Customer Reviews

The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this book when I first began homebrewing about 7 years ago. I found it was very easy to read and Charlie's "Don't worry, have a homebrew!" attitude towards beer brewing took the fear out of brewing my first few batches of beer. His carefree approach is a "180" from Dave Miller's approach. I would actually suggest to a novice, if the cash is available, that you purchase and read both Papazian and Miller's books thoroughly before staring your first batch of beer. All the information may not sink in at first, but it only takes a few batches of beer and everything will make sense. They both contain good points on brewing your first beer.

I would like to point out one step in Papazian's book that should be avoided at all levels of brewing, and that is, the aeration of the wort when it's hot. Please keep this in mind as you read this book. It will make sense after you read the first section for beginners. Papazian suggests, for simplicity sake, that you pour the 3 gallons of hot wort from your brew pot into a container that already contains 2 gallons of cold water. This is not a good practice at any level of brewing. Aeration of the wort is a two way street. Although necessary for the proper yeast life cycle necessary for the conversion of the sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide, If you aerate the wort when it's too hot, or after the beer has began fermenting (which Charlie does warn you about), you could ruin your finished product. If you read the later chapters in the book, you'll find reference to wort chillers and chilling the wort quickly.

Most books written to date suggest that you cool the beer to below 80 degrees F before aerating. This is what I practice, as do most of the other homebrewers that I keep in touch with. You don't have to buy an expensive copper or stainless steel wort chiller to accomplish this quick cooling of the wort. All you need is a bathtub filled with cold water. You can take your brewing pot straight from the stove to the tub and simply submerge it in the water for a few minutes (remember to keep the pot covered!). Hope this helps out, happy homebrewing. Also, you can get some very good info at the following site; www.skotrat.com. This is a private homebrewing site which contains lots of good info on homebrewing. Also, there is a live chat room there where you can ask questions and get some free technical info on starting your first brew.

When you first feel the desire to brew beer, and start looking into the process, it can seem pretty formidable. Walking into the homebrew store or visiting its website, and seeing all the ingredients and equipment, can be intimidating for the newcomer. Turning to the web, magazines and books for enlightenment, the first-timer can be intimidated by the sheer volume of brewing information floating around. Rather than throwing your hands up in confusion and walking away, buy this book.

Papazian's motto is "Relax, don't worry--have a homebrew!" Rather than getting bogged down in the details of making perfect, contest-winning beers, Papazian focuses on the basic steps a homebrewer has to follow to make good beer. You can make something tasty and enjoyable with minimal equipment, malt extract and part of a weekend afternoon, and Papazian holds the brewer's hand through the entire process. Once you've nailed the basics--and it's not hard--the last part of the book teaches you how to advance to intermediate brewing without much additional hassle.

Experienced brewers may find this book too basic for their needs. Beginning and intermediate brewers will find it invaluable.

I have a whopping 2.5 gals of surprisingly good brew in my logbook (that makes me a rank beginner, folks!). I bought this book because I wanted to improve my techniques and make better (but not necessarily more complex) beers. This book never let me down - it has everything and seems best suited for the beginner to novice brewers (because 99% of intermediate to advanced brewers have already read it!). This book is divided into 3 sections - beginner (all extract), intermediate (extract plus specialty grains), and advnced (all-grain). However, this doesn't completely describe the layout of the book. For instance, Papazian talks about brewing techniques and components of beer (and how they interact) in EACH section, but he delves deeper and deeper with each progressive section. Thus, he unravels the mysteries of beer at a comfortable pace and only to the degree to which the reader cares to explore. But perhaps the thing that makes Papazian's books so beloved by homebrewers is the perfect balance between technique and fun! Even when describing the most technical subject, Papazian never disguises his enthusiasm for and love of homebrewing. He never forgets to remind his readers to ENJOY what they're doing - no matter how technical it may be (oh, and Papazian is exceptionally knowledgeable about homebrewing). Papazian's enthusiasm has rubbed off on me and has ignited my curiosity. I recommend this book to ALL homebrewers who have not already read it. To those who are curious about homebrewing, look no further - BUY THIS BOOK! It's worth it. This is nearly unanimously THE best general treatise on the FUN of homebrewing! Try some of the recipes he includes - I did!

Relax... Don't Worry... Have a Homebrew!

After getting the desire to homebrew, and spending countless hours in the library reading various different books on homebrewing, I was becoming frustrated with the lack of information available . . .

