Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great-Tasting Beer (Paperback)

by David G. Miller (Author)
Key Phrases: single infusion mash, counterflow wort coolers, wort spoilers, Brewer's Specifics Original, Use British, Northern Brewer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
While authors of entry-level brewing books do well to alleviate the fears of anxious new brewers, advanced writers benefit from a pointedly informative approach. Dave Miller's dry, technically versed style has earned him widespread respect through his own publications as well as his work with Brewing Techniques, the first-rate magazine for small-scale brewers. Really an update to his classic Complete Handbook of Home Brewing, Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide is clear enough to introduce advanced techniques to the average home-brewer, yet thorough enough to provide a permanent reference for the expert.

Miller manages to improve upon his earlier book--itself one of the finest advanced brewing books available--by updating and better organizing the information. While the Homebrewing Guide does provide a cursory introduction to basic brewing techniques and a sampling of supplementary topics (kegging, filtration), its real value is in the thoroughness and clarity with which all-grain brewing is described. Grain mashing, for instance, is discussed in three different chapters: a summary of various mashing techniques, a description of the underlying biochemistry, and a step-by-step description of the mashing process. By compartmentalizing the information into short chapters and carefully organizing their sequence, Miller creates a guide that can be read straight through as an initiation to advanced brewing or easily referenced for specific information on brew day. --Todd Gehman

From Publishers Weekly
In A Taste for Beer, coming from Storey in October, Stephen Beaumont provides a concise, entertaining overview of the world of beer: styles, flavors, food combinations, recipes?as he puts it: "the many ways in which beer may contribute to the quality of your life." ($14.95 paper, 192p ISBN 0-88266-907-9) After you're familiar with all the options, you may want to consider making your own: in Home Brew, coming in October from Lyons & Burford, Philip Ward introduces the various beers and provides simple instructions for brewing your own: equipment and supplies needed, how to set up your own brewery, recipes, resource lists and more. ($12.95 paper 160p, ISBN 1-55821-315-5) Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great-Tasting Beer, also from Storey in October is a comprehensive reference to the entire brewing process, with charts, tables and illustrations. Miller, an experienced brewmaster, devotes each chapter to covering a topic in depth, with full detail on the latest techniques. ($14.95 paper, 368p ISBN 0-88266-905-2)
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882669052
• ISBN-13: 978-0882669052
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,418 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, but not always easy to read., December 14, 2000

By	John P. Stamper "A Searcher" (Central Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I liked this book very much and learned a lot from it, but I think it could use some editing and revision. The book seems to hop from one thing to the next with no clear structure and even repeats itself a few times. It also lacks all of the great illustrations that good brew books are usually filled with. Granted, this is not really a beginners brew book, but nonetheless, I wish it had been edited more clearly. However, I will not criticize the information that dave offers the homebrewer. He is certainly an expert and gives the reader much detail in each aspect of brewing. This is a great book for the partial mash or extract brewer out there who wants to move into all grain brewing... or if you're the kind of guy that needs to add another brew book to your shelves, go ahead and get this one. You'll learn a thing or two no matter how long you've been brewing.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, but repetitive, July 20, 2002

By	Glen Martin "the rev" (San Carlos, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book contains a lot of good info, which I've found to be both interesting and useful as I get back into brewing after a break of a few years. I have Papazian also, and of the two books, I pick this one up more often, and find what I'm looking for more easily.

Despite the comments of some other reviewers, one doesn't need to be an all-grain brewer to find this book useful. I'm creating my own recipes using extracts and specialty grains, and find this book to be very helpful.

However, Miller is pretty repetitive. It is only a slight exaggeration that there are 3 chapters on each topic: on each on theory, equipment and method. I find that there is a moderate degree of repetition of material across these chapters. A consolidation of each topic into 1 chapter could well result in a 1/3 reduction in pages for the book.

I'll echo another reviewer, who commented negatively on the recipes towards the back. They are really just lists of ingredients, without discussion on method (eg. mash temperatures) or variables.

Having made these mild complaints, I'll go on picking this book up every day or so as I think about what to do for my next brew.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very heavy book., April 1, 2002

By	Peter L. Berghold "The Blue Cowdawg, Internet... (Tinton Falls, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is for the homebrewer that doesn't just accept that brewing works because it does. David Miller gets into some pretty heavy theory in this book and if you can keep up him you'll learn a hell of a lot.

There are many pages dedicated to the organic chemistry surrounding the brewing process. There are plenty of other pages that explain things a bit simpler.

Good book overall.