use that to calculate the ABV%.
Also, ever beer scientist needs to keep track of what they are working on. How about picking up a brewer's journal.
Maybe you want a more DIY project to get into it. How about a home made mash paddle? They are easy to make and it's something that you two can design and make together.
Since he most likely doesn't have a kit, stop on over to Northern Brewer and check out some of the starter kits.
There are also options for wine, mead and cider so no matter what your taste you can get something that you two can enjoy together. I love brewing and my wife helps out. We get to spend time together and create tasty drinks.
These may not be the most original choices but the clues you've given us really lend to a hobby I'm very passionate about. Hope this helps and if either of you have any questions about gear or brewing etc... feel free to drop me a line.
Having his/her own hops is a great start, but their next step should be to learn a little about the fundamentals of the brewing process and fermentation science. For beginners just trying to make a brew, the very very basics will work fine. No need to get complicated just yet.
Have them check out Papazian's The Joy of Home Brewing or Palmer's How to Brew. Or if they want, Palmer has an online edition.
Next they'll need equipment and ingredients. Check out these vendors or search for a local brew shop:
Northern Brewer
Midwest Brewing
Austin Homebrew Supply
William's Brewing
Cheers.
I'm guessing you want some info on brewing not my quest for this redditor's kegs. There are some really good books to pick up that will help you out a ton, learn you some basics real quick and the science behind it. I picked up this one, which is also sort of the standard 101 book. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381888/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_caAWub1JT7F56
There is also the sub reddit where you can get some great tips, ideas, and also jelly of other peoples set ups.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing
Locally there is Austin Home Brew Supply up off metric and 183. Everyone there is pretty knowledgable and are really welcoming to newbies and vets alike so if you're starting off they can hook you up and get you on your way to a solid first brew.
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/
As for tips, really it comes down to sanitation, that shit is no joke. Keep it clean, take your time, and always have a beer in hand while brewing. You'll need a shit ton of ice to cool down your brew because water here doesn't come cold out of the tap so to chill your wort, you'll probably need more than you expect. Be adventurous when your doing it, try dumb shit, keep a journal/log on how and what you do so you will be able to avoid or repeat things depending on what you want. In general its a great way to have quality brew, that you would pay 10$ a sixer for like 1$ and some change cost to you per beer. Oh, also don't buy bottles, just stock up on empties that are non-screw off tops. Hopefully that spurred your interest to brew battle it out with your friend and pick up a great hobby/drinking habit.
How to Brew by John Palmer.
I would suggest you go read this book http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1344437906&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
I was using Mr. beer kits and wanted to dive into extract brewing using recipes. All my questions were answered by the first 125 pages. I would strongly recommend that book
You can get it the latest edition from Amazon. If you're interested in become a homebrewer, it's definitely worth it.
There are two pretty much bibles of home brewing: The Joy of Home brewing is the first, I have never read it but I hear good things. The author is pretty famous in home brewing circles and this book is credited with jump starting home brewing.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Complete-Joy-Home-Brewing/dp/0380763664/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1259699032&amp;sr=8-1
The second (and the one I own because of the vast amounts of knowledge) is How to Brew. It has information on the ingredients, basic process for beginners and advanced techniques.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1259699116&amp;sr=1-1
First thing I did was read http://howtobrew.com/ - that's an older version but still good info. you can also get an updated version on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888)
How to Brew
Read it online, but you'll want a copy.
Buy it at Amazon
All that info is actually from the book "How to Brew" by John Palmer. I highly recommend that to ANYONE who's just starting.
I personally started by reading John Palmer's How To Brew but what really engrossed and elevated my interest in all things brewing-related was James Spencer's Basic Brewing Radio
Edit: fixed Basic Brewing iTunes link
In this post, I'm going to link to examples. They are examples: I'm not necessarily recommending that specific item. (I'm pretty much doing a search on Amazon and linking to the first thing in the search results that is actually what you need.) It's just an example to let you know what you're looking for.
Yes, you will need a metal stockpot. Five gallons should be sufficient.
You will need some type of stirring apparatus. Some would recommend a large metal spoon, but I recommend using a plastic mash paddle.
I would recommend getting some type of thermometer to put on your stock pot. A candy thermometer is where I'd start, but, if this is a hobby that you'll stick with, it's probably worth investing in something better.
Also, I see that they put a hydrometer in your kit. If you want to take measurements with the hydrometer, you'll need either a turkey baster or a wine thief. I'd start with the baster.
If you need a book on homebrewing, Palmer's How to Brew is pretty much the standard, but Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is well regarded. Palmer's book is in its third edition, but you can get the first edition of the book online for free.
Depending on the ingredients that you use, you may need common kitchen items like scissors or can openers.
You'll also need bottles. If you brew a five gallon batch (which is pretty typical… at least in the United States), you'll need about fifty-four twelve-ounce bottles. However, you can't use twist-off bottles; they're no good.
Lastly, you'll need ingredients. Different recipes call for different ingredients. My advice is to buy a kit from a local homebrew store (LHBS) or one online. Some kits make you buy the yeast separately. If so, make sure that you purchase the right strain of yeast.
I'm selling all my home brew equipment and books asking 300, its an all or nothing deal sorry. I will provide pictures for any one interested.
1-glass carboy and hauler
1-bottling bucket with spout
1-fermenting bucket with lid
1-1 gallon glass carboy
1-2 gallon bucket
1-Hydrometer
3-Air locks
1-Thermometer
1-wood stirring paddle
1-40 quart stock pot
1-turkey fryer with the timer removed
1-20lb empty propane tank
1-capper and about 50 -60 beer bottle caps
1-corker for wine bottles and some corks
Auto siphon, tubing, racking cane,some PBW cleaner and Star Sanitizer left over, I have I think 12 empty wine bottles and probably have about an empty case worth of beer bottles.....I mean pretty much everything you need to brew or make wine.
Books are listed below and are in great shape.
How to Brew Beer
Designing Great Beer
For The Love of Hops
Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation
Hop Variety hand book
The Homebrewer's Garden
The recipe itself looks fine from a base standpoint, but I haven't had Magic Hat #9 in years so I don't know the flavor you're looking for. However, there are hundreds of clones out there for that beer you can find with a quick search.
> From what I've read the time you're adding the hops directly affects the flavor.
Short version is the more heat applied to them, the more bitter. The less heat, the more aromatic. So by adding Cascade at the 30 and 15, you get medium bittering and aroma and then more aroma with a touch of bitterness (and dry hopping is all aroma with no bitter).
> what are the pros and cons of different yeasts?
Ho boy! This is a question that entire books are written on.
Different yeasts make the beer taste different and can completely change what it is. The same 2-row/wheat wort with noble hops can be a Belgian Wit, German Heffe, or Saison based completely on which yeast you throw in there. So pros and con is so vague there's nothing I can say besides what are you looking for?
It is advised against. Paraphrasing from Yeast, pp164, 3rd paragraph: {Yeast at the end of fermenation are not healthy cells, many dead cells and other material. You need to remove unwanted yeast material, and make sure you're pitching appropriate amounts. (They then say specifically) "Do not be lazy. Yeast growth is important to beer flavor and overpitching, (esp with excessive trub) can have a negative effect."}
http://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993
http://www.amazon.com/For-The-Love-Hops-Bitterness/dp/1938469011/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z
http://www.amazon.com/Malt-Practical-Guide-Field-Brewhouse/dp/1938469127/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=0WQ72HEQ20V3E7C82R98
As for books on yeast, the first one I read was First Steps in Yeast Culture by Pierre Rajotte and Chris White's Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation
Rajotte's book is a quick read and will give you a great overview of the process of propagating yeast for brewing. Chris White's book (of White Labs) is, IMHO, way more in depth into yeast selection, management and testing. But both offer something that the other does not, so I highly recommend the both of them.
As for books on brewing, I started off with what is basically the bible of homebrewing which is The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian. But don't stop there. There are plenty of great books on brewing. Papazian's book will cover the foundations of brewing, but other books that deal with specific styles of brewing will give you a lot more information about how intricate the brewing process is. A lot of this information you can also get from perusing online how-to's and articles about specific practices. There are so many you will continuously learn about ways of making bear you never thought were "standard" or possible.
I read Sibel Institute's Technology Brewing and Malting by Wolfgang Kunze cover to cover. It's really informative, but I would focus on the books above and online resources before tackling Kunze's book.
As far as getting a setup like mine, if what you want is to be able to propagate yeast, you don't need most of what I have. Just start picking up pieces when you can. Start out with getting good at managing and making starters for your brews. That's basically what I do, but I'm starting on a much smaller scale. One vial or package of yeast in 1 litre of wort fermenting for 24 hours will give you great yeast growth (as long as you pay attention to temperature). Get acquainted with that process and you'll be able to jump into more advanced yeast management principles much easier.
One more vote for Yeast. I just finished reading it and its full of useful information and data. It tells you not only what you should be doing to keep your yeast happy, but has a bit of the underlying science involved. But don't let that scare you, the style is kept pretty conversational so its a fairly light read.
The book Yeast recommends no starters for dry yeast. They also recommend rehydrating the yeast in sanitized water for several minutes before pitching into the wort as the initial shock of hitting the higher gravity wort can kill upwards of 50% of the dry yeast.
I'm betting that the third bullet link was supposed to be this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381969/?tag=googhydr-20&amp;hvadid=11638077209&amp;ref=pd_sl_5f3sp8czyk_b
here you go
I have been using one for a year or two and its still gtg. I mostly got mine after reading through "yeast" it is of the author's expertise that o2 saturation is huge at the beginning of the fermentation.
Yeast matters a lot
A reply you've made makes it sound like they don't yet have a lab. So you are setting up a lab? Fun times!
First, micro is a fraction (large time consuming fraction) of what you'll need to know. Chemical/analytical testing will make up another, say, 1/4. Someone has linked the ASBC methods. This is a great place to start. Brush up on GLP if it's been a while since you've practiced other science streams.
Specifically regarding lab start up, ASBC also has a guide for what you should be testing at different production volumes: http://www.asbcnet.org/membership/getstarted/Pages/growyourown.aspx
Take this as a minimum. More is better, but depending if they are kegging/bottling/whatever not all of it will be relevant.
Expect paperwork review and filing. Shouldn't be too much of a shock coming from a lab. It's not glamorous but it is what it is.
Are they also looking at QA? This will include things like verification, validation, calibration, preventative maintenance, FDA/other food authorities, food safety, cleaning review, auditing, SOP generation and update, training, labelling, acrobatics etc.
Sensory! Can you taste beer? Can you detect faults? Check you ego; you probably don't. But that's okay. Get a sensory training program up and running. This should include training and review of their beers as well as basic defect training using flavour standards. If you haven't accepted you know nothing; these at 1x threshold will get you there. There's also great resources on setting up blind/triangular/etc training on their site: http://www.aroxa.com/beer
Speaking of egos; you mentioned home brewing. We have all met home Brewers that like to tell us about how they know more than us about our jobs. Don't be that guy/gal. Yes it is helpful that you understand the basics and we know you like beer, but that's about as useful as it gets. It's unlikely you'll be writing recipes or making beer.
Some good reading;
https://www.amazon.com/Quality-Management-Essential-Planning-Breweries/dp/1938469151
https://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
How to Brew.
Yeast
For the Love of Hops
Water
I haven't read the book in the water-hops-yeast-malt series on malt yet, but I'm sure it's good. Also, the Brewers Publications books on specific styles are great. My boss has most of them and I borrow them frequently.
In Yeast, the authors mention that not rehydrating dry yeast will kill about half the viable cells.
It is also worth noting that the Mr. Malty calculator is made by Jamil Zainasheff who is the co-author of the book Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation. The other author is Chris White, founder of White Labs.
The book Yeast is a very good place to start. Also, checking out White Labs yeast bank and reading their descriptions will give you some idea about various yeast strains.
I'm not saying it won't work, I'm just saying it's not optimal. It's been repeatedly proven by yeast manufacturers that a 1.03-1.04 SG is optimal. It's also basic fermentation science that yeast get stressed when forced to ferment multiple sugar sources. This is exacerbated with mead because yeast always consume the simple sugars first. So using malt + honey means the yeast ferment all the honey first, then switch metabolic processes to consume the malt, then get thrown back into a high SG solution of honey, subjecting them to higher osmotic stresses while they are attempting to go back to fermenting simple sugars.
Yeast also hit a reproduction threshold, which happens faster the smaller the available volume - they will stop producing new cells once a certain concentration is reached. A 1.5L starter is not very big and a fresh sachet of dry yeast should fill that in a matter of hours. Once that happens, yeast switch from reproduction to fermentation, which runs them out of sugar very quickly in a low gravity starter. You want to pitch before reproduction completely falls off or it introduces further stress forcing them back into reproduction when you pitch.
The energizer obviously varies but LD Carlson's calls for 1/2tsp and GoFerm is 1.25g per 1g yeast (so 6.25g for a 5g sachet, which is approximately 2tsp). It's minor but I was really just trying to say "use the recommended amount, don't just use 1/4tsp because someone said so".
Everything above is based on accumulated kinowledge of Chris White (aka White Labs yeast) and Jamil Zainasheff's extremely extensive research into yeast behavior in brewing. I would assume you know who they are but, they literally wrote the book on yeast and many aspects of their research have been repeatedly reaffirmed.
Have you read through all of how to brew?
not sure it gets much more advanced than that unless you want something specialized or you start taking courses. The book gets really scientific.
That said... want to learn about yeast get this book.
This one?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381969
Google is throwing a few different books titled yeast for me =\
Yeast
Brewhouse Op
These are the books I'm using in school this semester. Hope they're what you're looking for.
If you want to learn a whole lot about the subject of brewing water I found this book to be really useful (if a little dry to read).
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993
I think it is actually easier on some level to start with RO (for brewing purposes RO water is very close to distilled and generally way cheaper) and then just "build" your water from scratch at least for some styles. Pilsners are a good example because Plzen, Czech Republic has famously low mineral water and very few other places have such water. So the best option for an "authentic" Czech Pils is to start with water with essentially no minerals and add back tiny amounts.