Then I stumbled across this book in a homebrew shop. It was EXACTLY what I needed as a first time homebrewer. I had no one to show me how to do it, but this book proved to be an excellent guide. It is a fun book to read, helps you to understand all the basics, and gives you more in-depth information later on if you want it.

This book provided me with everything I needed in a simple-to-understand format, and answered all my questions. I've been brewing for 10 years now, and never needed to buy another homebrew instruction book. It even contains a good number of recipes from many different styles, and I've never found one I didn't like.

I started the home brewing hobby with Charlie's books and tried switching to Dave Miller's upon a friends recommendation. I'm now back to rereading the Papazian books that I have in my library. I think both authors are great in there own way, but Charlie by far is the more entertaining author of the two. I also feel that Charlie assumes nothing, meaning he explains everything in great detail. In reading Dave Miller's books, I sometimes got the feeling that he was assuming I already knew how to propagate yeast properly, or how crush grains to get the maximum yield out of them and so on.

I also felt as though Miller's books lacked detail in certain areas and could have benefited from more information and pictures as well. Papazian does sometimes recommend bad habit forming advise in the early chapters of this book in the sack of keeping it simple, but later corrects himself leaving the choice up to the reader. I think this book is a "must have" for a beginning home brewer. Advanced home brewers, whether all grain or partial mash, may also find Charlie's writing entertaining and informative (just skip the first few chapters, because some of his recommendations may make the advanced brewer cringe!).

The later chapters in this book have very good information on all aspects of brewing, from aeration to yeast propagation. I would recommend this book to anyone that doesn't have a copy of it in their home brewing library.

I got this book as part of a homebrewing kit a year ago. It is probably the best beginners book out there for brewing beer at home. From the step by step instructions for making your very first brew to the many recipes for different beer styles and even a chapter on growing your own hops. This is the A-Z homebrew bible.

The theme: "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Hombrew!"

...and that is the essence of this book. The experienced brewer knows that homebrewing involves strict attention to detail, especially in the area of sanitation, and it can be easy to forget as you go through the process again and again that the _real_ purpose of brewing is to have fun. It's a scientific process, but the bottom line is to enjoy the experience from beginning to end and that is what this book is all about.

For those who have always wanted to try homebrewing, but thought it would be too difficult or too expensive or too whatever... Get this book and start brewing. You'll be glad you did!

This is the best beer book around for beginners. We made our first 5 gallons of Indian Pale Ale using this book. It was the very first time we made any type of beer. We expected to dump it all when we tasted it. But low and behold..we got 30 bottles (after spillage) of the best home brew we ever tasted. Well worth the money.

This book was one of the first things I bought when I started homebrewing. It was recommended to me as the best book for beginners. I agree totally. It's a must have for experienced brewers as well. The simple step by step instructions make it seem "Fool Proof." The book is good for reading straight through or searching for a specific answer when your in the midst of brewing a batch of beer. I found the section on kegging procedures and equipment helpful. There are also chapters of this books that focus on specific topics such as: Hops, Water, Yeast, Fermentation, and Sanitation. There are also chapters on intermidiate techniques and advamnced recipe theory as well. This is not the ONLY brewing book you should own, but I think it's the best one currently out there.

If you want to get started in homebrewing and lay a solid foundation for success, this is the absolute must have book in the genre. Read it. Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew. Papazian will have you sipping some mighty fine brews in no time at all and will take you from an easy beginning to advanced technique. I have read the rest. This is the best.

I've been brewing my own beer for over seven years now, and TNCJOHB was the first homebrew book I ever bought. It's still the one I refer to most often. Why? First, Papazian makes homebrewing simple and non-threatening. Second, he encourages experimentation. Lastly, his enthusiasm for this great hobby is unrelenting. Admittedly, the book is in need of some serious updating. From the 1970's illustrations to the more easily accessible ingredients (like liquid yeast and fresh hops that were hard to come by when the book was first written). It's too bad that he didn't spend his time improving *this* book instead of publishing his abysmal "Home Brewer's Companion." But TNCJOHB makes you want to try homebrewing. And, as he shows you through extensive and easy recipes, you can make virtually any kind of beer you want and make them very well. After awhile, you may find you don't use it every time you brew, but now and again you'll still go back to it. Maybe for an idea. Maybe to tinker with a new recipe. But I doubt you'll ever throw it out.