The Brewers' Handbook [Paperback]

Ted Goldammer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

Whether you're a professional brewer, a homebrewer, or a beer buff who wants to know more about beer, The Brewers' Handbook is a comprehensive introduction on the art and science of brewing beer. This easy-to-read book is a practical, step-by-step guide that covers it all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Let me congratulate you on a fine chapter [Hops]. I think you have captured the essence of hops in a concise and complete way which will be very useful to the reader. The content is generally accurate and sufficiently describes the subject." -- Dave Hysert, President of John I. Haas, Inc.

"My general feeling on this chapter [Cleaning and Sanitation] is that you have compiled a large amount of important and useful information." -- L. Charles Landman, Jr., Ph.D., R.S., General Manger of National Chemicals, Inc.

"You've [Goldammer] done a very thorough job in discussing every major aspect of the brewing process making it one of the most comprehensive works [The Brewers' Handbook] ever published on the subject. I especially liked the chapter on beer styles, it was concise, well-referenced, and a joy to read." -- Tom Brady, Vintner and President of Tierra Rosa Vineyards in Arizona

From the Author

In the past two decades we have witnessed unprecedented changes in the U.S. beer industry. The emergence of craft brewers and consumers newfound appreciation for quality beer have resulted in what is often called the "Craft Beer Renaissance." Beer has taken on a new excitement and relevancy to the average person. It is no longer thought of only in the context of large commercial brewers with their mass-marketed beers. The marked increase in the number of brew pubs and microbreweries and the burgeoning growth in the number of home brewers indicate how deeply brewing beer has captured the popular imagination.

The Brewers Handbook is intended to provide an introduction to brewing beer, and to give a balanced, reasonably detailed account of every major aspect of the brewing process. This book not only discusses brewing beer on a large-scale commercial basis, it has made every effort to address brewing practices typically used by craft brewers. Thus its applicability extends to home brewers and to individuals working in the brewing industry and related fields.It is written in a language that can be easily understood by anyone not having a background in brewing beer. However, the material is not so elementary that it insults your intelligence, nor is it so difficult that its makes you lose interest in the subject. Clarity is the touchstone that has been employed throughout this book.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Apex Pub (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967521203
• ISBN-13: 978-0967521206
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,577,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for my classes, July 4, 2005

By 

J. Murphy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Brewers' Handbook (Paperback)

I am currently studying to take the GCBP certificate from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling(IBD), and this book is an awesome resource for studying difficult to comprehend sections. The book matches the syllabus very well.........As far as the homebrewer is concerned there are a few useful sections (Beer Spoilage Organisms, Wortboiling, and a few others) but this book is written to mainly cater to the professional (or aspiring to be professional) brewer. This to me is nice because most of the books I have found are written geared to the home (5-15 gal) brewer.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Many Better Alternatives Available, February 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Brewers' Handbook (Paperback)

As a member of the brewing industry, I find this book it to be full of inaccuracies, both technical and historical. What remains is muddled by poor writing including imprecise use of language and overly broad generalizations. After reading Papazian, homebrewers (and even beginning commercial brewers) would be well advised to read the classic titles by Gregg Noonan and David Miller. Professional brewers should purchase Kunze, the Hough, Briggs, Stevens & Young volumes and the MBAA titles.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of Better Books Out there - Desperately needs updating., December 26, 2006

By 

Paul Charlesworth (Houghton, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Brewers' Handbook (Paperback)

I requested this book for Christmas based on the reviews and that a LHBS said it was at a technical level for someone with a chemistry degree. The book also describes itself a a complete book. Neither of these statements are true. This book should be described as an overview of brewing and the brewing industry.
Homebrewers will get a lot more information from books by John Palmer, Ray Daniels, and Charlie Papazian if you are a beginner. Although I was disappointed to find Greg Noonan's book was not about lager, it provides a lot more detail than this book.

Possibly the biggest problem is that it is out of date and is in desperate need of updating with the latest hops, grains, extracts, yeasts, equipment techniques, and so on.

In my opinion, there are no brewing books that could be considered complete, and this is as far from complete as I feel it could be.