Other styles of beer became what they are in order to make the best possible beer with the water the brewer historically had to deal with. So Irish stouts are obviously well suited to Dublin's water profile and English IPAs well suited to Burton water, etc. And with RO water, a good scale, and a few powdered minerals you can pretty straightforwardly replicate the water from anywhere in the world.
If you don't use RO water it gets a little bit trickier in that you have to know what you are starting with regarding minerals in your tap water. That's harder for some than others. Where I live, my municipal water is pulled from three different sources, they all have slightly different mineral profiles, and it's not as though the city tells you when they switch from one source to another. On top of that, because they are all sourced from surface water, their mineral content will change depending on time of year (winter water vs. spring runoff water for example). So unless you pretty routinely have your water tested (expensive to do often) you don't necessarily know what your starting mineral levels are... which makes getting your mineral additions right tricky. Luckily I have pretty good water for brewing IPAs and that's what I brew most often. But when I brew a pils I start with RO (and add very little), when I brew a stout I try to get a little closer to Dublin water by using filtered tap, baking soda, and chalk, and like I mentioned when I do American IPAs I only have to add a little gypsum. I don't try to replicate water from around the world exactly, but I do try to get my water closer to the recommended ranges.
You can get as deep into water profiles as you like, from trying to completely replicate the water where a style originated to just adding a couple of minerals to get somewhat closer to those "ideal" ranges. It's one of those subjects we can nerd out on as much as we like.
Martin Brungard's article "Water Knowledge"
Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers (Brewing Elements)
This is great advice. A bit of gypsum will really work well, so I'd say use your water and add a bit of gypsum.
OP I implore you to read about Burton on Trent's water, and why your water profile for the city is most likely bullshit (if not impossible). I also implore you to read Palmer's book on Water for Brewing--it explains why any "water profile" you try to match is most likely bullshit, and that the brewers in those cities have been treating their water for centuries.
Bru'n water is the best IMO.
Just to give a quick overview of things to consider with water, there are different reasons you need certain ions. Things like sodium, chloride, and sulfate, you can taste the impact (sodium is obviously salty, chloride makes a beer "softer", sulfate makes hops sorta stand out more).
Other ions are there for balance and/or yeast health (calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc.)
Carbonates/bicarbonates (as you can probably imagine) help with buffering the mash pH. Mash pH is probably the most important factor in adjusting water for brewing. The ideal spot depends on the beer style and grain bill.
Calcium (and I suspect other divalent positive ions, not sure) is needed for getting a good hot break (proteins breaking down and flocculating in the boil). I'm not sure on the exact mechanism, but I suspect it just forms cross links on certain amino acids.
The book Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers is something I would probably get if I were you.
The Basic Brewing podcast for Aug. 21, 2014 "Homebrewer Alex Baker shares his experiment brewing the same recipe with water from different springs across Michigan."
Then there is of course Palmer and Kaminski's book on Water. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381993
I think water (specifically YOUR water) and recipes will play the biggest part. Read this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993
A stout may call for a 5.6 or 5.7 pH where as an IPA will typically be around 5.1 to 5.3 depending on the style. There are general recommendations on how much your pH should fluctuate post mash but there are many many considerations. The pH of a stout will fluctuate differently post boil and after fermentation differently than an IPA would. So many factors. Base, adjuncts, sugars, yeast selection, etc.
It's a question that doesn't have a quick answer.
For an IPA we (WE) shoot for a mash pH range of 5.1 to 5.3.
On avg, post boil we expect it to be .3 lower. This is dependent on gear and boil off rate.
Final beer between 4.0 and 4.3.
Depending on dry hop and hop variety that number may go up or down .2
Those are my numbers.
> Roasted malts will lower the pH of the mash more than pale malts
The gold star answer right there! ::cheers::
You have to tailor the water to the specific grain bill of each recipe, so that you end up with both the correct mash pH as well as an appropriate mineral balance for the desired flavor.
(As an aside, this is a key factor in how different regions adopted certain beer styles way back when... they didn't understand the chemistry going on in the mash, but they learned through experience that certain types of beers came out better or worse than others, because of the water available to them.)
I cannot recommend Bru'n Water highly enough... I've been using it for years, and the quality of my beers -- which were pretty good to begin with -- skyrocketed. Some beers were substantially improved, others had an "intangible cohesiveness" that they never had before.
I also went for the paid version, more to give Martin some compensation for all of his hard work than the added features (although the added features are nice).
I will also mention that once I got a pH meter, the measured results were nearly spot-on to the calculated results in Bru'n Water.
IMO Bru'n Water is far far far far far better than the water chemistry module in any of the major brewing software.
I also recommend the Water book, although it's not for the timid. I have no chemistry background (I'm a designer and audio engineer/musician, much more right-brain than left-brain!) and it's taken me a while and multiple re-reads to wrap my head around some of it... but IMO it was well-worth the effort.
John and Colin's Water a comprehensive guide for brewers.
Here's what I'd buy if getting a home bar set up quickly with good stuff but not spending a ton.
Beefeater gin, Tito's vodka, Angostura 7yr rum or Barbancourt 8yr, (I don't know tequila, sorry), (don't get TN whiskey) Old Grand Dad Bourbon (get the 100 proof if possible), Rittenhouse Rye, Johnny Walker black scotch (JW black is very middle of the road, but I'm assuming you are not an accomplished scotch drinker), (I wouldn't bother with Irish Whiskey unless you particularly like it, and definitely don't bother with Canadian).
You should also get: Angostura bitters, Orange bitters, sweet & dry vermouths (Nolly Prat is fine). You may want to consider some liqueurs that are common in cocktails, such as Contreau (needed for Margaritas), Campari (Negronis), Absinthe (Sazeracs), etc. I always have a bottle of green Chartreuse, but it's not cheap. You will also want limes, lemons and oranges for garnishes and juice. You will need sugar, you can usually use cubes or you can make a simple syrup. Keep the syrup and the vermouths in the fridge. If you don't have one, you may want a basic bar tools set.
I would recommend getting The Bar Book to learn techniques and some good recipies as well. Start with classic cocktails, learn them well, and go on from there: the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, the Martini, the Daiquiri, etc.
Good luck!
To expand on this a bit, here's an excerpt from Jeffrey Morgenthaler's excellent new book with a few more examples of matching the sweetener and bitters to the spirit to make an old fashioned.
This is the Rum Old Fashioned from Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Bar Book. In the book, Jeffrey uses homemade orange bitters (the recipe for which is also in the book). I haven't gotten around to making those yet, so I used Angostura Orange instead.
Jeffrey also specifies 12-year-old rum for the recipe, but I suppose you could use any good sipping rum for this cocktail.
I'm not sure there's going to be a concrete answer for this.
Mostly it's just because of a change in drinking tastes in the last five years or so. A lot of cities are seeing a reemergence of the classic American cocktail. As the Millennial generation continues to age (graduate school, settle into work, explore social bar scenes), many are less interested in two ingredient collins drinks and more interested in craft cocktails. Because of this desire for more "artisan" drinks, there has been a growth in craft beers and liquors. We're seeing more and more small batch gins, whiskeys, tequila, vodkas, etc. With this growth comes clubs, and conventions where craftsmen, brewers, distillers, and hobbyists can get together to share knowledge and have a good time.
If you're interested in cocktails there are resources like The Savoy Cocktail Book, [The Bar Book] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145211384X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1), and The Drunken Botanist.
Most of my knowledge comes from an interest in cocktails after years of working as a server and more recently as a bartender.
This is a good read for any bartender IMO https://www.amazon.com/dp/145211384X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5Cb6AbNZ0SHGG
You’re welcome! If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend The Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler ( u/le_cigare_volant ). It’s emphasis is on technique with some science and history thrown in while discarding a lot of the pretentiousness that comes with this stuff.
Apparently it's a thing
is disappointed the right word?
You may enjoy this and this
I wonder if the bartender read this book first: https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
XD. You should read about people who put all of their semen into a 2 liter bottle and cultivate it. It's a 1 and a half year process, they mix like sugar and stuff and add yeast and let it ferment and then drink it as alcohol or add it to vodka. By the way.
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Harvest-collection-semen-based-recipes/dp/1481227041
The best part is that there are used books. :D. Happy cooking.
P.S More treats from the same author.
http://www.amazon.com/Semenology-The-Semen-Bartenders-Handbook/dp/1482605228/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y
And there's even a cocktail version...
Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Harvest-collection-semen-based-recipes/dp/1481227041
Drink Recipes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1482605228/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=8Y3H18DGCYYJ47W5NTD1
No matter what it is, somebody is into it.
Don't forget to make something to drink as well
I've received that book as a joke.
Twice.
It reads seriously. But I've never attempted to cook something from it.
It has a companion bartenders book.
For $22? Pfft! For $18 you can buy this gem https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1482605228/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_1?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=9P35WFE5M6JE52BM35PD&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=41eRs4qryuL
I got this book for Christmas, it got me going pretty well. Many bitters recipes.
https://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595/ref=sr_1_1
Bitters, lots of good info and recipes.
edit: here is the link
http://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465130945&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=bitters
So you're saying you cheated? :)
Actually I love bitters. If I am not drinking beer my go to drink these days is a nice whiskey neat (preferably rye), with a soda back and a splash of bitters in the soda. And while we're on the subject of bitters I really want to snag [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Bitters-Spirited-Cure-All-Cocktails-Formulas/dp/1580083595/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=1JHHRW4DKFTWD&amp;coliid=I1BH7KODMQHA5J) at some point!
I took this one from "Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas" by Brad Thomas Parsons.
Dry shake to emulsify egg white, add ice, and shake to chill. Double strain into a cocktail coupe.
I'm not a very big fan of whisky, but trying to expand my repertoire, this drink is sour, sweet, and all around a very balanced cocktail. Absolutely delicious. If you haven't picked up some Fee Brother's Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters, go buy some, they are amazing.
I liked this book called "bitters" Bitters book
I also find myself referencing The PDT Cocktail Book and Bitters often when trying to come up with custom, original cocktails or modified versions.
I've also found trial and error to be a great friend in crafting a new cocktail. Sometimes a specific flavor from a bitters, specific spirit or fruit juice combination can knock a recipe up (or down)
Check out Bitters: A Spirited History. The history part is a bit thin, but the bitter recipes take up 1/3 of the book. The Charred Cedar is devine.
Everyone has their own idea of what process best makes a batch of bitters most successful. My recipes are going to be different from other peoples'. I've been messing with combinations of fresh key lime peel, dried lime peel, dried ginger, gentian root, cardamon, cassia chips, and a very small amount of hibiscus. Figure out what makes a DnS to you stand out, and capitalize on how you can accentuate that in a (non)traditional way.
And when all else fails, read Bitters for solid info.
Read this book and try as many of the commercial examples as you can get a hold of. Also, read whatever you can by Michael Jackson (the beer writer, not the pederast.)
I love Randy Mosher's book as well. That might be the big yellow book. However, Garett Oliver's newest book The Oxford Companion to Beer is THE book to own. But it is 900 pages long
How about an arbitrary amount of citrus fruit?
Or this book. It's a really good read if you feel like learning about beer.
I would recommend beer books:
I know there are several good homebrewing focused ones as well if you think he'll be into that, but I don't remember those off hand and would have to dig some more.
Sure.
https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894/
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Beer-Course-Tasting-Classes/dp/1402797672/
Also since you're talking about aging:
https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Beer-Tasters-Guide-Improve/dp/161212156X/
Much older but seminal:
https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jacksons-Beer-Companion-Gastronomy/dp/0762402016/
edit: shorter links
Tasting Beer by
Ray DanielsRandy Mosher.Edit: Mixed up some of my favorite beer authors.
Hey there! I'm a beer-lover myself . . . and I've been enjoying homebrewing, which is very rewarding!
If you're interested in a more formal approach to beer tasting, you may want to add _Tasting Beer_ to your wishlist! I just finished reading it myself. It goes into much greater depth than I'll ever really experience, but it gives you a deep perspective on what the most serious beer-geeks and beer-snobs are doing when they take a sip, and it has seriously improved my own appreciation of the ancient beverage.
Also, if you're genuinely interested in homebrewing, in addition to the relatively affordable Mr. Beer (I haven't brewed with it, but I've tasted several people's results with it, and they've been consistently good) you may want to watch for the Groupon deal from Midwest Supplies. It's inactive now, but they do seem to keep bringing it back, and it's a very good deal for getting starting homebrew equipment.
Finally, I saw your discussion with AllOfTimeAndSpace about IPAs, and although I see it's not your favorite style, I thought I might recommend an IPA I tried recently that I thought was spectacularly good: Lawson's Double Sunshine IPA. I imagine it's hard to get outside of Vermont (though I'd be thrilled if I'm wrong, since I don't live there and just had it during a vacation), but it is one of the most delicious beers I've ever tried!
There's definitely more snobbery among wine lovers, but beer is easily as complex, varied, and interesting! Good beer goes great with all sorts of good food, and it's just as rewarding. Glad you're finding so much pleasure in it!
---
Haha! I see (having now actually looked at your wish list) that you have my two suggestions on it already. Good show!
Here's the book that got me started. It's got detailed history, style descriptions and their own histories, tips for tasting and pairing with foods, and more. It's a genuinely fun read, too!
Absolutely. That's sort of what I was getting at. The descriptions give you hints of what to look for, and after so e time, you won't need as much help picking out the different flavors. Don't forget that taste is subjective. If the label only mentions a few flavors but you taste a few more, you aren't wrong. You taste what you taste.
Edit to add: check out the book Tasting Beer, by Randy Mosher. It's got a lot of great information about the flavor of beer, as well as what's causing the flavors. The book has a LOT more info than just flavor though. Well worth the investment.
https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
Nice choice of book, as well. Yay beer!
I love Budget Bytes for her affordable, family-sized recipes. Most of her dishes are vegetarian because it's just cheaper than buying meat. Also, investing in a book like The Flavor Bible, Herbs and Spices, The Flavor Thesaurus, or Ratio can really help someone learning.
