What beer books have you read?

Okay, I changed my mind. Here's a pic.

Shakespeare's Pub was a tough read, but would be better if you're into London's history. Brewing Up A Business was also difficult, but I wasn't reading it from the learning point of view as much as the entertainment that I hoped to get from it (which just wasn't there). B is for Beer wasn't much of a read either. I should pitch it but I hate throwing books away.

 

Things I gave to the borrowing library at work:
Complete Joy of Homebrewing (3rd Edition)- Papazian
Microbrewed Adventures- Papazian
The Brewmaster's Bible- Snyder
The Craft Beer Bites Cookbook- Dodd
Beer: A Guide to the World's Best Breweries and Beers- Derrick
The Brewer's Companion- Mosher
He Said Beer, She Said Wine- Old & Calagione


Probably some others that folks took home and never returned. These are all books that I had read through and don't reference anymore. (I only give away books once I'm 99.8% sure I'll never pick them up again.) I'll have a list of books that I still have at home once I get there.

Papazian's works are pretty outdated at this point, but they're enjoyable, and "RDWHAHB" will stand the test of time

I have a couple of other Mosher books at home, but that one offers nothing to me anymore.

The Snyder book was bought on a whim years and years ago, and didn't offer much for me then, as it was already outdated.

Dodd was a gift, and didn't offer me anything. Nice thought from the giver, though.

Derrick was part of a gift pack with some tasting glasses, bottle opener, and coasters. Nice thought from the giver as well, but the booklet offered me nothing.

Old & Calagione was a good book for a decade ago, and helped me think about pairing beer, but with how much the industry has developed, and the recognition that craft beer has gained, very outdated at this point.

 

I will say that after reading Scott Janish' Book, The New IPA, I've made my best NEIPA to date. I haven't read the others but I'm on the 2nd read through. Definitely one of my favorites.

 

A couple of oddballs in my collection in addition to the usual suspects.

Sacred Herbal and Healing Beers - The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation, Stephen Harold Buhner. and it is about as offbeat and strange as it sounds, but oddly entertaining.

Historical Brewing Techniques - Lars Marius Garshol. I love his blog and the book is an extension of that. It does get a bit repetitive bemoaning the death of the true farmhouse ale, but then it goes deep into techniques that are genuine anthropology and handed down generationally. Interesting, and shows that beer can be and has been brewed in all sorts of ways with necessity often being the mother of invention.

 

I have read a lot of them, most mentioned here. But every time one of these threads surface I feel the need to pump the book:
The Perfect Keg: Sowing, Scything, Malting and Brewing My Way to the Best-Ever Pint of Beer. This is a good, easy, humorous read on someone attempting to brew a beer from scratch, growing his own hops, barley (malting it), and harvesting his own yeast. Nice read. I will also throw profs to Em Sauter's book mentioned by @beer_beer. She is a great illustrationist and is also doing drawings of the Cicerone Syllabus, you can follow here on twitter or check out her site https://www.pintsandpanels.com/

 

I read a ton of literary fiction, so I haven't read all the stuff mentioned in the thread. The Michael Jackson books and just a few others are an exception for me.

This is an interesting fiction novel though, The Lager Queen of Minnesota

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42203363-the-lager-queen-of-minnesota

If we are getting into fiction, I would add...

Under The Volcano, Malcolm Lowery (Two of my favorite bars in Houston are The Ginger Man and Under The Volcano by the way ha)
Smile, Roddy Doyle.
I also have Roddy Doyle's new book Love, but I haven't read it yet. Apparently takes place entirely in an Irish pub with the two protagonists having a conversation, drinking Guinness. Sounds like the perfect novel for me to read for St. Patrick's Day next year (I always collect books by Irish writers for that time of year).

 

At home, no particular order:

Brewing Better Beer- Strong
Brewing Classic Styles- Zainasheff & Palmer
Farmhouse Ales- Markowski
A Taste for Beer- Beaumont
Porter- Foster
American Sour Beers- Tonsmiere
Ultimate Beer- Jackson
The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer- Pattinson
Michigan Breweries- Stockpole & Brooks
Wild Brews- Sparrow
The Brewmaster's Table- Oliver
Richmond Beers- Morris & Johnson
Beers of the World- Delos
Extreme Brewing- Calagione
Tasting Beer- Mosher
Radical Brewing- Mosher
Experimental Homebrewing- Beechum & Conn
Brew Like a Monk- Hieronymus
Brewing with Wheat- Hieronymus
For the Love of Hops- Hieronymus
IPA- Steele
Designing Great Beer- Daniels
Fermenting Revolution- O'Brien
Cooking with Beer at 't Hommelhof- Couttenye
Cheese & Beer- Fletcher

I think that's it

 

Only beer book I own is Charlie Papazian homebrewing book. I remember that thing being like a bible to me for a few years.

I’ve been meaning to look for a good history of German beer book. I think the history of beer in Europe would be cool to read about. Here too, but I’m interested in how much it evolved and what stayed the same there over the centuries.

 

Well the price is right if you have a a kindle or especially if you are a prime member. John Palmer's book (How To Brew link that I posted above) doesn't have any NA discussion, but if the DIY book leaves you with brewing procedural questions, fall back to Palmer's book for basic brewing theory and steps.

 

I like this one
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Beer-Course-Tasting-Classes/dp/1402797672

Not real technical but fun to read and informative

 

Ambitious Brew - Ogle
The Bucket List: Beer - Kennedy
The Ale Trail - Protz
Beer Bible - Alworth (in progress)
God and Guinness - Mansfield

 

I am surprised that has been no mention of Josh Bernstein. He has a couple of really good ones.
With his most recent book Drink Better Beer probably his best.
Josh Noel's Barrel Aged Stout and Selling Out is great as well. I also really enjoyed The Brewer's Tale by William Bostwick.

*Edit, I see @BeerGeekExtraordinaire beat me to it*

 

I really liked Barrel Aged Stout..... That book is the reason I basically only get BCBS from Goose Island

 

Fond of this one

 

Because beer is not static I find myself drawn to magazines rather than books. They tend to stay up to date, my favorite being craft beer and brewing. They cover a lot of material and are not simply single faceted on one aspect of the industry. I also enjoy zymurgy.