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One book

rblevens

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If you had to buy only ONE book to explain how to advanced homebrew- semi pro... what would it be? Goes into depth about the different kinds of beers and how you brew them.
Includes yeast starting- grain and hop selections- advanced techniques- something waaaay past the plastic buckets.
-rick
 
The short answer is easy: "how to brew"  by John Palmer. There is nothing better.

My longer response is:

There is nothing advanced or not about the equipment used to brew.  Plastic buckets can be used to make every possible beer. The complexity of a beer is driven mostly by the fermentation regime.  Monitoring and controlling temperatures, using wild yeasts and bacteria, secondary and tertiary fermentation withoother ingredients(fruit , vegetables, etc), barrel aging, etc.

Second, an advanced or semi-pro brewer would never rely on a single book. There is no person whois an expert on eevery facet of brewing. Any brewer that fits that description will have several books, and probably severalbooks on each topic. 

Finally, becoming an "advanced" brewer is a process and a journey of experience.  Brewing lots and lots of beers. Making lots of mistakes and learning from everything.  Brewing the same beer over and over until it tastes the same every single time. Brewing experimental beers with only a single ingredient change... And comparing the results. Don thesame thing with the same rrecipe, but make a process change.  This experience can't be learned by reading. It is sensory training.

Even the most "complex" parts of brewing are pretty simple. It's having the innate understanding in your taste buds that really makes an advanced brewer.
 
As a restaurant owner, I own many cookbooks. I also have several books on cooking styles. But the best cook serving the best food will still fail.
Brewing semi pro the problems faced will not be the beers. The challenge will be controlling costs, schedules, deliveries, etc. My choice would be XL for Dummies.
 
Rusty Nails said:
As a restaurant owner, I own many cookbooks. I also have several books on cooking styles. But the best cook serving the best food will still fail.
Brewing semi pro the problems faced will not be the beers. The challenge will be controlling costs, schedules, deliveries, etc. My choice would be XL for Dummies.

For the issues facing a brewery owner... The 'going pro" series of brew strong would be a good resource. That show assumes the brewing is under control, and focuses on the business and licensing aspects of starting a brewery or brewpub.

 
I Like Noonan's lager book best out of the ones I've read. It seems to delve deeper than what passes for beer books today.
 
Have to agree with having a copy of Palmer's book.  There is a ton of technical information in there for those who really want to delve deep.
 
Great answers! I knew it would be an interesting question... nothing beats experience...
I learned over the years that there are things to worry about and other things to gloss over... the art is knowing which one is which! I will go on Amazon and check these books!
:)
 
Ok, now you've changed the rules. You said books, plural. Before you wantedjjust one.

In order:

How to brew
Brewing classic styles
Yeast
Designing great beers
Brew like a monk
Hops

 
Sorry about changing the rules- didn't mean it- no, great list- time to go to Amazon.
I love to read!
Think about all the beer brewed around the world with no direct communications between different folks!
-rick
 
rblevens said:
Sorry about changing the rules- didn't mean it- no, great list- time to go to Amazon.
I love to read!

And the mash wait and boil wait gives some great reading time!
 
Given those parameters, Brewing Better Beer... http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2011/06/homebrewers-library-brewing-better-beer.html
 
One nice thing about How To Brew is every time I read it or look up something, I learn something new I totally glossed over the first time. 

You can spend a lot of time in a single chapter like water chemistry or mashing or whatever.  Then BCS for style info and Brew Like a Belgian if you like Belgian beer.
 
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