32/F, SW/CW/GW: 270/257/150 - here's my profile
I used to be terrible with spices, but then I got this book -> The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook
It's made me try combinations I would have never tried otherwise. And food tastes awesome now!
I've been feeling this about my specific problems. I'm a teacher, and the #1 thing I'm told by admin is that I "lack situational awareness". WELL DUH! But I have to make do with 1. Advice for Adults with ADHD in other contexts, and try to translate it to my situation or 2. Advice for neurotypicals in my situation, like "Scan the room every 5 mintues", that is impossible for me to implement without major adjustment.
It makes self-improvement and problem solving massively more effortful.
Re: Food - For the most part I bring leftovers since I like to cook, but I keep frozen dinners from Costco for "backup". I've never been able to "meal prep" and I am more of a chaotic cook who can't actually follow a recipe or plan. (I recommend The Flavor Thesaurus for any other chaotic cooks, since it's just a list of flavors that go well together, not a recipe book.)
Hey, right now I'm debating on the type of garden I get to have with my "Crazy Auntie" House; I love the idea of a poison garden, but a drunk's garden is just as interesting to me; just need to get a yard big enough for both!
Every time I see your name, I remember this on my list. One day, I will have to get both of us a copy when I get back to work
The Drunken Botanist https://www.amazon.com/dp/1616200464/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_M8C1wbP4EW55K
Your name reminds me of this book I was looking at today haha. The Drunk Botanist
Two books to recommend.
Death & Company - at the beginning of this book, it gives a really solid explanation of all the different liquors and how they're made and the staple drinks people use them in. The book also talks in detail about cocktails and the bar the book is named after.
The Drunken Botanist - Mainly about all the different natural products that make alcoholic beverages, and how it occurs, etc.
It's not specific to whiskey, but the Drunken Botanist is an incredibly good book that discusses all of the plants that are used to make or flavor alcohol.
If I were a book, I hope that I'd be a great one.
I love books! That fact is becoming painfully apparent because we are moving right now! LOL
You may like The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart. It's a listing of dozens of the plants that make up the booze we love, whether they are distilled, infused, or simply used to add flavor. It's a highly useful but concise resource.
Je te conseil ste livre la : https://www.amazon.ca/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888 sinon, son site web gratuit : http://www.howtobrew.com/ Je sais pas si il est a jour comparer au livre. Ya eu plusieurs découverte de brassage depuis quelques années. C'est un super de bon livre avec la grande majorité des choses que t'as besoin de savoir concernant le brassage de la bière et c'est super bien expliqué.
r/homebrewing peux t'aider aussi. Super belle communauté consacrer au brassage de biere et plein de gens qui veulent t'aider. Incluant John Palmer lui même (auteur de How to Brew).
Ya aussi ste gars la qui fais des cherches sur des bieres historique anglaise : http://barclayperkins.blogspot.ca/ Super de bon stock qui t'apprend les ancien type biere avant la révolution industriel et les guerres qui a eux qui a tout changer.
Je recommande aussi http://brulosophy.com/. Super de bon blog qui teste des mythes de brassage de façon scientifique et les prouve correcte ou non.
Tout ca c'est le brassage de biere de type Anglais. Si tu veux du stuff de biere belge (ce qu'on a beaucoup au Quebec) je te recommande la serie - Brewing Farmhouse Ales, Brew like a Monk et Brewing with Wheat. https://www.amazon.ca/Farmhouse-Ales-Craftsmanship-European-Tradition/dp/0937381845/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1519234800&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=brewing+farmhouse+ale&amp;dpID=51oI7VkdTwL&amp;preST=_SY264_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&amp;dpSrc=srch
Si tu cherche du stuff des biere Allemande/Czech je te conseil ste livre la : Brewing Lager Beer : https://www.amazon.ca/New-Brewing-Lager-Beer-Comprehensive/dp/0937381829/ref=pd_sim_14_18?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=YJKTZ5QSPD8KH7MZQ48Z
ET Si tu cherche plus des recettes qui fonctionne que son selon les styles BJCP, je te conseil ste livre la : https://www.amazon.ca/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=S5CFF5PGSYQN6YW5HNZH
Si tu cherche du stuff concernant les biere surrette (Lambic, Brett, Lacto etc) regarde ste livre la : https://www.amazon.ca/American-Sour-Beer-Michael-Tonsmeire/dp/1938469119/ref=pd_sim_14_9?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=DF5N9XVQ8FWQCNK6NKS3
Je connais malheureusement pas de literature en francais.
Sur ce bonne chance et lache pas! C'est super interessant!
Haven't heard anything about A People's History of the World, but I highly recommend A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage
Tom Standage does a great job writing books which are thematically ordered, meaning he goes through history focusing on certain cultural phenomonam which influenced the time. His History of thr World in 6 Glasses" book is a great one. I'm currently reading his one on the first 2000 years of social media called Writing on the Wall.
Edit:
Links! - 6 Glasses
Social Media
A History of the World in 6 Glasses talks about coffee houses being the places for information sharing. Mostly for traders and thinkers and to accommodate people with international interests, they started carrying wide selections of periodicals. I like imagining them like a really proto-reddit. :)
Honestly, I think we call them thinkers mostly because maybe two dozen of them were great thinkers. I imagine it would be safe to assume a lot of dilettantes.
Thank you for providing a real response, rather than what you've over heard or speculation.
Most of what you said lines up with what I read from this book: A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage.
First chapter is solely about the history of beer.
>As has been stated several times in this thread, it's the reason why we became an agricultural society instead of just hunter/gatherers. It's the reason we have society.
The only difference, and I am not saying the book is correct, is that beer came about from humans settling down (traveling less). It wasn't the reason they started to travel less, but was the side effect of that. The assumption is that beer was an accident. Likely rain water getting into a clay storage area, and fermenting with the ingredients. The rest of you what you said though lines up.
It covers how it was used a form of payment, and that the workers on the pyramids were likely paid with beer. Good read if anyone is interested.
Like others have said, How to Brew is a great book.
The other one I like is Designing Great Beers. Its a pretty technical read, but, chock full of information on general brewing and specific styles. I picked up both of these to start out with because I have my eyes set on making my own recipes.
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=designing%20great%20beers&amp;qid=1465266751&amp;ref_=sr_1_1&amp;sr=8-1
I have a lot of books but I mostly refer to Palmer's How to Brew which has already been mentioned and the classic styles books. The other 2 I use when building recipes are:
Designing Great Beers
Brewing Classic Styles
Wow you're really lucky, I wish I'd got that much to spend on brewing for a grant!
Feel free to ask this subreddit any question at any type of course, and I'm sure we'd also love it if you posted your findings as you study the chemistry too.
Are you completely new to brewing? Do you want to make beer or mead or what?
Some good sources:
Designing Great Beers - Great book full of hard data and numbers on tons of brew related topics. This would be good to use as a reference for experiments.
Brew Judge Certification Program website - This is the official certification site for beer judges and it outlines a large variety brew styles from various types of beer, to styles of mead, and explains what is used to make them, how it should taste, etc.
Oh, ok. Then you can raise the temperature of your mash partway through to get more non-fermentable sugars.
You should investigate this book: https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1522868535&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=designing+great+beers
Most libraries don't have it, but getting it through interlibrary loan is pretty easy.
Book: Designing Great Beers
Magazine: Brew your own
Online HBS: The Beverage People
My Secret Santa sent me this book.
It just arrived today, so I've only had a chance to leaf through it, but it looks to be a great resource for the experienced brewer. It touts itself as "The ultimate guide to brewing classic beer styles."
Good luck!
Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is a good place to start. As for equipment, you can usually just go to your local homebrew store and they will give you what you need to get started. That kit you linked to seems a little expensive. You really don't need two carboys. A fermenter, bottling bucket, air lock, brew kettle, capper, bottles, auto siphon, caps, and bottles are what you should be looking to buy and i can almost assure you it would be cheaper at your LHBS.
If you can tell the difference between extract and all grain it's not necessarily the ingredients but the brewers level of skill. Ray Daniels lays out reasons why you can make great beer with extract.
As zebbielm12 pointed out, you'll get better tasting beer with Ferm Temp control than you will doing AG. But AG is cheaper to get into and provides another level of fun to brew day. I'd recommend using equipment you probably already have to do a partial mash. I just picked up a 2 gal cooler and some paint stainer bags for <$15.
Finally, to answer your question, I have. Sounds like we have the same beginnings. I didn't want to waste money transitioning to AG and went straight too it. I found it was annoying to have all of that equipment in a small apartment so I went to extract with steeping grains. I'm able to brew more and enjoy having less things to worry about.
Designing Great Beers covers this in the 'Hitting Target Gravity' section and means of adjusting to a mash too high/low. A great read if you're interested in more info on the equations that make up brewing, btw.
*(PrGU PrV) / PoV = PoGU
Thus, if you want to adjust your post-boil gravity units to target, you can either increase/decrease the final volume, or add malt extract to compensate. The formula for calculating the extract needed is:
Extract = (Target Gravity Units - Mash Gravity Units)/(Extract per pound value)**
Extract per pound value depends upon type/brand, but generally 45GU/lb for dry, and 38GU/lb for liquid.
Designing Great Beers is another excellent resource for learning how different ingredients affect your beer.
I'd recommend this as a reference for intermediate brewers: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0937381500
Designing Great Beers has a lot of good advice on what goes into a recipe. Books like How To Brew and Complete Joy of Homebrewing spend of lot of time on the "how", Designing Great Beers does a good job with the "why" of recipes.
Caraway Ale (From Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen Harror Buhner)
Original Recipe:
My adaptation of the recipe:
This came out to be a very malty beer. There are no hops in it to balance out the maltiness. This is probably the reason why it calls for unmalted rye. Nevertheless it is a delicious beer. There is something to be said though for the aroma. It is quite strange, and if you brew this I strongly suggest waiting 2 weeks after primary for conditioning because the aroma can be overwhelming at first. I thought I was going to have to dump it because of how awful it smelled, but the smell cleared up nicely after 2 weeks. The aftertaste is a bit unusual too.
If I were to brew this again, I'd probably lighten up on the malts a bit. Probably would raise the % on the pale malt and reduce the chocolate to no more than 2%.
Caraway supposedly has medicinal properties that help you digest food, making this a fantastic beer to have with a meal. So far even with its minor flaws it has been a hit with everyone who has tried it.
they used herbs like mugwort and wormwood in everything, read this book
some ale spoiled
some ale was exquisite
Belgian Lambic is a great study in natural fermentations
I don't have any problems with bacterial infections, but I use all glass or stainless steel and any hose or air lock or cork I use gets rinsed in Starsan so that the surfactant and phosphoric acid form a no rinse layer of acid that is uninhabitable for the spoiling bugs.
Just start some good brewing habits, brewing GREAT beer is easy, when you know how
this book has a great beer history section, and recipes
I think this book maybe what you are looking for.
https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667
Great book if you wanna read some great history.
There's this book, which might help:
http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1289413817&amp;sr=1-1
Haven't read it...but it's on my to-do list.
Actually, a lot of northern tribes didn't have beer or fermentation. Tobacco was traded all over N. America and used for ceremonial purposes, and certainly hallucinogens, but most of the non-corn-dependent tribes did not use alcohol until contact with Europeans. If you're really interested in traditional beer styles, though, check out Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers. It's a good bit of research that traces a lot of indigenous brewing techniques.
http://www.amazon.ca/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667
I was looking at buying Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0937381667/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE) - as it contains many gruit recipes but I want to know if it's worthwhile.
Id ask r/Homebrewing about mead and whatnot, i brew beers ciders and wines myself and one thing i can tell you is that there are inumerable ways to screw it up, super easy to ruin a batch, afaik mead takes months and months, ale idk but i can brew a decent batch of beer in 2 weeks. Best guess assuming 5e id start with a general intelligence check and a nature check for portions and whatnot then maybe a survival check on behalf of the yeast, it is possibke to give it so much sugar it just says fuck it and dies (not actually what happens but you get the gist) then either a history, insight or medicine check for proper storage, i doybt your going to have them bottle it but you still gotta rack it off/ditch the trub before you let it sit as that can drastically alter the flavor, as well as skunking beer with too much light, though some people (weird people) like it. That's just what i could think of off the top of my head though, theres plenty of ways to brew
Edit i can't personally vouch for the book as i'm still waiting for payday to buy it, but the reviews seem promising on not only numerous varieties of beer but also more ancient methods of brewing, so on reviews alone i'd recommend taking a look at this book
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381667/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;psc=1
Editedit forgot to mention that while its super easy to screw up, if you don't screw up than it's super easy to make homebrew, sounds weird but that's how it is.
Edit^3* as for how much it can produce i'm not sure on portions for mead but when i do countrywines 3lbs of fruit/veggies/roots/whatever makes roughly one gallon of wine finished product
End ramble.
I recently brewed an India Red Ale from the Radical Brewing book (http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Brewing-Recipes-World-Altering-Meditations/dp/0937381837):
6.5 Lb 2 row
5 lb Munich 10L
.75Lb Crystal 40
.5Lb Crystal 80
.12 Lb Black Patent
2 oz Cascade (60 min)
2 oz Cascade (30 min)
2 oz Kent Goldings (5 min)
WLP001
I made a starter for the yeast and fermented at 65 degrees & let it rise to 70 degrees during fermentation.
The issue is that the beer has a nice body & malty profile on the front end, but that dissipates very quickly and the beer becomes thin. I mashed at around 151 degrees.
Any suggestions on how to fix this? I've experienced some of the same issues in some other homebrews, and would like to know how I can correct it. I lost about a degree off the mash temp over the hour. Could this be a hop schedule issue, a mash issue, a recipe issue, or even a water profile issue? I used tap water treated with campden, and the water here in Cincinnati is great for brewing. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
This, its follow on Homebrewers Companion and Radical Brewing are my Go-To's
I'd highly recommend Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass
My cousin, who has brewed for a living, bought this book for me one Christmas. Lot's of great in depth information on various ingredients, recipes, stories, techniques, equipment, etc etc. It's wonderfully illustrated and just an overall fantastic book about beer.
