Customer Reviews

Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wild Brews covers those beer styles of Belgium that depend upon fermentation by wild yeast and bacteria, specifically East Flanders brown, West Flanders red and lambic. Although you may be under the impression, as I was, that a lambic brew could occur only in the Brussels and Payottenland areas and inside cobweb infested barns with leaky roofs, Sparrow contends that wild yeast can occur anywhere. It is the cultivation and control of the right microorganisms that create a quality brew.

The book looks at the history, brewers and brews of the area and includes many photographs, but of particular interest to advanced brewers are the sections on the nature of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Saccharomyces and other microorganisms that ferment and acidify wild beers. Temperatures and other environmental factors can enhance or inhibit their activity.

An infusion mash is commonly used for Flanders red and Flanders brown and a turbid mash for lambic. The methods are detailed in the book, plus specifics on how to control the fermentation process to balance the yeasts and bacteria by allowing dominant stages and adjusting temperatures. The addition of fruit would amplify the complication. This is not a book for a beginning home brewer.

Brewers will find it nearly impossible to copy a style because of the unpredictability of wild yeasts and bacteria. Two brewers using the same recipe are likely to come up with brews quite different. Wild brews are often blended to change the character of a beer or achieve consistency. Blending is an art that requires trial and error to learn.

Sparrow provides ten recipes, including options to experiment with the brews at different stages. The recipes and information in this book provide a wonderful challenge to create a unique brew while aspiring to the standards set by the Belgium brewers.

As the title suggests, this book deals with the history and manufacturing techniques related to sponteneously fermented beers (lambic, gueze). It shows a very different perspective on what is "beer" from that of modern America where Budweiser dominates. Similar to "Farmhouse Ales", this book explores how culture and geography combined in the creation of these beers. It also deals with how modern attitudes are challenging the continuation of some of the methods. It seems odd that after 500 years someone would decide that a production method is "unsanitary".

This raises a great point. If the reader is like me, much of the methodology described in this book will seem like an unclean heresy compared to the dogma that new homebrewers are indoctrinated with. Which, to me, makes it fascinating. For the majority of American homebrewers this book will open a whole new world.

The book does a good job of describing the history, culture, biology, and methods that create "wild brews". Equipment and techniques are thoroughly described. In fact, this book inspired me to give barrel aging a try. It worked! At times the text does seem to wander and bog down (the reason for four stars instead of five). The author also falls into the "malt-extract beers are not as good as all grain" mantra. I see this a an annoying elitist attitude with little basis in fact. As Tess and Mark Szamatulski point out: "Award winning beers have been, and continue to be brewed with malt extract." Let each brewer choose the method that best suits them.

To sum up: The good points of this book far out weigh its negatives. This book provides a fascinating and inspiring look into a world of beer that barely exists for most North Americans. If you are a homebrewer who enjoys experimenting it will provide you with many avenues of exploration and hours of enjoyment.

This is one of a series of books about Belgian beer that takes a look at style that seems to have survived from the past. Wild brews is a discussion of beers that are fermented with wild yeasts and with (gasp!) bacteria.

Most beer lovers have had an encounter with these beers: they are shocking, original and-to our tastes-most unbeerlike. They tend to be either distinctly sour or sweet and sour. Their effect in the mouth is thirst-quenching in the manner of a tart lemonade and they are often surprisingly aromatic.

Jeff Sparrow has provided an introduction to the history and brewing techniques of these beers that seems to grow out of a deep knowledge of the biochemistry involved and a major involvement in the Belgian brewing community. As a beer-lover, I find this book to be a revelation and it has led me back to some beers that I haven't tasted in years.
As a brewer, it scares the daylights out of me. Letting organisms like pediococcus and brettanomyces loose in your brewhouse or kitchen is risky. Outcomes with these organisms are always uncertain and aging can involve super-attenuation and unusual mouth-feel.
However.
The wild beer tradition is one of blending, and I can't help but think that a growler of my farmhouse ale could stand to be cut with a bottle of, let's say a lambic. Hmmm.


Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANGBang Bang

I've noticed that most beer books on Amazon have almost all 5 star reviews. This makes sense in some ways, since everyone loves beer and there aren't many brewing books - so we really appreciate the people that take the time to write these books!
But I do think that some beer books can be better than others, and don't always deserve an automatic 5 stars. This one was a disappointment for me.

It's a very dry read - it's a struggle to get through cover to cover. You'd think beer would be an easy topic to make for exciting and animated literature, but the author in this case has a very dry, biographical writing style. When I compare this book to The Brewmaster's Table with Garrett Oliver's animated writing style and constant humor, it's like night and day. And it's not only that book - compared to Brew Like a Monk, this is a very difficult book to get through.

I realize wild brews are a difficult topic, but that doesn't mean that useful information cannot be delivered in an expedient fashion - I learned more of value from the Brewing Network's three radio podcasts on lambics + Flanders ales than I did from this book.

The first half of the book contains very detailed histories of various traditional Belgian breweries and their wild ale processes. These are useful if you want to study up on specific beers I suppose, but not very useful if you want to learn general techniques with wild ales - the author even says himself that it's somewhat pointless to try to clone classic Belgian wild ales because there's so much random variation.

Also, it really could have used a good editor to give it better organizational structure. It just jumps around all over the place constantly.

That being said, the book is still useful as a reference - it contains some useful charts and tables - and anyone who is really serious and dedicated to getting into wild ales should get it. However keep in mind even some of the data is somewhat dated at this point - he discourages use of plastic fermenters because Better Bottles didn't exist when he published - yet I know many people who successfully use Better Bottles for wild ales.

Amazingly easily to read I assumed this was going to be a technical manual on how to brew sour beers. It is, but between the technical is the history of the regions these styles come from. If you are interested in brewing your own sour beers, or improving your process this is very valuable.

I understood the basic styles of belgian beer before, but not the specific details of the styles, particularly the wild fermented beers.My one and only lambic was brewed in 2000.I drank the last bottle in 2007. A great beer with 7 years maturation.This book has spurred me on to brew more wild brews with greater control of targeted styles.Many thanks for a great book. Still have brew like a monk, farmhouse ales and extreme brewing to read. Just started Brew like a monk.Most informative and well written. Thanks,
Andy in Western Australia

This book was loaded with good historical pieces that I doubt could be found elsewhere. It is not a casual book however, only for those with a deep interest in Belgian brewing. The text tends to wind around a bit, but is well worth following.

This is a great book for those interested in brewing out of the ordinary beers. I have brewed several beers using information in the book over the years and finally bought my own copy to read cover to cover. If you are a home brewer this is a must for your library.

Mr. Sparrow gets right to the point. If you want to know about Belgian brewing on the wild side, there is no better place to be educated than this text.
His perspective is definitely that of a brewer, but also of wild fermentation fanatic and scholar. Technical and advanced information is available, but is kept to a minimum.
I was very interested in this style of brewing, and gobbled it all up.

Absolute neccessity for the homebrewer looking to try their hand brewing tradtional Belgian-style beers. A wonderful book for anyone that simply appreciates Belgian-style beers.