The Homebrewer's Answer Book (Answer Book (Storey)) [Perfect Paperback]

Ashton Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2007 | Series: Answer Book (Storey)

Homebrewing — what hobby could possibly be more rewarding than the one that, in a matter of weeks, yields fresh beer for the happy brewer? It's hard to beat that kind of payoff. Brewing beer is fun, but it's also a demanding process, requiring proper equipment, impeccable sanitation, a basic understanding of the chemical processes involved, and the patience to troubleshoot flavors and aromas that aren't quite right. No matter how experienced the beer maker, questions and problems can develop with every new batch of beer.Master brewer Ashton Lewis has seen and resolved hundreds of brewing problems and answered thousands of questions from amateur brewers as Brew Your Own magazine's Mr. Wizard. From simple queries on getting started (Are lagers and ales made differently?) to discussions on the niceties of foam (How can I improve head retention?), Lewis provides the answers that homebrewers need. His straightforward information gives readers the confidence to experiment with new ingredients, flavors, recipes, and styles.In a friendly question-and-answer format, Lewis explains the wonderful process of converting malt, hops, yeast, and water into beer. Covering the entire range of situations a homebrewer is likely to face, this handy, at-a-glance reference will maximize the flavor of every batch of brew.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Tap into All the Answers

Ashton Lewis, Brew Your Own magazine's popular "Mr. Wizard," supplies practical, easy-to-follow answers to the questions that bubble up frequently in the course of home-brewing. Fix the problems, understand the chemistry, and achieve the flavor and balance you want in all your craft beers with this essential reference to the magic of brewing.

About the Author

Ashton Lewis has answered over 300 questions as Mr. Wizard in Brew Your Own magazine, where he also serves as technical editor. Lewis has a master's degree in brewing science from the University of California–Davis and is the head brewer at Springfield Brewing Company in Missouri.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (July 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580176755
• ISBN-13: 978-1580176750
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Information, compact format, January 26, 2008

By 

John J. Palmer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Homebrewer's Answer Book (Answer Book (Storey)) (Perfect Paperback)

The Homebrewer's Answer book contains a lot of useful information in it's 400+ pages. The writer of the Ask Mr. Wizard column in Brew Your Own magazine has always provided well written, thoughtful replies to the questions he's received from all levels of brewers over the years, and these are collected in this book. Some of the questions are very basic, especially in the first couple sections, but there are a lot of very good questions from intermediate brewers in the later sections.

The only problem with the book is the format. It is small - a little shorter and wider than a standard paperback, which makes it difficult to hold and read. Perhaps the publisher thought that a pocket manual would be nifty. Unfortunately it tends to impede the readability.

Second, while the Questions are organized into several sections: Sanitation, Ingredients, Lagering, Packaging, Troubleshooting, Extract Brewing, All-grain Brewing, etc., there is no list of questions at the front of each section so that you can easily find Your question, and you therefore have to keep turning pages to find what you are looking for. Fortunately, the Questions are in bold, with seperators between questions, and there are several diagrams and sidebars to help illustrate the Answers. The index is well done too.

Bottom line: a good source of brewing information from a solid author, with an Issue, Consequences, and Resolution writing style, which I like. Perhaps the compact format won't be a problem for other readers. Get yourself some 3M Post-It Flags (tm) and this can indeed be a handy book.

John Palmer
author of How To Brew

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 100% Q&A From an Expert, September 29, 2008

By 

New England Yankee (Northern New England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Homebrewer's Answer Book (Answer Book (Storey)) (Perfect Paperback)

I picked this book up after a brief scan of the contents. Having read through it, what I really liked was Lewis' opinions. I.e., while there is plain-Jane factual content, many answers go beyond and touch on his preferences and rationales. He actually calls himself "ferociously opinionated" in one answer.

In the end that's what I'm really trying to get out of a book like this. Brewing can be approached in a paint-by-the-numbers fashion or more thoughtfully, with understanding and a full appreciation for the alternatives and creativity involved. Thoughtful answers and opinions from an expert support the latter. He simply refuses to buy into the notion you can scale recipes up and down in simple fashion, for example. Moreover, he offers tidbits of advice you won't find elsewhere, e.g., splitting a sample section of hose to look for cracks indicative of beerstone buildup, as one small example. Or his thoughts on sanitation, which offers both opinions and data I haven't seen elsewhere. Ditto filtration, yeast propagation, equipment, hot side aeration and a score of other topics.

So ... I find myself in agreement with John J. Palmer on this review - not a bad place to be! (John J. Palmer is author of one of the very best homebrewing books available: How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time) And I COMPLETELY disagree with another reviewer that this book amounts to "Brewing for Retards."

The only thing I don't like about this book is the format. It's a blocky, squarish, fat little book with cardboard covers of the type you find on children's books. I can't think of a single good reason why the publisher chose this format. My 4-star rating reflects the format, not the contents.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Answered alot of my questions that I had about brewing, May 10, 2010

By 

Dan Vander Weit - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Homebrewer's Answer Book (Answer Book (Storey)) (Perfect Paperback)

Being fairly new into homebrewing (about 8-10 batches), this had answered alot of my questions especially about hops, yeast, cleaning and off flavors. It is a good book because you can skip from chapter to chapter to read about the things that are most important to you or questions that you might have. I is a good book to read if you want to learn more about brewing and improve your beer. I know there are several books out there to read, I would recommend this one in your arsenal. A quick read and reference book.