Yeah, I've still got over half the batch. I had read in Radical Brewing that peach didn't give a whole lot of flavor, but I'm glad I tried it for myself. Mosher says that apricots can be used to impart a much better peach flavor, and if I make a full batch I might go with a 4/1lb or 3/2lb peach/apricot split to get a little more fruit flavor.
John Palmer's How to brew is great and very technically oriented. The complete first edition of his book is available free online. For a few bucks you can pick up the most recent edition. As I understand it, in the newer version he elaborates on the Brew-in-a-Bag method and does change his stance on a few techniques like always using a secondary.
Admittedly, I just read the first edition, then supplemented my education with hearty doses of Brewing TV (especially the old stuff) and Brewing Network, especially Brew Strong, with John Palmer and Jamil Zainasheff.
[Link] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/)
Get "How to Brew" by John Palmer. It's cheap, and great to have handy. He also has a great website to reference.
I got started using this book Complete Joy Of Homebrewing I felt this book was super friendly as introductory material.
There is also this book How To Brew I think most people will tell you John Palmer's book is better but honestly both will contain all the information you need to get started. I am sure someone more resourceful than me will be able to direct you to some great (and free) internet resources to take a look at as well.
Edit: A quick Google search yielded This Have fun and welcome!
/u/eightwebs is in the ballpark, but dropped the ball on a couple things. Let's start from the top.
Brewing your own beer is an amazing, fun, rewarding hobby. I've been doing it for 4 years. To start out, you'll need to get a beginners kit (like this one) which will give you all the specialty equipment you need to make 5 gallons of beer (about 2 cases). You'll also need ingredients which can be found on the same website.
Your first batch will be simple. You will more than likely be brewing extract (which is similar to making a cake from a boxed cake mix -- the finer details are taken care of for you, you just have to follow some easy directions). It will take about 4-5 weeks to be ready. It needs to spend 1-2 weeks fermenting, and then 2 weeks in the bottle.
It probably won't be the best beer you've ever had, but it will have alcohol, it will be carbonated, and I guarantee it will be satisfying. Then you can work on getting better and better.
Brewing is one of those hobbies where book knowledge is good, but you won't actually get good at it unless you do it a lot. Here's where you start: buy this book and read the sections about getting started, fermentation, ingredients, and the extract batch walkthrough. Read them twice. Read the whole book if you feel so inclined. That book is considered by many to be the brewers bible. There are some other good books out there, but none as comprehensive as Palmer's. Then buy the kit I linked above (or a similar one), some ingredients, and get started.
Also, come check out /r/homebrewing. I very active, very helpful place for all your brewing questions.
Feel free to ask any more specific questions you have.
Learn about brewing. Even if you can't pick up the hobby right now, nothing will help you to improve your understanding of beer more than learning how the product and the flavors you end up with are created. Even on a homebrewing scale, the science is the same, so as an introduction, "How to Brew" by John Palmer is a good star for this, and "New Brewing Lager Beer" by Gregory Noonan is an appropriate next step. This kind of background knowledge is a critical foundation to understanding what you are tasting.
It is important to try to cultivate your palate as well. "Evaluating Beer" by Brewers Publications is a great starting point for understanding the basic philosophy and techniques of judging. I'd also recommend looking at the BJCP website and going through their resources, particularly the study guide. And of course, taste lots of beer! A good way to work through this terrible burden is to look at the BJCP Style Guidelines and see what is listed as classic examples. Pick out the styles that you are not as familiar with and try to find some of them. Grab a few examples of one of your weak styles all at once and organize a flight, using a score sheet (warning: PDF) to organize your thoughts on each. If you can find other judges or people interested in judging to do this with you and discuss, even better.
I suggest driving to your nearest homebrew store. Most of them are very helpful and carry everything from entry level supplies to top-tier goodies. They should be able to offer you recipes based on what ingredients they have in stock and explain anything you want. Two that are near you are:
Canadian Homebrew Supplies
263 Vodden Street East
Brampton, Ontario (Canada).
Canada L6V-1N3
Jake's Windsor Brew Factory Inc
2785 Howard Avenue
Windsor, Ontario (Canada).
Canada N8X 3X8
I also suggest buying "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" here http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Harperresource-Book/dp/0060531053/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1317760188&amp;sr=8-1
I would say The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is another really good book to check out.
We made the vagabond ginger beer from Joy of Homebrewing by papazian. It was really quite good - I felt like it needed a little more malt to balance the ginger, but the ginger levels were pretty prime.
What do you like to drink?
Heres how I started. I saw a post somewhere in my pre-reddit days about how to brew out of a coffee maker, and make a jars worth of beer. I bought everything I needed, then headed to the local homebrew store (LHBS) and asked for "2 cups of grain"
Guy behind the counter, suspicously asked why, and after I explained, he sold me the deluxe starter kit they had, and I was on my way to my 1st 5 gallon batch. We learned as we went.
It came with this book
I read that, then went to town with my new kit and recipe, and haven't looked back in years.
My advice is dive in. Buy some gear, and if it doesn't work out, resell it on craiglist. Brewing isn't for everyone... but drinking your own beer is pretty amazing. It won't be the greatest the first few times, but its yours, and that makes all the difference.
Don't overlook The Joy of Homebrewing. A lot can be learned. It may not be as in depth as Designing Great Beers, but it probably has all the information you need to make a good first shot.
Also, to design a beer that you love, you need to understand what are the characteristics in your favorite beers. So starting with a clone recipe of a favorite beer and tinkering with it is a great thing to do too.
The science behind everything is fascinating. I no joke could not ever finish reading a book all the way through until I started brewing. I read The Complete Joy of Homebrewing in only a couple of days! 432 pages of awesome.
"Laws" as in the legality of it or like actually homebrewing procedures and principles? The former, your state probably has some info online. The latter, How to Brew is a good start. AHA is another good stop (which may also have links to your state ABC info as well if that's what you meant) - they have a tutorial section. There are a plethora of books as well; The Complete Joy of Hombrewing is one that people recommend (haven't read it myself) and on the more advanced side the Brewing Elements series are great for brewing in general.
I posted this a week or so ago when somebody asked the same thing. There's the link, I only copied my reply.
http://www.reddit.com/r/IWantToLearn/comments/eef8y/iwtl_how_to_brew_beer/
"also, http://www.howtobrew.com/ by John Palmer is a pretty good starting point. He has a book, but here's the free online version. Also, Charlie Papazian released a book in the early 80's called The Joy of Homebrewing, which should also be checked out. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Homebrewing-Third-Harperresource-Book/dp/0060531053, only $10.
To probably figure out if you want to go balls-out and if this is a hobby you will enjoy, probably starting with extract is a good start. The beers might not be quite as good as all-grain, but you'll get an idea of what the hell you're doing and if you'll like it.
You could also look and see if there are any local homebrew clubs, as more are popping up as craft beer gets bigger and bigger.
fredman has a good point, as a lot of homebrew shops have kits and whatnot to help "clone" some of the more popular craft beers.
Also, as a side note and a cheap as hell way to brew, there is always Mr. Beer--but it's pretty meh."
Anything by Charles Papazian, this is more than a home brewing book, but it also taught me a lot about beer tasting/ styles.
Buy this book Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Another way to do it while you are still getting used to making your own recipe-- make the recipe then check Brewer's Best website. You can see exactly what they put into each kit.
I just got into real brewing (started with a Mr. Beer 4 years ago and it has taken me this many years to start up again after that nightmare).
The basic equipment is cheap. I spent $89 for a proper starter + add-on kit.
I made a wort chiller for $7 and bought an additional carboy so I can have multiple batches going.
I spent $20 on hops rhizomes (Cascades) and those went crazy this summer.
10 days ago I did a honey wheat (having a friend walk me through the process - and he did most of the work).
He set it up for a 2nd fermentation on Saturday ( since it was so nasty out I wasn't able to get to his place) and I'll bottle it next weekend.
This past Saturday I made a Stout and a Nut Brown Ale. And that is the problem with brewing. I like dark beers that usually take weeks before bottling (looking at 4 weeks to bottling for the last 2 and then another 2 weeks in the bottles).
I really need to start drinking Pilsners. That way I can drink them 7-10 days later.
The point I'm trying to make is that it's cheap and it really is easy but the waiting game sucks.
If you want someone to help you with your first batch just let me know and you can come over and we'll make a couple. I'm going to try to brew 5 gallons a week for a while so I can always have some homebrew ready to drink.
I'd recommend getting a copy of The Complete Joy of Home Brewing
It has everything in it that you need to know and has a bunch of recipes from beginner to advanced.
I also just picked up Clone Brews which has a lot of popular beers in it and how to make them yourself.
And as they say at Midwest Supplies , you really should do 5 or 10 batches from their brew kits to learn the full process and how different ingredients affect the flavor of your beer.
Just my two-cents.
I also started r/TCBrewers but no one has used it yet.
There was some talk of a Brew Party (As Midwest_Product pointed out) that was going to be Nov. 20th but I haven't heard anything about it in quite a while.
Anyhow, it seems there is a lot of interest in a Brew Party so if no one else steps up I could always have it at my place but it would probably have to be outside in turkey fryers. I have a nice bonfire pit so that would be our source of warmth.
Buy this book... really covers everything you need to know about brewing.
besides that, a wort chiller would be good and kegging equipment.. but read that book first!
Try posting on the homebrewing reddit. If you're brewing from a kit I'd suggest True Brew. I've brewed many of them before including that IPA and they all turned out pretty well. I'd also suggest reading the Complete Joy of Home Brewing for recipes and other tips.
Good luck! I'm still a beginner but a great book that I've been using to help me is The Joy of Homebrewing. Hope that helps.
Midwest Supplies and Austin Homebrew both have good prices on equipment. Austin's flat rate shipping usually puts it under most other on-line suppliers.
My wife got my starter kit for me for Christmas at my LHBS. It is a Brewer's Best kit...but what makes it a really good deal is that it comes with Papazian's book: The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.
Redbridge is made with sorghum.
You might also want to try to brew your own. The startup costs can run a few hundred to brew properly, but 5 gallons for ~$30 makes up for it. A great book to start with is Charles Papazian's The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing.
"Relax! Have a Homebrew." -Charlie Papazian
Your beer will be great- leave it for a week, rack it, bottle two weeks after that and crack a beer two weeks after bottling. Enjoy!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0060531053/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
To my knowledge, he is unaware that I do this. It happened the other way around in the beginning. I noticed all the specific cocktails mentioned in the season 2 scripts, and decided that I could do enough TIPS to make it interesting.
The only thing I've done to help myself out is give Adam a copy of David Wondrich's IMBIBE as a gift one year. Can't blame me for trying, right?
You should definitely read David Wondrich's books, Punch, and Imbibe!. Both are hybrid social history/drink manuals, so you not only learn how to make a wide variety of drinks, you come to understand their evolution, the stories behind them, and the history of drinking culture in general. They are written with panache and are a great starting point for someone who knows nothing about alcohol (your words, not mine).
http://www.amazon.com/Imbibe-Professor-Featuringthe-Selection-Contributed/dp/0399532870
They have the hardcover version of one of those books for MUCH cheaper: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0032IZ2KK/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&amp;condition=used&amp;sr=1-1&amp;qid=1415936555
First step, get some books!
The Craft of the Cocktail
This is a great beginning book. It's got the right advice, and all of the recipes are spot on. This book will keep you busy for a very long time, as well as teach you the proper way to make each drink.
If you start to get really serious about drink-making, check out:
Imbibe! by David Wondrich. It is remarkable in its authenticity and attention to detail. As interesting as it is, it is more of a history book than a recipe book, so it may be hard to swallow for those less passionate about where the classics really came from.
Aside from that, things to keep in mind:
And, if nothing else, try this.
Put it all into a shaking tin, and shake without ice. Add ice, shake, and strain into whatever. A mason jar is preferred. A lot of people get turned off by the egg white thing, but it will change your life.
Everything said so far is a solid backbone.
One thing I might suggest is to stick with the classics for a while, sip as many as you can. Negroni, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Improved Whiskey, Last Word, Aviation. Once you master the form you can play within the form. Like Jazz.
Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned David Wondrich. Go buy Imbibe! and steep yourself in the rich tradition and classics.
EDIT: Whoops! Someone did mention Wondrich's column in Esquire. Might I recommend an Esquire subscription? Beyond Wondrich writing on cocktails and drinking each week, it is the quintessential gentlemen's mag. The greatest writers of every generation have been found in its pages.
This book is really helpful. A friend of mine can barely cook as well, and this book not only gives recipes, but images showing precisely how the food is supposed to look on certain steps. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470528060/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_ldEpDb8GZ5RYT
Mark Bittman is brilliant.
I'd recommend buying this book which has tons of great recipes at a variety of easy levels and it does a great job showing and describing different cooking methods. It's seriously the best.
How to Cook Everything: The Basics is what you need!
Try reading How To Cook Everything: The Basics. It's basically a cook book for people that just want to make basic things, nothing fancy.
No doubt it would. Honestly if you're new to cooking there's a book I can't recommend enough. It's pretty healthy (as long as you keep most of what you're eatin in mind) and teaches solid basic techniques and concepts. It's called "how to cook everything the basics" by mark bittman.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-The-Basics/dp/0470528060
It'll talk about how to cook eggs properly and so on. He's good bring out flavor with very simple and mostly healthy ideas (ignoring the butter he likes to use).
Cooking Basics for Dummies?
How to Cook Everything, The Basics?
In my opinion I think that as a beginner, looking online for recipes can be so overwhelming and it's hard to find what's good and what's garbage without an established sense of taste/cooking. Sure, you can look at the comments, but it takes a lot of time and without knowing how to cook it's hard to know what you're even looking for.
I would highly recommend trying out a beginner's cookbook (Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything: The Basics or How to Cook Everything Vegetarian are great ones). Look through it, read up on techniques/skills, and pick something you think you'll like and cook it.
Also, you can probably check out cookbooks from your library if you want to try them out before investing money on them.
