Charlie Papazian

In the great list of cliches, the phrase "the only book on X" that you'll ever need must surely be numbered. It is seldom warranted; I can think of only two books which qualify to serve as the sole reference in their subject. On the subject of bicycle wheels, there is a book by Jobst Brandt, and on the subject of beer, there is Charlie. Hey, Steve, I might say, how much spray malt do I need for bottle conditioning? And Steve will say, go ask Charlie, meaning look in the section on bottling show more in the Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Hey, Dan, I might say, what's kraeusening mean again? And Dan will turn to a battered copy of the Complete Joy of Home Brewing and give me a rundown on the process of priming beer with a measured amount of gyle. If you were to start brewing tomorrow by buying and reading this book, and you never bought or borrowed another book on the subject, you would make a lot of fine beer. Starting from the simplest way to make beer in your kitchen - open a can from a kit, boil the contents, let sit - and proceeding to full-grain open-air boilups and kegging your beer, this book is as complete a reference as I can imagine for the home brewer. If you decide to open a commercial operation, you'll probably want a second book. Until then, go ask Charlie. show less

I got this book on recommendation from my friend Aaron when we were brewing at his house this weekend. We brewed a variation of the "Goat Scrotum Porter" on page 200.

The book is however much more than a recipe book for beer. It is divided into three major sections:

Pgs 1-39 give a basic outline of brewing history and the knowledge you need to brew a beer from a basic kit.

Pgs 40-240 are the meat of the book. This intermediate brewing section goes over every aspect of brewing from yeasts to show more sanitizing your equipment. It also includes many recipes for ales and lagers as well as ideas on how you might adapt any recipe for your own tastes.

Pgs 241-388 really get into the science and math behind brewing. I have only skimmed this section, but it seems to be a fantastic reference guide for the advanced brewer.

What sets this book apart is the well written and funny style that Papazian brings to everything from water mineral content to the human migrations that transport Viennese lagers to Mexico. Most appreciated is his constant reminder that if you are feeling stressed about the minutia of brewing "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew." This seems to be both his philosophy and the first step of all of his recipes. show less

Like many beginning homebrewers, Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" helped introduce me to making my own beer. So when I saw his latest book at my local bookstore, I felt it deserved a look. In this volume, he brings his readers on a tour of the microbreweries and early beer festivals that helped create the commercial craft-brewing landscape that a youngster like me (27) can take for granted at times. The added bonus is that for each one of his anecdotes or reminiscences he show more includes a homebrew recipe (in both all-grain and malt extract versions). Often these recipes are recreations of early versions of classics like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Redhook Ale (I can't wait to brew the recipe for the original, more flavorful Killian's). Other recipes push the envelope like a "Belgian" stout or Pumpernickel Rye Stout.

Much like Garrett Oliver's "Brewmaster's Table" or Michael Jackson's "Beer Companion", this book offers a spirited look into the delicious world of craft beer. Not a comprehensive history, but a fun romp through American craftbrewing past and present (as well as some recent international beer adventures). I highly enjoyed this book. show less

(Alistair) "Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew."

When we started making beer, Amy handed me this to read - while I have had some experience of the wonders of fermentation, in the past I'd always concentrated on wine rather than beer.

And Papazian's is a very good book. His laid-back style offers pleasant, easy reading, but the meat of the book offers all the solid information you need to get started homebrewing (along with the background on such things as the actual chemistry of brewing), and show more to go quite a ways before you need another reference. In addition to the information on the basics and technique in general, it also offers a good few recipes - enough to keep the beginning homebrewer going for quite some time even if their tastes in beer styles are limited - and plenty of useful information to modify them or design your own from scratch.

Interesting to read; completely informative - I think even for people starting from nothing -; and useful for a reference even once you're done. Very much recommend for anyone considering getting into homebrewing.
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