Beer Books: Recommended Reading?

Any book by Michael Jackson
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher
Travels with Barley by Ken Wells. It's about American beer culture.
Beer Blast by Philip Van Munching. Written by an insider it's about the beer business.

 

I was given as a gift Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher (https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-2nd-Insiders-Greatest/dp/1612127770) and found it a very good book.
It describes history, tasting notes, beer styles, pairing, glassware, pretty much everything, good amount of details too.
Not sure what happened with the new edition, but probably caught up with the new trends in beer I guess

 

Can't think of a better place to start, especially his earlier works/editions.

 

If you think you might get into homebrewing I'll recommend How To Brew by John Palmer. Even if you don't think that you'll homebrew it would give you great insight about how beer is brewed.

I picked up a copy of Total Guide to Beer from a Total Wine store, and I was impressed with the amount of information inside that FREE 200 page booklet. If you have a Total Wine store nearby, go get one of those.

 

Charlie Papazian's books on homebrewing were how I learned

 

Lot's of good info here

Vintage Beer: A Taster's Guide to Brews That Improve over Time Paperback – March 11, 2014
https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Beer-Tasters-Guide-Improve/dp/161212156X

 

“…also seeking out an in-depth book on a variety of topics. Brew history, styles, barrel aging and blending, etc.”

If you are truly looking for “in-depth” on a variety of topics the book you want is The Oxford Companion to Beer which was edited by Garrett Oliver. It is essentially an encyclopedia on beer with over 800 pages.

Cheers!

 

For me an important part of my beer journey has also been understanding beer and food.

Garret Oliver's Brewmster's Table is an excellent place to begin.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_11?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=brewmasters+table&sprefix=brewmasters,aps,136&crid=175VBRL4FDTLP

Then for dealing with the similarities and differences between pairing beer and wine with food the Calgaione Olds book is a great read because both authors have lots of the right credentials.

https://www.amazon.com/Said-Beer-Sh...8&qid=1494865411&sr=8-1&keywords=beer+he+said

Enjoy your journey!

 

"Evaluating Beer" from Brewers Publications, and to echo Mothergoose03, if you're thinking about trying your hand at brewing (and I think you should), "Brewing Lager Beer" by Greg Noonan.

 

Definitely pick up tasting beer, it's a must read. I'd also say brewmasters table, and if you're ordering online add vintage beer, my copy was under $4 on Amazon and is worth looking at.

 

The new edition featured science updates, new beer trends, corrections, a rewritten chapter on beer and food pairings, etc.

 

The audacity of hops
https://www.amazon.com/Audacity-Hops-History-Americas-Revolution/dp/1613743882

 

Ron Pattinson ( @patto1ro ) has written many books based on research of tens of thousands of brewing records over the last 200 or more years.
Too many books from other writers have been written without the benefits of thorough research and simply regurgitate material from other literature : even the Oxford Guide contained some utter garbage because of this.

 

Is the new edition that different from the original? I was wondering if it's worth upgrading for $15.

 

I don't have either edition, but Randy Mosher mentioned the items in my post in an interview and I thought I'd pass on the info.

 

Craft Beer and Brewing magazine is pretty rad. Each issue highlights a specific style, has tasting notes of several examples, goes into homebrewing, and highlights different brewers and beer centric cities. Its not a book, but it's a favorite read for me.

 

The reading can be dry, I have read most of the technical books as part of my head first immersion into this hobby. But I have to say you need to step back every now and then and get some perspective. The Perfect Keg is a pretty good read. It is basically about a guy who grew/malted his own barley, grew hops (I think, or got them from someone who lived by him) and used a bastardized version of a sourdough starter he purposely contaminated with wild yeast close to his house. Good read

 

Wow! The 'Mass Market' price on that book must include a keg of the beer. The book looks like a good read, so I'm going to order a copy. (The version without the keg.)