Remember that we all started somewhere. Nobody is born a good cook, it's a learned skill that you have to practice. Same with taste - if you're used to tasting the same types of foods, you're going to have to adjust to trying new foods. I didn't eat any vegetables at all growing up and now I love them! I just realized you need to put salt and cheese on them, lol. But really I also just needed to get used to the taste, which took some time.
I would really suggest you check out How to Cook Everything: The Basics, by Mark Bittman. It will teach you techniques and how to use them (with recipes) so that you learn how to cook, instead of just learning a few recipes.
It's not a complicated or fancy approach to cooking or anything - it's just an excellent guide to learning what you should about cooking.
Hey, I am currently trying to do the same thing!! Right now I am using Mark Bittman's book http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-The-Basics/dp/0470528060/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1346980473&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=mark+bittman he's amazing! Everything he has is so simple and its a good start to learn the very basics of everything. New is only 14! He has a bunch of other basics books including vegetarian. Check it out, and PM if you want to know anything else, I have made about 25 of the recipes from this book and have loved everyone.
I'm in the same boat as you. I can follow a recipe but I have no actual cooking basics. I just bought this book and it is fantastic. Explains everything from the very beginning (hello boiling water) and then gets more complex as it goes along.
I'm going to start at the beginning and cook my way through. Pretty excited about it.
How to Cook Everything The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food--With 1,000 Photos https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470528060/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_dSMfvb07D7242
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470528060/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_dSMfvb07D7242
Try Mark Bittman’s Basics. Step by step skill building and tons of photos to follow along. Highly recommended!
It's in the book How to Cook Everything The Basics (Hardcover) (not a referral link) by Mark Bittman page 204-205 (Paella with Chicken and Sausages).
I don't want to infringe copyright so the closest to the recipe that I found was this one by Mark himself:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014667-paella-master-recipe
Modification to this recipe is:
For me, the paella is whatever you want it to be. Too much people complaining about what a real paella is. Let's just eat and enjoy it.
How to Cook Everything the Basics
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0470528060/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451953027&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;keywords=how+to+cook+everything+the+basics&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=514SFQtA8fL&amp;ref=plSrch
This book is great because it tells you how to cook everyday things the right way. Then it gives you many tips and directions on how to make variations. The book also starts with a list of all of the basic tools and ingredients you should have in your kitchen. I've been cooking at home for a while and I recently learned a lot from this book. I hope your club is a blast. Great idea!
There's a series of books titled "How to Cook Everything". They've been invaluable to me.
Start here: http://amzn.com/0470528060
For just starting out I really like How to Boil Water by the Food Network. It's not huge, but has lots of good tips and photos for beginners and the recipes are quick and easy to follow. However if they really get into cooking they'll outgrow it pretty quick!
https://www.amazon.ca/Boil-Water-Food-Network-Kitchens/dp/0696226863/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1485447936&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+boil+water
I found this book to be useful.
Referring to this book.
This cookbook would be really helpful for "them." It's got all the basics easily laid out. After mastering these, other recipes should be much easier to tackle.
Cheap fast good is a great book.
https://www.amazon.com/Super-Easy-Cookbook-Beginners-5-Ingredient-ebook/dp/B07FB2Q1RG/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?
&#x200B;
https://www.amazon.com/Boil-Water-Food-Network-Kitchens/dp/0696226863/ref=sr_1_16?
How to Boil Water I think is perfect for what you're looking for. It covers a lot of basic stuff that really helps when it comes to approaching new recipes and being comfortable.
I'm not a pro by any stretch, but my parents never taught me how to cook growing up (as well as other common household things) I've made an effort to learn well enough to teach my daughters.
Make all my Thanksgiving from scratch on Thursday, wish me luck!
EDIT: Personal tip, stock up on seasonings when you can, they tend to go a long way. And make sure to taste them and smell them individually from time to time. It helps get a feel for what it contributes to what you're cooking, and what flavor you want.
I was like that about a year ago. I was really intimidated and had zero skills, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.
Anyway, I hear How to Boil Water is a good cookbook for absolute beginners.
Also, there's a couple of terms that are the basic to a lot of recipes, and once you learn those, it makes everything easier.
One of those is sautee. It comes up often with onions at the beginning of recipes.
Here's a primer to cook many different types of vegetables: Put a little bit of oil on the pan (enough to coat the bottom). Any oil will do, but olive oil is better for many things (and healthier). Heat the oil. Add some garlic. Garlic is most flavourfull when the cell walls are broken, so chop it up finely, smash it down with the blunt side of the knife, or use a garlic press. Alternatively you can use garlic power, but it's not as good as fresh. Let the garlic turn golden brown. Now the oil is infused with delicous garlic-y flavour which you can add to whatever other vegetables you have on hand. Throw fresh chopped vegetables in or some pre-chopped frozen ones and add salt and pepper to taste. Every once in a while pick one up and see if it's the consistency you'd like by biting into it. The best thing about cooking vegetables is that if you undercook it, it's just extra crunchy.
Extra tips on specific types of vegetables for this process:
Onions - usually you can put them in with the garlic, and all subsequent vegetables will gain it's delicious flavour too. Usually you cook them until they're kind of translucent, or they're golden brown (for a milder, slightly sweet taste)
Bok choy - cook them till they're kind of mushy and soaked with oil (so good!)
Asparagus - break off the ends because they're tough to chew
Brocolli - It'll turn a brighter shade of green when done
You can also do this to cooked pasta, for when flavourless pasta is becoming old.
Also, chili is a good beginner recipe (and hard to screw up if you make it vegetarian). I recommend you use a recipe for the first couple of times, but after that, you'll know that you can just throw any chili type things you have. Sautee onions (with or without garlic). Throw in a bunch of cans of beans (whatever kind you prefer or a mixture), throw in cans of diced tomatoes (bonus points if you have fresh), any vegetables you want to get rid of, some cumin, some chili powder, some Italian seasoning (it's a mixture of oregano, basil, and rosemary and other herbs that go well with a lot of things), salt, pepper if you feel like it, and whatever spices you feel like. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat so it's simmering for a while. The longer you simmer, the more time the spices have to infuse, some people do it for hours, but sometimes there isn't time for that so you can do it for about half an hour.
Other easy recipes you can look up: eggs (omelets, hard boiled, stirred with rice and leftovers, fried eggs), stir fry, quesidillas, curry, crepes. Frozen salmon (throw it in the oven for however long the package says, with maybe a bit of salt, and it'll flavour itself).
Oh, and rice: I recommend a rice cooker. There's a couple of ways to make rice, and it's dependant on culture/type of rice you want to make. Easiest way: throw in some rice in the rice cooker, add 1 to 2 times the ratio of water, throw in some salt if you feel like it. Plug in the machine and it'll beep and turn itself off when you're done.
For less starchy rice, wash the rice first. (It's not that it's dirty, there's just starch around it). The number of times you throw in some water, swish it around, and throw it out during the cooking process is again, dependent on culture. Do it more for softer, fluffy rice, and more for firmer rice. For brazilian style rice, do the garlic thing in the rice cooker before you add the rice. For Japanese style rice (like sticky rice), buy short grained rice, wash it several times, and add more water (between 1:2 to 1:2.5 rice to water ratio). To make it sushi rice, add sushi vinegar (you can find it in asian grocery stores). With a little soy sauce and some smoked salmon on top, it makes really easy sushi.
(Sorry for such a long rice section. I'm brazilian and japanese. Rice is an institution at my house).
Also, big tip: never serve things until you've tasted it. I think one of the main skills of cooking is tasting what something needs (e.g. more spicy, more salty, more oregano, etc.). It takes some practice, but it means you can make things how you want to taste rather than the person who wrote the recipe likes it to taste.
Cooking websites:
www.supercook.com - tells you a list of possible recipes based on what ingredients you have
www.cookingforengineers.com
http://www.amazon.com/Tequila-Mockingbird-Cocktails-Literary-Twist/dp/0762448652
Different kind of book, but the title exists.
Tequilla Mockingbird
I have to admit, I didn't come up with it. There's actually a cocktail recipe book with the same name!
Maybe it really was Tequila Mockingbird
You can buy it on Amazon
And it's a real book: http://www.amazon.com/Tequila-Mockingbird-Cocktails-Literary-Twist/dp/0762448652
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/non-evil-turkish-delight-51139600
The cocktail (The Rye in the Catcher) came from the book Tequila Mockingbird
https://www.amazon.com.au/Tequila-Mockingbird-Cocktails-Literary-Twist/dp/0762448652
You might enjoy this book: http://www.amazon.com/History-World-6-Glasses/dp/0802715524
Only loosely related: A History of the World in 6 Glasses
That great river of books that sucks away my money says I should have a used hardback edition in about 10 days. I would not look for a book report for, oh, maybe 6 months or so. I'll repay the "favor" this way. A Short History of the World is perhaps bordering on fluff compared to what you recommended, but it is an overview that may lead to other research. Perhaps more interesting to me are a couple of offbeat ones by Tom Standage: A History of the World in 6 Glasses, and An Edible History of Humanity. They sorta slip interesting historical factoids into your brain without it seeming like your having to work at learning history.
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. A surprisingly fun read and interesting read.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. Another fun read. Touches on some great topics, like the "which came first: beer or bread" debate, but doesn't go into topics as deeply as I would have liked.
I haven't read these two yet, but it's on my list:
Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner
An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage
Si "aquâ vitae" loquendâ alcohol destillatum significatur, credo tantam potionem non factam esse priore Aevis Mediis tempore. Quidem liber quem legi, Historia Mundi in Poculis Sex (nexus Anglicus), de tantis dicit, nam tria "pocula" prima de quibus liber dicit sunt cervisia, vinum, alcohol destillatum (ceteris cafeâ, theâ, "colâ"). Num bene scriptum nolo loqui, sed quae didici bona aestimavi.
In "A History of the World in 6 Glasses", Tom Standage credits early inhabitants of the Fertile Crescent's survival with drinking beer which by having alcohol in it made it reasonably safe.
I haven't read At Home, so I'm not entirely sure what it's about, but based on the description on amazon it sounds like he uses everyday objects as starting points to discuss historical events. There are a number of similar books such as Salt and A History of the World in 6 Glasses. This genre is frequently referred to as "microhistory".
Hijacking top comment to recommend a book (kinda) about this. A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage, puchasable for $0.99, used, on Amazon.
It's well researched and iirc, it covers history (mostly western) from the Mesopotamian civilizations to the present day. The six drinks it does this through are Beer, Wine, Spirits, Coffee, Tea and Coke. I found it somewhat interesting that the first 3 drinks contained alcohol and the last three contained caffeine (not that this necessarily signifies anything), and I think he mentions that in passing somewhere in his book.
You may want to check out "A History of the World in Six Glasses," which looks at the history of some of the most ancient and popular drinks and the way they were used within different cultures:
http://www.amazon.com/A-History-World-6-Glasses/dp/0802715524
That was a pretty nifty watch. You might also like a book called A History of the World in Six Glasses.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses! I'm reading it for my AP World History2 summer assignment. It's really interesting!
Tom Standage argues that the Renaissance only happens because of coffee shops
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Great-Every/dp/1938469356/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1497567677&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=palmer+brewing
start here, he breaks it down high level then deeper then down a the nitty gritty. really and truly do not be afraid if you can do sour dough you can do this
The #1 book everyone starts with is How To Brew by John Palmer.
The definitive explanation. He really breaks everything down and it is a treasure among books. When you are done here, you can REALLY go down the water hole and read his 300 page book on water!
Wild Brews is a great book if you're interested in Belgian style wild beers (i.e. Flanders and lambic style). As others mentioned, /u/oldsock's blog is a great all around resource, and he's also coming out with a book that's bound to be good.
I just picked up American Sour Beers, By Michael Tonsmeire and have found it to be VERY informative as well.
Highly recommend this book...http://www.amazon.com/American-Sour-Beers-Michael-Tonsmeire/dp/1938469119/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1425833232&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=American+Sour
I realized over the weekend, to give credit where it's due, I got this information from Michael Tonsmere's book and not from Chad Yakobson. Sorry!!! (It's a great book FYI, definitely worth a read)
http://www.amazon.com/American-Sour-Beers-Michael-Tonsmeire/dp/1938469119/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
FYI that link is an older version there's a newer updated one out now:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Great-Every/dp/1938469356/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
How To Brew: Everything You Need to Know to Brew Great Beer Every Time https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938469356/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LOFNDbTQ8KM55
This book has been recommended to me by multiple people. It's well written and breaks everything down in a way I believe is easy for anyone to understand. It's been a great resource so far.
>what do I need to know before I start on my journey?
Aside from this forum and the FAQ, there are two books to choose from that are both fantastic but are from different points of view. For more engineering minded people I suggest How To Brew by John Palmer. For more art minded people Mastering Homebrew by Randy Mosher is fantastic. Either way you'll get a wonderful introduction introduction to brewing your own beer.
>What kit should I get?
There are many beer kits out there by you can also start with a simple cider instead. This will teach you about the basics of fermentation and help you find out if this type of activity is for you before you spend more than you need to on a kit. When you do go for a kit you will probably start with an extract kit. Just look for a style that you like to drink and go for it.
>What types of beer are best for learning?
To me a classic SMASH (Single Malt And Single Hop) is a perfect way to learn all grain brewing. For extract just any kit that you want to drink should be fine. Be sure to use a good online retailer if you don't have a local homebrew shop. MoreBeer is a popular, independently owned online retailer that I've had good experiences with.
>Anything else that you think may help.
RDWHAHB - Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew. This line from the great Charlie Papazian is probably the most often repeated line of advice in homebrewing. It's important to not freak out about anything. Brewing beer has some weirdness when you're new to it. There's a lot of vocabulary, acronyms, techniques, style guidelines, etc. Don't let it overwhelm you. Take it easy, follow basic good practices, and you will make beer.
Also, don't be afraid to look for local homebrew clubs. I didn't join one for many years and kinda regret that now. Some clubs are competition focused, some are social, some are event-centric. Look around for one that fits your interests and make some friends!
