Big Book of Brewing [Paperback]

Dave Line (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

This is the classic book for any really enthusiastic and ambitious home brewer...the person who wants to brew high quality "true" beers using real hops and grains, rather than by using more easily-handled kits and powdered or liquid malt extracts. The author explains to beginners and experts alike a simple method of "mashing" for producing the finest flavoured beers, ales, stouts and lagers from all-grain ingredients, just like the professionals do. It is simply the most advanced and comprehensive book on the subject for the amateur. - The language of the brewer - Brewing quality beer - Commercial brewing - Equipment - Your first brew - Easy recipes - Systems of mashing and sparging - Real ingredients - Buying malt - Brewing process - Problems - Advanced recipes - The best book on "mashing" ever published! First published by Argus Books in 1985, this classic home brewing manual has been out of print in the UK for over a decade. During that period, enthusiasts and home brew shops have been importing the US edition in order to keep its essential wisdom alive within the hobby.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: G.W. Kent (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961907290
• ISBN-13: 978-0961907297
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,844,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be part of any brewing library!, August 16, 2004

By 

William Deans - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Book of Brewing (Paperback)

I read a rewiew on David Line's book, "Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy". I felt the rewiew was so wrong that I wrote the following:

Dave Line wrote two great books, "The Big Book of Brewing" and this book. This book was a recipe book, not a guide. It's great to see how he approached brewing each beer. I have been brewing full mash brewing since 1980. I usually brew bitter and pale ales. This book is a constant reference.

Other than the discontinued use of Sodium metabisulphite for sterilization, I'm not sure how "Homebrewing has evolved so much since then"?

His Big Book of Brewing was written in 1974 and the recipe book in 1978. The making great beer has not changed since then. The full mash process has been the same for hundreds of years.

Both books are great reference books and should be part of any brewing library.

4.0 out of 5 stars A must, but a bit dated, February 15, 2008

By 

Kuffermann (France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Book of Brewing (Paperback)

Please do not listen to the critic of the book who calls it "A sad Anachronism". Although there may be some truth to the title, the content of his critique is silly! Although I do not own one, Bruheat Boilers can indeed be bought!
This book is a must for every advanced homebrewer and contains a wealth of information, including things I didn't know and never read in other more modern brew books.
However, the book is by no means complete, uses methods and equipment which are out-dated and much more difficult than those used today AND is certainly not for the beginner! For the beginner, the best book I have come across is the Joy of Brewing by Papazian.
Granted the edition I recently bought was published in 1982, Dave Line was a true homebrew pioneer who should not be forgotten. This book should be taken from what it is and not followed to the letter (as Americans tend to do!) If you read carefully with a highlighter marker, you can come across some excellent information.

3.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, but a sad anachronism, June 13, 2007

By 

Brian Connors (Yarmouth, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Big Book of Brewing (Paperback)

The main problem with this book is that Dave Line died in 1978 and never had the chance to see it adopted as one of the early texts of homebrewing in both the UK and the US, so it has never been updated since its original 1974 release. That's a shame -- the technique is solid, and the brewing information, though somewhat UK-centric, is good.

That said, it's only a book for the historically-minded and the extremely patient. Much of the equipment described (polyethylene bulk-wine squares converted to fermenters, Bruheat boilers, and the like) are largely available in the UK only and are unavailable to the average US brewer, and the weights and measures are British Imperial measurements (i.e. 4.5L gallons and 20oz pints), so you'll need to pay very close attention to the conversion tables (unless, of course, [...].That said, the recipes represent what was fashionable in English pubs in the 1970s, and this was one of the first books to seriously approach the matter of full-mash brewing for the homebrewer, as well as issues like cask-conditioning.

If you're the sort of person who is into antiquarian recipes, this is a pretty good book to have around. However, if you're interested in Line's less dated work, check out Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy (which you should get anyway); it has the same measurement issues, but it is far less confined to its time than this book.