Hi folks! My dad's a homebrewer too, and I'm wondering about getting him a new recipe book for Christmas. Has anyone got any particular favourites? He brews all-grain, he generally brews classic British, European and American styles, but not so much pastry stout, hazies, fruit beers, mixed ferm etc. I think he'd generally be happier with a fairly book of recipes rather than something more philosophical or technique or ingredient based. He's already got Clone Brews, Brew Like a Monk, Homebrewers Guide to Vintage Beer and Greg Hughes' Home Brew Beer. I'm trying to find out whether he's already got a copy of Brewing Classic Styles, but something like that would be the right ballpark. Thanks in advance!
That was the book that first popped in my mind. It is unfortunately a bit dated (e.g., no recipe for a NEIPA as one example) but it provides very good background information on the beer styles it addresses. I tend to use it as a source of information to construct beer recipes vs. brewing exactly per the recipe provided. Hopefully other BAs will provide some suggestions for other books. Cheers!
If he already has "Brewing Classic Styles," the only one that comes to mind is "Designing Great Beers," although it's really more of a "how to design your own recipes" book rather than a recipe book per se, and you mentioned not wanting technique or "ingredient based," though I'm not sure how to make a recipe design book that's not ingredient based. One thing I would recommend avoiding is Gordon Strong's book. Not because he doesn't know what he's talking about (he generally does), but because he uses specialized mashing techniques (dark grain mash capping/vorlauf) that render his recipes more or less useless as is, unless you're willing to adopt his process.
Are you familiar with Ron Pattinson? He posts on this forum and has many books with old recipes taken right from the original brewing log. If your dad is into both beer and history, you can’t go wrong. https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brewers-Guide-Vintage-Beer/dp/1631593641
It is not a recipe book but there is a new book (published by CAMRA I believe) out: The Modern Homebrewer by Andy Parker and Jamil Zainasheff. I am not familiar with Andy Parker but I am a fan of the writings by Jamil Zainasheff (books and numerous articles). Something to consider for a present. Cheers! https://shop1.camra.org.uk/product/the-modern-homebrewer/
If that's the one by Tess and Mark Szamatulski, there are two editions, both available on Amazon. First edition has 150 recipes and the second has 200. I'm guessing the 150 are common to both books, but that's just a guess. The Brew Your Own Big Book of Clone Recipes has 300. https://www.amazon.com/Brew-Your-Book-Clone-Recipes/dp/0760357862 If he's not averse to online stuff, maybe he'd enjoy a digital subscription to Brew Your Own? They have oodles of recipes; multiples of each (or at least most) of these styles (those are active links [for me] but I don't know if you need to be logged in for them to work): Beer Style American Amber Ale · European Pale Lager · German and Czech Pilsners · Fruit Beer · European Amber Lager · American Pale Ale · American Lager · Bock · India Pale Ale · Belgian Wit Beer · English Bitter, Mild, and Pale Ale · American Light Ale · Imperial Stout · Spice, Herb and Vegetable Beer · Porter · Stout · European Dark Lager · Specialty and Experimental Beer · English and Scottish Strong Ale · Smoked Beer · Belgian Strong and Abbey Ales · Belgian Lambic and Sour Ale · Brown Ale · Soda Pop · German Kolsch and Altbier · Belgian and French Farmhouse Ales · Double IPA · Scottish Schilling and Irish Red Ale · Belgian Blond and Pale Ales · Wild/Sour · Mead · Cider and Perry · Wood-Aged Beers · German Weiss and Weizen · Winter Beers · India Pale Ale (Specialty) · American Strong Ale · Amber Ale Family · Bock Family · Brown Ale Family · Dark Lager Family · IPA Family · Pale Ale Family · Pale Lager Family · Pilsner Family · Porter Family · Specialty Beer Family · Amber Lager Family · Stout Family · Strong Ale Family · Wheat Beer Family · Kombucha · Gluten-Free · Low- and Non-Alcohol Beer
I don't know about the second edition, but the first was an abomination, chock full of bad guesses, so I would avoid that one at least. My "favorites" were French yeast for Saison Dupont, Orval without Brett, and Pear Extract in Duvel.
We've both got copies of Ron's book, otherwise that'd be a good shout. BYO subscription could be good, actually. Or the Andy Parker / Jamil Zainisheff book - Andy's kind of a legend of the British homebrew scene, he's also written an update of the classic CAMRA / Graham Wheeler homebrew book, Brew Your Own British Real Ales which could also be a thought. And having checked, the clone recipes book that he's got is actually the BYO one, so that's also a good shout apart from the fact that he's already got it...
Just be aware that BYO going forward is a digital (online) magazine. They are stopping producing as a print magazine. Cheers!
Another Magazine that has an online recipe collection is Craft Beer and Brewing. The print edition is still published, but not sure if they send it internationally.
Just a single 5 gallon recipe, but an excellent hoppy Lager called Califormulation American Pilsner from Barebottle Brewing in San Francisco. Inviting aroma of melon and Concord grapes. Biscuit taste with fruit. Mellow malty start with a tangy finish. Flavors of grapes, and white wine. Overall this is an extremely drinkable . Check out the very detailed hop logistics...
Wow. Almost 14 oz. of hops in 5 gallons, with less than 1 oz. for full boil. What would those hops for 5 gallons cost? They would push the balance out of specification for my palate -- hop flavor would overwhelm the bitterness.
If you want to brew 1970s classics like Watneys Red, Mackeson Stout and Whitbread Tankard, look no further than my new book, "Keg!". https://www.lulu.com/shop/ronald-pattinson/keg/paperback/product-57vp5y2.html