Finally, do not get tied down to styles or what beer is "supposed" to be. Brew what you want to drink and kick the haters to the curb.
Welcome to the obsession and cheers!
Had to do your own math. How to Brew by John Palmer is a good place to start.
A lot of people have recommended How to Brew, and I cannot recommend that enough. Click this link to start reading the free version of the book. This was my single best resource when I started last year. Here is a link to the book on Amazon. The book is less than $17 and worth MORE than every penny if this is a passion for you. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to message with any questions at all that you may have.
This is the newest, updated version of How to Brew. Now to be fair, I haven't read the 4th edition of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, it could have been modernized a bit. But the folks I deal with sure could use an upgrade in their new-brewer processes.
Sure, tons! In no particular order:
Also, How to Brew is based off a blog, and a lot of the book is on there. If you don't know which book you'd prefer start with A Crash Course in Brewing and decide if it's for you or if you'd like something a little more readable.
Sorry if that's a total data dump, I just love chatting about and getting new people into brewing. If you ever give it a try, let me know how it goes!
No problem. I'm relatively new to brewing myself, the kit gave a beer which is decent enough, the last kit I brewed was a single hop IPA with a Mangrove Jack's brew kit. I've bought worse beers in a pub so I was pretty happy with the result. I've now moved onto extract brewing which is basically a kit but with more DIY. Next step is all grain brew.
If it's the theory and the process you want to learn there is no better starting place than "How to Brew" by John Palmer. Here's a wee link - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1938469356/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ljhoDbJMM5HP0 or there is a website with the whole book on there -
http://www.howtobrew.com/
Everything you need to know is in that book from sterilisation (the most important part) right through to your first full grain brew
Hope this helps
> Mash at about 153F at a ratio of about 1.5 quarts to 1 lb of grain in a pot. Keep the pot in the oven at the same temperature to maintain the temperature. Stir occasionally.
This is a very low ratio. To take the highest target OG you've done, 1.070, Palmer chapter 19 recommends mashing at a ratio of 2 quarts to 1 lb of grain, which should give you 71% efficiency. For lower gravities you should mash at an even higher ratio for even higher efficiencies. At a ratio of 1.5 quarts to 1lb of grain you'd expect an efficiency only of 64%.
Increase the amount of water for your BIAB, sparging should not be necessary. Palmer has a table for different amounts for a 6 gallon batch, you can scale it up and down for different volumes.
Edit: was looking at the wrong table, adjusted the numbers.
The Mad Fermentationist, aka /u/oldsock blog, is a great place to start and also check out his book on amazon.
check out www.themadfermentationist.com There is a lot of good information there about sour beers. There is also a book on American sour beers that was recently released. If you are really interested on learning everything about making sour beers you should get this book.
Have you ever heard of this book called A History of the World in Six Glasses?
http://www.amazon.com/History-World-6-Glasses/dp/0802715524
If not, then never mind I suppose. If so, would you mind giving me a quick rundown of your impression? Mostly dealing with accuracy and overall legitimacy, if you don't mind.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
I've just started reading The History of the World in 6 Glasses. Chapter 1 is beer, so I suppose you're right.
Try A History of the World in Six Glasses, it goes through a basic overview of world history through 6 classic drinks. Sorry for the format of the link, I posted this from my phone.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0802715524?pc_redir=1407046477&amp;robot_redir=1
Heavy Googling up front. If it's a common/popular style, a quick search of the webz should turn up a number of articles on the history of the style, as well as common approaches to create it. If it's a common style, Daniels' "Designing Great Beers" is a good resource and takes a systematic approach to recipe formulation by means of evaluating the recipes of past AHA competition winners.
If you're looking to do a style that is less popular or obscure, finding articles and other people's experience in recreating is much tougher, but necessary. Sometimes reaching out to a brewer (via Facebook messenger) on advice pays off. If you find foreign text, and it's the only resource, snag it anyway and work at getting it translated.
Do you have a hydrometer? If not, get one and learn how to use it. It is the most important tool for troubleshooting fermenting beer. There is no other accurate way to tell if a beer is finished.
Most yeast strains have a documented alcohol level that they can handle. Google is your friend. With a precursory search, I'm finding 9% for English ale, but I've gotten higher. 9/10 times the beer finishes, unless you're pushing your sugar to some crazy heights.
I highly recommend picking up some books if you haven't yet. I cut my teeth on The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It contains a huge amount of information for the beginner up to all grain. Simply laid out techniques, recipes to try, and the origin of RDWHAHB. Designing Great Beers is a great book to get guidelines on a lot of the major styles, it is the one I am using most often these days. Online forums like r/homebrewing and HomeBrewTalk are also great sources of information.
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is on the front page right now, it is an excellent book and a must read. One that really helped me out as well is Designing Great Beers. YouTube also has a lot of great videos of people showing you the basics.
I would also second brendanmc6 comment to jump to Brew-in-a-Bag. Get some extract batches under your belt so you can understand the entire process but purchase equipment geared towards Brew-in-a-Bag, brewing will become so much more enjoyable!
Cheers!
Awesome! Welcome to the greatest hobby there is. If you are really interested in creating your own recipes, Designing Great Beers and Radical Brewing are two of my favorite resources. The former is very technical and contains detailed information on ingredients and how the play with other ingredients to affect the flavor of your beer. The latter is a great, well-rounded brewing book that focuses a lot on brewing with non-conventional ingredients, and how to use them in your recipes.
Designing Great Beers also has a really informative chapter on water that goes through the calculations for mash and sparge additions. I've done my own calculations the last couple of brews and found that I can come up with much more accurate numbers than if I let BeerSmith tell me what to do.
Even if you still want to use BeerSmith it's very helpful to know what's going on behind the scenes.
I enjoyed the book Designing Great Beers . It helped me understand ingredients by style.
These books are great resources:
Designing Great Beers
Brewing Classic Styles
Definitely get a kit to start. If you really want to learn about different styles and how to make recipes then designing great beers is the book to get. It can be pretty sciencey but is a great resource
I want to say "Designing Great Beers" would be a great source but I can't recall if they go into detail on Scottish and Scotch ales or not.
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1376913872&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=designing+great+beers
I'll have to check my copy when I get home tonight. There's a blog by a guy near Belgium/Netherlands that covers a lot of historical data and he updates almost daily. Lots of interesting stuff, old brewer logs, hop exports, etc... Sometimes you got to dig around a bit to find what you're looking for but it's almost always an interesting history lesson.
http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500
written by Roy Daniels.
With BIAB you'll save time setting up equipment, brewing, and cleaning afterward. I have it down to around 4 hours and it's a really low-stress experience. My efficiency is much lower than when I fly sparge, and I have trouble hitting a target gravity. If I know I have a few hours free on a weeknight I'll go BIAB, or if I'm brewing an AG fly-sparge batch with someone else, I'll add a second BIAB batch on the side. It's really easy and the first couple beers came out clearer than expected.
Regarding the gravity of BIAB, in Designing Great Beers, Ray Daniels said that you can use extract to boost gravity once you've gotten to around 1.050 with grains. I haven't tried this myself yet but plan to do so in the near future.
Heya, I'm two secondaries away from this stage myself. I bought a book that goes into pretty good detail about where to start and the different styles. Personally, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for so I'll save you what I learned:
I started off making an excel sheet that calculates pretty much everything but SRM (or color). While this is great for me (I have it tell me what each grain/hop/yeast contributes) there's better options. I use qBrew for now. Why these softwares are nice is because they allow you to figure out your style. This leads to OG, color, IBU, etc.
You've certainly got some OG ready in there (qBrew claims around 1.085). And you've definitely got some hops. IMO, I would put some more into the boil. I've only done DH once and haven't tasted it yet, but it seems like you're headed for a very aromatic beer with a mild bitterness. That's a lot of grain (around doppelbock levels IIRC) so you might want to consider upping your boils to match and then overcome that maltiness. Not smart enough to comment on your yeast yet. I'm sure its fine :D
If your hops are providing some earthy tones, I could see some orange bitters being a really cool addition.
Edit: if you get a brewing software: http://www.2shared.com/document/0wxR6IAU/soulfrequencies.html
I know you'll probably still want an answer from the Hangout, but if they don't get to it, or you're looking for another opinion, Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is an awesome book for learning how to create recipes.
Got a chance to watch the replay. I joined just at the "made you look", so I has JUST missed the question.
Ordered the book on amazon today (as well as Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels which was recommended in this thread), and plan on a trip to my homebrew shop this weekend.
Not sure if you've done this before, but I'd watch this religiously if you continue to do these.
Thanks for getting my question in.
Mash water is typically 0.3gal/lb of malt. Sparge water can be tricky but typically you want enough for your final runnings to be around 1.010 or 1.008 (2 brix). Beersmith has helped me out a lot when it comes to homebrewing, I would recommend purchasing the software. Another great resource would be [Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels] (http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Great-Beers-Ultimate-Brewing/dp/0937381500)
For your particular beer, I would suggest doing this:
Mash In: 3.60 gal of water at 164.1F to reach a step temp of 152 F
Mash Out: Add 2.1 gal of water at 199.6 F (again, not sure if you want to mash out or not)
Sparge: Use around 5 gal at 170 F until you achieve volume and/or final runnings are at or below 2 brix.
I have no idea what type of system you are using along with what your losses are due to evaporation, cooling, etc. but this might give you a ball park at least.
Ofcourse you could make it yourself, depending on how aged you want it it can be ready from anywhere between 1 month to a few years. Here is a good link: http://www.bardicbrews.net/. Also wholefood and Central Market have a few varieties. BTW meads are excellent, a superb book on the origines of mead and other indigenous fermentations: Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers
Just use the web, I've been brewing for around 20 years
edit, However there is one book that I've found very refreshing
Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation
Are we talking about just beer here? Anyone thinking about something like Mead?
I've looked into home brewing off and on, try reading this book
This is what you're looking for
http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667
The best collection of intoxicating and medicinal fermented drinks from all over the world. My favorite chapter is entitled "Psychotropic and highly inebriating beers"
Here is the desktop version of your link
Hey guys, I've been brewing Gruit for a couple of months now. Got turned onto it by my neighbor who has been doing it for years. Here is a video of his process Brewing Beer Over A Fire Pit, and we will try to upload more as we go.
The brew bible we are working from is Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers, by Stephen Harrod Buhner. I've been doing research trying to find more information and recipes for gruits, and this book seems to be a major resource for almost everyone. It's also a great read, exploring the history of brewing around the world.
The main reason I love gruit, is that without the hops you don't feel tired or full when drinking it. And with the yarrow and wormwood you get a mild psychotropic effect so you feel pleasant and alert. My friend drinks it every night during the winter because these herbs are used for skin care and drinking a bottle or two a night keeps his skin from cracking when he's working outside the next day.
I'm starting to experiment with new recipes, just tried a sage ale and a ginger beer. Bottling tonight, if there is interest I will post info/pictures.
Wild Brews and Radical Brewing are both really good if you want to go down the more advanced routes of using wild yeasts, bacteria, and exotic fermentables.
Interestingly enough, I just started picked up Radical Brewing, which was published in 2004. The first chapter on beer history points out loud and clear how American craft brewers unencumbered by centuries of tradition are experimenting and innovating into quite a vital and amazing beer culture. As I read that I was thinking that, since American craft brewing market is getting saturated in some (many?) areas of the country, maybe it'd be interesting to start a craft brewery some place in Europe. It's good to see someone--Stone--giving it a shot.
BTW, I haven't been to Europe since the late nineties. So, I don't have any first-hand experience with beer culture there. If the original premise is inaccurate, I'd be really interested to hear about it.
(Based on the little that I've read of the book so far, Randy Mosher--the author--is probably a Stone fan.)
Recipe came from Radical Brewing, or at least the grain bill did. Aimed for more of an American Barleywine with the hops.
I'd suggest getting a book too. I started out with Radical Brewing.
Dude. Step back, read this book and then start brewing. It's rough advice, but you will thank me later. How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time https://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381888/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_D-xByb8KA8EWN
I recommend you pick up this book, it's quintessential for learning the ins and outs of brewing.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1484145106&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew+john+palmer
I'd also recommend doing a pre-made beer kit or two first to get the processes and ideas down before jumping into custom recipes.
Get this book before you buy anything else and just familiarize yourself with the process.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1404955862&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
After that, Northern Brewer has some really good starting options, this one is pretty awesome at $80 considering it comes with your first kit to make a 5 gallon batch (usually $30 alone):
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/beer-equipment-starter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit.html
The only thing you need to add is empty bottles and a kettle for brewing.
If he likes beer, I would suggest maybe a book on making his own beer?
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1407120998&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=home+brewing
Anyone serious about brewing should buy the book:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397475635&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
It's updated with new information, it's the single best general brewing resource I know of and it's a nice way to thank John Palmer for his contributions to home brewing.
Like I mentioned earlier, I haven't brewed with it yet, but it's everything you'll need. You might want to pick up How to Brew. It's the golden book when it comes to brewing. Teaches you the hows as well as the whys.
Oh, you will need bottles. Don't get the screw off caps, only pop off caps will work.
Edit: You'll also need a sizable brew pot. You'll want to get one min. 7 gallons to prevent boil overs, which are a bitch to mess with. Just join the sub and do some research and you'll figure it out. Brewing has been happening for thousands of years. No reason you can't figure it out!
Check your local library for books, I know there are a few out there.
At my library I found these books 1 2 3
Any time is a good time, once you've got a basic understanding of different malts and hops and yeasts. Two books have helped me immensely, too: How to Brew by John Palmer and Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher
I think you'd do better with Palmer's How to Brew. I'd also recommend listening to the podcasts on The Brewing Network, esp BrewStrong. Also, find and join a local homebrew club. There's a lot of info you can get by reading or advice from forums, but nothing compares to having other beer nerds tasting your brew and giving good feedback.
Good luck! Just a heads up, there is a more active community for beer and wine making over at /r/homebrewing, but n2deep gave a pretty perfect list of items. I started out with Charlie Papazian's book "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing," and I've heard people recommend John Palmer's "How to Brew." It made my life easier, but is by no means a requirement.
Have fun with it!
The Midwest groupon deal is probably the best way to get into the hobby at an affordable price. This is real homebrew equipment and not some big box cash in. She will want to build on this kit, not replace it.
If you want to add anything, I'd add this book (~$11 w/free shipping):
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1322454904&amp;sr=8-1
I'm going to disagree with you here. I started with The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and while it is a good book, I believe that John Palmer's How to Brew is a better introduction to brewing and infact gets quite advanced. You can even read the first edition free online.
Thanks! Well, it would be easier to answer specific questions (and I am no means a master), but making beer is pretty easy and not terribly expensive (but more expensive than just buying beer, sadly). The most important thing to remember if you do decide to head down this path is to properly sanitize your equipment to prevent stray bacteria or yeast from ruining your brew.
This book is amazing but also goes into a lot of detail, so be prepared: http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1310938085&amp;sr=8-1
They don't get a lot of love around here (though they don't get much hate either I suppose, lol) but I started with a Mr. Beer from the hobby shop. I quickly out grew it, but it was ~$60 and came with two batches worth of extract and yeast and allowed me to figure out that despite the beer not being as great as I'd hoped, I enjoyed the process. So it was definitely worth the money and effort even though I don't use the Mr. Beer anymore.
As far as DIY equipment, most individual parts of the process are relatively inexpensive. You can save money by using Aluminum instead of stainless steel for boiling your wort (unfermented beer), and you can do without things like immersion chillers to cool your wort and use ice-baths instead. But the beautiful thing is you can upgrade different pieces of equipment as you see necessary. You can start out cheap but decide it's worth the $60 to get an immersion chiller. Or if you are handy with metal and such you can make your own! Again, a lot of answers can be gained from books (and here of course!). Like I said earlier, this book is great. I too was afraid of the cost of the hobby and worried I wouldn't like homebrewing and be out a bunch of money. Turns out I enjoy it enough to warrant the cost!
Have you had problems with only 2-3 on the trub? I know John Palmer specifically talks about off flavor not being an issue for a primary less then a month long.
> John Palmer
I'm guessing that this book is what you're referring to?
Thanks; that alone is helpful. As with any craft, there are plenty of useless books among the treasures.
I would recommend starting with extract, but if you do start with all-grain, read through How to Brew first. It's got wonderfully detailed information on both extract and all grain, and some cool recipes for the basic styles. I'm kind of surprised nobody's mentioned it yet.
/r/homebrewing and a forum called homebrew talk are great places to start. The brewing community is incredibly nice and helpful.
After you do a batch of mead and see if you like it, try some beers. Extract brewing is also incredibly easy and can have very fine results. Recommend reading How to Brew for beer.
It sounds like you're familiar with the process, so I would recommend learning more about the mechanics of brewing. John palmer's book (see below) is a great source of information in this regard. Also, there's a whole section dedicated to styles and recipes that you could experiment with.
My top three resources:
I started with the Williams kit and it's been great over the last year. It's for extract, but could be upgraded to all-grain pretty easily.
There are cheaper kits out there somewhere, but this was the only one I could find (at the time) that came with a pot (pre-drilled) and wort chiller.
For your first brew, I would advise to follow a kit, and then make the same kit again for your 2nd brew. It will familiarize yourself with the process, and back-to-back beers are a great way to see how process improvement affects the taste and quality of your beer. It might sound boring, but once you got the basics down, then you can really go buck wild with your own recipes. Makes for a lot less hard lessons.
Use the search bar first, but don't be afraid to post questions, this sub is pretty helpful to new guys.
Other helpful tidbits
Brulosophy
Mad Fermentationist
BrewUnited
The Bible
The other Bible
Edit: Many edits...
Keep the 1 gallon kit and use it for exbeeriments...
Sell the gift card and buy something like this:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/beer-equipment-starter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit
Buy this book:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451367064&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
Buy these cleaning supplies:
http://www.amazon.com/Star-San-oz-PBW-lb/dp/B00YVF1RMK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451367192&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=32+oz+star+san
Then, when you are ready, you can add the below to do all-grain BIAB 5-gallon batches.
10-gal pot w/ lid - $60 (16-gal pot with steamer basket is better but is $110)
BIAB bag - $30
Immersion cooler - ~$50 (25ft)
20" wire whisk - $10
Racking Cane- ~$15 (get the 1/2inch size... not an auto siphon)
Hose for racking - ~$10
Annual membership to BrewersFriend website (it is awesome, trust me) - $10
Propane burner (Bayou Classic SP-10) - $50
Propane Tank - $30
Sweet. This one here?
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888
Here's my advice to a beginner from a recent beginner.
A lot of people start with a small batch kit like Mr. Beer or Brooklyn Brew Shop that they got as a gift or bought on a whim. However, if I were going to recommend a 1-gal starter kit, I'd probably go with something like the one from Northern Brewer. Or you can get a 5-gal setup for just a little bit more and you get a lot more beer for you money, and it's really not that much more work. However, it was nice learning the process on a 1-gal batch, because it's a lot more manageable and you can easily do it on your stove with a pot you already have. Also, if you stick with it, and upgrade to bigger batches, you will still be able to find good uses for your old 1-gal equipment.
Whether you decide to test the waters with a small batch or jump right into a 5-gal batch, I would do an extract w/ specialty grain kit for your first brew. All grain is not that much harder, especially with small batches, but for your first few brews it's nice to just learn the process without having too many variables to worry about.
Also, buy a copy of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing or How to Brew or both and read the first chapter or so and you will have a good idea of what you're in for.
The first books I bought were Homebrewing for Dummies and The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Both of those are a little older and a lot of people regard them as outdated, but they'll get you on the right track. For something more modern (and a lot more thorough and sciencey), go for How to Brew.
it has nothing to do with snobbary. you are on a homebrewing forum. i get that you have to start somewhere. but really. that's an absurd question. they come dried.
try doing ANY amount of research into the craft before you start asking people for answers to questions like that.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Brew-Everything-Right-First/dp/0937381888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1426492930&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=how+to+brew
The first thing you should do is buy this book and read it. It will give you a good idea of what you are getting yourself into. Then when you are ready, it's an excellent resource for the basics of brewing and it's a lot easier than trying to track down good info online. It doesn't have everything though, that's where /r/homebrewing and www.homebrewtalk.com come in. You can find an answer to almost any question by searching homebrewtalk.
Agreed. How To Brew, as mentioned above, and then when you've got all that down and have done a half-dozen batches or so, check out Brewing Better Beer.
In addition to the kit I bought below, I also bought:
Super Efficient 3/8" x 25' Stainless Steel Wort Chiller
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D4QPQW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
AND how to brew book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0937381888/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
I bought the Gold Complete Beer Equipment Kit (K6) with 6 Gallon Glass Carboy
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BU7CVM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
The Gold Homebrew Kit has all you need to get brewing and adds a glass carboy for secondary fermentation resulting in a cleaner finished brew. Each Equipment Kit Includes: True Brew Handbook & Kit Instructions, 7.8 Gallon Fermenting Bucket, 1 Lid Drilled & Grommet, True Brew Rack & Fill kit, 6 Gallon Glass Carboy, Fermometer Fermentation Thermometer, Small Buon Vino Drilled Stopper, Hydrometer, Bottling Spigot, Emily Double Lever Capper, 3 Piece Airlock, Bottle Brush, C-Brite Sanitizer 8-Pack.
(See post below? and this. I'm not sure the best way to respond to post. Super new to reddit! lol)
So a Fermtech plastic bottle filler, fermtech large (0.5-inch) auto siphon, and 7/16 vinyl tubing would set me up? (Minus the kettle pot?)
A staple in homebrewing. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381888?pc_redir=1412227188&amp;robot_redir=1
I would strongly caution against a 35 quart pot. The Bayou Classic 44 quart (11 gallon) pot is only a little more, and it's of dimensions more ameniable to brewing (tall, rather than squat). If you plan to migrate to BiaB, the version with the basket is quite useful; you'll be able to fire your heat source without worrying about scorching the bag.
For ingredients, I would recommend looking around for a LHBS (local homebrew shop). You'll likely not save much money ordering those online, due to their weight/cost ratio, and a LHBS is often the centre of your local community of homebrewers.
With regard to literature, my bible is John Palmer's How To Brew. You can also read the first edition online, but much has been learnt since that was published and the latest edition has current best practices.
That equipment kit is decent, but there are a lot of things in it you'll probably wish you hadn't bought.
You will want:
How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time, Paperback - $13.56
How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time, Paperback - $9.99
^12/23/2016 ^10:20am ^EST
This book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381888
Is an invaluable resource for beginners and experts alike. It's got all the basic stuff you need and a lot of advanced stuff you won't think you'll need, but will as you learn more.
Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation (Brewing Elements) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381969/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Ei8pDbNP3EY5M
Yeast goes through three stages during fermentation. The third phase is the stationary phase and it's explained on page 69 of the Yeast book.
"Yeast reabsorb much of the diacetyl and acetaldehyde produced during fermentation, and hydrogen sulfide continues to escape from the top of the fermentor as gas."
So you're doing yourself a favor if you wait. The end product will be better.
Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:
Amazon Smile Link: Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation
|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|
To help donate money to charity, please have a look at this thread.
This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting). The thread for feature requests can be found here.
I frequently count my yeast cell counts with a hemocytometer and methylene blue stain. I used the method straight out of the Yeast book.
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
What I Did Last Week::
Primary::
Secondary:
Kegs/Bottles::
In Planning::
Active Projects:
You should treat your lager yeast starters the same as your ales, as far as temperature goes. In my experience lager yeast take longer to take off in primary, but they should behave almost exactly like ale in the starter.
My source is Jamil's book on yeast, which is great by the way.
Jamil co-wrote the book Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation with the founder of White Labs. I know that's not really an answer, but he knows his stuff enough that I trust the list.
Put together a proper fermentation chamber. Typically a chest freezer and a temperature controller, optionally with a Raspberry Pi or an Arduino integrated to give you more control over and data about your fermentation. Depending upon how much space you want, plan to spend ~$200-$300.
Before getting into lager brewing, I also strongly recommend investing in equipment to build proper starters, if you don't have it already. Stir plate, a few stir bars, at least a 1L Erlenmeyer flask. Around $50-$100 depending upon what you go with. Also worth picking up a copy of Yeast if you don't have it -- very solid primer on the subject. Apart from inadequate temperature control, underpitching and yeast management in general are the single biggest issues ale brewers have when they start brewing lagers.
Right, I will try my best.
These books 1 2 give a great overview of yeast and yeast management.
I hope this has answered your questions. If not please ask more
Brewed: Edwort's Haus Pale Ale.
Racked to secondary: Skeeter Pee which I added my finings and stabilized, and my Blackberry Wine.
Cleaned and delabeled: 10 cases of wine bottles that I scored for free from a local winery. (Still working on this).
Ordered: Ingredients for Raging Red Irish Red Ale, and BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde (I've got a few kegs to fill). I also ordered some one gallon fermentors for experimental batches, I think the first one is going to be a Banana Wine. I should also be getting a couple books, For The Love of Hops and Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation, as well as a refractometer, and a 10lb CO2 tank.
Take notes on your phone as he is telling you things, if it’s something really involved take a video of him explaining it to you. It helps to have notes and people like when they don’t have to repeat their instructions a bunch of times.
Also, start to pick up some books to familiarize yourself with the process. There are 4 books in this series and it’s pretty informative.
Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation (Brewing Elements) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381969/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_G8WdBbCZZY0JE
"Yeast" is also a very well reviewed book:
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Practical-Fermentation-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381969
The sugar's there because I'd like to boost ester production (glucose can affect fermentation flavor, a claim made in this book) and because I have it on hand already.
I'd love to try out honey malt sometime; I've never used it before, but I've heard only good things.
I think one issue here is that the terms "lagering" and "cold conditioning" have become synonyms which isn't exactly right to my understanding.
Traditional lagering is the process of cooling down the wort slowly in a way that doesn't shock the yeast into dormancy, which can cause more flavor compounds (mainly esters) to express and allows lager yeast to continue to uptake compounds in the beer down to the conditioning temperature.
Cold conditioning is the same for both lager yeast and ale yeast insofar as causing some compounds to drop out. Ale yeasts by and large don't do well at cold condition temperatures so instead of doing all the extra meddling with temperatures, we just usually crash to the condition temperature. From that point on they're essentially the same.
I've played with lagering ale yeast before and it did seem to reduce esters and produce a very clean beer compared to regular crashing, but I didn't do a triangle or anything so confirmation bias is in play. If you have the ability to lager, I would strongly suggest playing with it to see what the process does for ya. Might also be a great brulosophy experiment to compare lager to crashing, hmmmm....
There's more detailed info on page 114 in Yeast by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff. A great book but not a casual read =)
IMO you can make pretty decent beer with bottled spring water. Depending on the chemistry of that spring water, it'll make some beers better than others, but spring water generally has a mixture of minerals that tastes pretty good and this often translates to good-tasting beer.
I'd say that the differences you get from water treatment are subtle but effective in making the difference between a pretty good beer and a very good beer.
This book is generally regarded as the classic source for water treatment in homebrewing.
You do not need a pH reader if you use a calculation like that in Bru 'n' Water. I don't have a pH reader, but I definitely want one now.
Have you checked out the Water brewing book?
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993
If you havent already checked out the Brewing Elements series I would highly recommend doing so. They are fantastic for geeking out about brewing. I havent read Hops yet but Yeast was fascinating and Water is pretty advanced but really informative.
Thanks I'll give that a read when I finish John Palmer and Colin Kaminski's Water book. Is the article what you personally do each time?
Mostly curious of what everyone does personally - not necessarily what 'should' be done :D.
I use the Bru'N Water Sheet and it has yet to fail me yet for it's estimates. I sent in my tap water to Ward Laboratories for analysis, plugged those numbers in, then adjust my desired water for each beer. it took a tad bit of practice to learn to use, but now I can do it in my sleep and understand why I am doing these certain adjustments.
Also, I recommend the Book Water (https://www.amazon.com/Water-Comprehensive-Brewers-Brewing-Elements/dp/0937381993/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1493317229&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=water+book) I read this first before getting into water chemistry stuff and it was great.
I think our water is fine to brew with if you do a couple of simple things. Water is a complex topic, so before you go too far down the rabbit hole, understand that. When I was a homebrewer, the things that had the most positive impact on my beer from a water perspective were:
Here's an old thread I started on beerinator. GCBrewingCo who adds the final word is one of the most experienced beer judges in the area.
If you want to really focus on water, you sure can. John Palmer's How to Brew covers the topic at a high level and Palmer & Colin Kaminski wrote a whole book on water for brewers.
One more point: annually in March, Raleigh stops adding ammonia to the water and just relies on straight chlorine for the month. This makes the water smell & taste different. Unlike chloromines, chlorine can be taken out with just a charcoal filter. Water customers affected by this change include those who pay water bills to the City of Raleigh and to the towns of Rolesville, Garner, Knightdale, Holly Springs, Wendell, Wake Forest, Zebulon and Fuquay-Varina.
Yeah I could definitely be remembering incorrectly. I'll have to check in a week when I'm home unless any other owners of Water can chime in with the part on preboiling water.
Nobody measures the actual amounts of any brewing ion in solution in your water.
You either:
Using one of the above you determine the base amounts of brewing ions in your water. Then you use something like bru'n water, brewersfriend, any of the other tools out there to determine a water profile and which salts to add to achieve that profile.
After adding the salts, you just assume the desired amounts will be achieved, no need (or possibility, really) to actually measure those as a homebrewer.
The tools I mentioned above also calculate mash pH and other important brewing water measures.
Water is a very interesting topic to dive into, and if you really want to research this thoroughly I highly recommend Palmers "Water" book. Only part of that book is applicable to homebrewers, but it very clearly explains what water chemistry entails and what is important. It was only after reading this book that I fully understood how "residual alkalinity" works in brewing water, for example.
Also, in my experience, getting the mash and boil pH right is way more important to the final product than the amounts of ions in your wort (as long as they are not exceedingly low, or high). When I brew with tap water without adjustments, my mash pH will be too high (especially for pale beers) which in turn means my boil pH will be to high. Invariably, those beers will take way longer to become clear, and the bitterness will be "weird". When I adjust my water to a (calculated) mash pH of ~5.4, the beer is already clear when I move it from the fermenter into bottles, and the bitterness is way more pleasant.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381993
The 'water book' in question for those wondering. (I assume)
The yeast book was great.
The Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler
I haven't done cocktails, but I've pulled sodas from the same tap system as my beer.
It will go better if you have a regulator that allows you to set multiple pressures. Soda/cocktails are carbonated at much higher volumes than beer. If you're just serving it solo, it'll work fine.
in Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recent book, he goes through his process for making large amounts of mojitos for a group. He does make a mint simple syrup, but there are a few abnormal techniques he uses to do it. I would pick up a copy of his book and do what he says. He's a smart guy and the book is great.
http://www.amazon.com/Bar-Book-Elements-Cocktail-Technique/dp/145211384X/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1462814437&amp;sr=8-1-spell&amp;keywords=moregenthaler
Awesome! Let me know how you like it, or if you got any questions. While you're buying stuff, if you like his blog, pick up Morgenthaler's new book its amazing.
This book will get you about 90% there as far as technique.
Outside your list, but I would recommend a couple books if they don't already occupy your shelves:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bar-Book-Elements-Technique/dp/145211384X
and
http://www.amazon.com/The-PDT-Cocktail-Book-Bartenders/dp/1402779232
They teach you the "easy way", and by easy way I mean using sour mix and taking shortcuts like that. There are plenty of good resources online and amazing cocktail books you can buy that have the original recipes for classic cocktails, as well as the proper way to do things behind the bar.
Learn from reputable sources and from good bartenders. If you're interested here's a couple good reads:
As far as knowledge goes, you can learn a lot from reading and studying. For me personally, I love this kind of stuff and I'm constantly trying to learn as much as I can so I could hardly say it feels like actual studying. As for technical skills, learn from people better than you. No matter how good you get, there is always someone out there you can learn from. A lot of how I work I've picked up from watching great bartenders, everything from small stuff like the way I carry a bottle to the way I move behind the bar has come from watching, learning and implementing it into how I bartend.
/r/Cocktails
Liquid Intelligence is fascinating if you're a science/chem type.
The Bar Book and similar books.
One of my current favourite cocktails is arguably a "Reverse Manhattan with absinthe instead of bitters".
It greatly depends on his diet/medication . It can be sweet, salty, bitter.
However, this:
http://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
For your new business
But wait, there's more
Instructions perfectly clear, you just got them mixed up with instructions from this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
I have just the book for you.
you asked for it
Paul Photenhauer thinks otherwise. Check out his book: Semenology - The Semen Bartender's Handbook.
https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Harvest-collection-semen-based-recipes/dp/1481227041?sa-no-redirect=1&amp;pldnSite=1
and
https://www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2/141-2066605-4540837?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=1482605228&amp;pd_rd_r=818f3c3f-35f7-42e5-b044-cfc8f377a93d&amp;pd_rd_w=3LqW6&amp;pd_rd_wg=Y5LBH&amp;pf_rd_p=09627863-9889-4290-b90a-5e9f86682449&amp;pf_rd_r=RVQDM7EYBKE4Y0HJ44TX&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=RVQDM7EYBKE4Y0HJ44TX&amp;sa-no-redirect=1&amp;pldnSite=1
Have you tried any cooking recipes or drink recipes?
Properly prepared...
www.amazon.com/Semenology-Bartenders-Paul-Fotie-Photenhauer/dp/1482605228
🤓
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1482605228/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_md96Ab4CYPR0C
i bet i know what sort of food and drink they serve there
Maybe it's the taste, or your diet is poor. Maybe she hates the texture, or smell or something. Maybe she feels like it would make her slutty or dirty but not in sexy way. A lot of those behavioral response can be changed by slowly exposing the person to the act, or by pairing it with rewarding stimuli (and this goes for practically anything you guys want to try). So, going the slow route, get her to let your cum in her mouth, which she can immediately spit out on to you or wherever is easiest -- just provide quick escape. Then step it up to her keeping it in her mouth. Then try snowballing. Then once she's comfortable with all that, go up to full swallowing. If you choose to go the other route, you've got to turn her on while she's doing the act. Maybe even do something like make drinks from this book first before going full-on load down the throat. But in your creativity, be very rewarding. Compliment her, tell her how hot you find it all, etc. And once you're done, remember to post-sex decompose -- cuddle and reiterate how it made you feel, help her get clean and comfortable, etc. Until you talk with her, you don't know how she truly feels about it, and even then that may not be what it truly is, so expressing your love and attraction to her even after sex is done is almost more important than anything else.
Maybe he'd like a drink to go with that?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1482605228/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/185-3808228-5203406?ref_=cm_sw_su_dp
Shit is 4 real - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1482605228/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1482605228&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=cookiwithcum-20
My library falls into two categories: Books of the Era, for contemporary recipes, sources, and insight; and Modern, for dissection, history, and expansions upon classic cocktails. Both have two mainstays that I bring with me to every convention:
Books of the Era:
The Mixicologist by C.F. Lawlor
How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas. I have both the 1862 and the 1876 reprinted editions.
Modern:
Bitters by Ed Anderson
Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh
A good book is (the appropriately titled) Bitters that gives a history of bitters as well as recipes. Amazon link There are also a lot of recipes online.
I have this book though I can't give any review because before this moment I've never even cracked the cover. It seems to be a good all-around book, including history, techniques, and recipes for both bitters and cocktails.
Make your own! Seriously, get this book and start experimenting. There's a great orange bitters recipe in there along with a bunch of other great stuff.
I should mention the process is a month or two, so you may still need to find a temporary replacement meanwhile...
If I understood correctly, bitters are made by using a high proof clear spirit (like vodka) to extract the essences of herbs/veggies/fruits/etc. The old name for essences with only one flavor was tincture, and the mixture of two or more tinctures or one made with two or more flavors is a bitters. This is the book I read about the history and making of bitters.
In addition to Bar Book and Death & Co.'s, I like "Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, and Formulas" by Brad Thomas Parsons.
Yes, as well as Bitters: A Spirited History by Brad Thomas Parsons and especially Field Guide to Bitters and Amari by Mark Bitterman. All three excellent reads with a little different focus. If you're wanting to DIY, Field Guide is the way to go. As far as gardening tips go, I can't say I'm as well-versed in that category.
Field Guide to Bitters and Amari
Bitters: A Spirited History
Liquid Intelligence also has some neat infusion and bitters-making sections, but it's mostly centered around rapid infusions w the iSi Whipper.
The coffee-pecan, cherry hazelnut and grapefruit bitters came out of the bitters book. I'll definitely be posting pictures of the final results. We're planning on having a drink night in May to try all of these.
It's also an important part of making bitters with dry spices. That's where I've gotten my knowledge of it from. There's a great book called Bitters that goes into detail about handling spices when doing infusions.
Not just bourbon but highly relevant, history and used of bitters
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1580083595
Google " 'how to identify' site:seriouseats.com" and read the first eight search results. Then you can read the book "Tasting Beer" by Randy Mosher.
I'm reading Tasting Beer right now. It's really, really good.
http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
+
bottle shares
Start with Tasting Beer and move on to the Beer Bible when you want something way more in depth.
I definitely recommend Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. It is a brilliant book. May not be the best for homebrewing exclusively, but opens your eyes to beer.
Randy Mosher: Tasting beer really is great for learning history, a little chemistry and all about styles. Highly reccomend it.
http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1343758259&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=randy+mosher+tasting+beer
I honestly think craft should be about the quality of the beer peeps are suggesting in this thread is so serious! Sure. https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894/. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Beer-Course-Tasting-Classes/dp/1402797672/. Also since you're talking about Yards, some of those westy's, they are probably fine, sadly.
As a lot of people have said, I think flights are a great idea. I would add that going somewhere that has a good selection of traditional styles would be a good place to start, and if you like American lager-style beer, try some craft versions of that so you can have something to compare to what you're used to (might I suggest Oskar Blues Mama's Yella Pils or Victory Prima Pils).
I'm in academia, so I found that some light reading on the subject helped a lot - ingredients and their respective characteristics, the brewing process, history and characteristics of all the different styles, etc. Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher is a great place to start.
Is this the right book?
Also would you know how difficult it would be to cut the recipe in half? I think it would be interesting to try both schedules to expand my palette. I assume it would just be twice as hard, just cut the recipes in half.
"Randy Mosher, one of America’s leading experts on the topic, thinks so. [...]
At a recent beer-tasting event held at the Workman headquarters, Randy told me that, generally speaking, bottled beer should be poured straight into the dead center of the glass, not into a glass tilted at a 45-degree angle, as is popularly believed. When beer is poured into a tilted glass, Randy argues, the head never fully forms, and you miss out on the beer’s creamy introduction.
True to his word, in Tasting Beer, Randy describes how beer should be poured for judging at a competition: 'Pour the beer right down the middle of the glass, wait for the foam to settle, and if needed, pour a little more.'”
source
edit 01: formatting
edit 02: i got the straight down pour from reading the book, but he does also go on about how you're not "wrong" to pour it other ways, just a method he pushes. he actually goes into another multiple step method of pouring down the center harder, letting it settle, and repeating. i've done it but the time it takes isn't worth the result in most cases.
Okay so not really a cookbook but a great thing to keep around when you’re not sure what to pair with what you have on hand. The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook it’s kinda fun to flip through and see all the different flavor pairings. They categorize by flavors. So if one day you’re feeling something earthy, they have a section for it.
https://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Thesaurus-Compendium-Pairings-Creative/dp/160819874X
I picked this up cheap somewhere and it's a fun book when you DO feel like straying from the recipe a bit. It lists which flavors go with other flavors. So if you have some great vanilla beans, you can look up vanilla and get some ideas for what direction to take. It can be a lot of fun and often surprising.
The book I personally use most for reference
A book called the flavour thesaurus - gives you ideas about flavours and ingredients that you would never think would work. Great book.
Amazon links:
UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0747599777?cache=491187175f09a05db83b12da483baf58&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;qid=1406286051&amp;sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1
US. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/160819874X?cache=04994d44197dcca0cb588b9bb14ac61b&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;qid=1406286098&amp;sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1
If you're looking for something to do with flavours and the taste of food then I can recommend The Flavor Thesaurus
Spices are pretty interesting. I know you didn't ask for a reading list, but if you are a reader, and you love food, history and plants, check these out.
Spice: The History of a Temptation.
For a more political look - Full Planets, Empty Plates.
Also a good read...
[so i can learn about my booze before i drink it:)] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Drunken-Botanist-Plants-Create/dp/1616200464/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=29OH72GY4MPT7&amp;coliid=I2P70K9RZIJC6P) Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses
Are you interested in the science at all? If so, check out "The Drunken Botanist" by Amy Stewart. It talks about the actual botany/chemistry/history behind different spirits.
For a detailed source on the topic, I recommend this book. While it focuses on American sours, it also discusses the origins of them in Europe.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938469119/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GUH7yb1V0QZRT
Honestly the worst thing about the hobby is that the initial setup (equipment) is really your largest cost factor. After that it's simply a matter of buying the elements of beer (malted barley, hops, vials of yeast, etc). I'm not saying you have to drop a ton of money on stainless steel mash/lauter tuns, HLT, infusion chillers, fermentation vessels, etc or start doing all grain mash brewing (versus simpler brewing techniques such as extract brewing or partial mash) -- although you certainly can -- but it is a hobby that does require some special preparation on the front end before starting.
My best advice to you is to find a local brewing club and attend a meeting. Join them during a buddy brew session and they can help you get started.
As a primer for brewing I recommend reading The Complete Joy Of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian.
Also, great reading (online) is John Palmer's How To Brew