Beer Book Recommendations

Nice list, add Mitch Steele's IPA book to it.

 

Gotta go Mosher's Tasting Beer fun and informative when it comes to history and styles. There is also a book called the history of the world in 6 glasses. It's not just about beer but about how 6 different drinks (including beer) shaped different times in society.

 

My BA journey is one of amazing beer. But now, I have lots of questions. What about history of breweries in America? Things like breweries from the past that are still in operation today or making a comeback? How exactly does contract brewing work? I've wiki, wiki, wiki'd 'til I can't wiki any more. The OP is right! Who better to recommend great books on these topics than you all. Thanks for letting me tag on to this thread and your responses are always appreciated.

 

Revised 4th edition of C Pap's work hitting the shelves in september. has updated info a newer hop varieties and more "contemporary" recipes.

Also, For the Love of Hops and Travels with Barley.

 

The Brewtal Truth is a good book for extreme beers.

 

Has been mentioned before but again: Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink by Randy Mosher is the first book I'd recommend ever to anyone for this subject. Covers a lot about each style, pairings, correct pour (including IMO the most balls awesome way to pour a Weissbier ever, if the ladys/guys aren't impressed once you do that they never will be)

And for overkill on just beer geekery/neerdery go for The Oxford Companion to Beer by Garrett Oliver and Tom Colicchio

 

"Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer" by Maureen Ogle
"The Audacity of Hops: The History of America's Craft Beer Revolution" by Tom Acitelli
"The Craft Beer Revolution: How a Band of Microbrewers Is Transforming the World's Favorite Drink" by Steve Hindy

 

The IPA book by Mitch Steele is a great read

 

Another book I'd recommend, if you're thinking about cellaring/aging beers, is Vintage Beer by Patrick Dawson.

 

I am currently reading Michael Jackson's Beer Companion, are there other good beer-reads, and what are you currently reading on beer other than labels?

 

This one looks interesting. So does it actually walk you through tasting various styles of beer? For example if I wanted to learn more about the tastes I'm getting from a hefeweizen, could I drink a hefe and read the section on this beer to get a description of the flavors I should be getting?

 

Yep. It'll give you the history, brewing process, flavor profiles, and example suggestions of all the major styles. I learned a lot from this book.

 

I was just on amazon thinking about buying this book; I like the idea and the man....but it is 15 years old now. Who do you guys think the current Michael Jackson is, or the most respected current beer critic?

 

I have Garrett Olivers "Brewmasters Table" and Ben Mcfarlands "Worlds Best Beers: One thousand craft beers from cask to glass". Both give a good background on history, brewing, and ingredients, as well as beer and food pairings.

 

Fred Eckhardt's "The Essentials of Beer Style" is one, and the Bill Yenne book is always cook for spilling come coffee on...

 

Absolutely DO NOT buy The Oxford Companion to Beer if you are hoping for an accurate authority on Scottish and English beer. So much of what was written on these two nations was just plain wrong.

 

Italy Beer Country....very informative....

 

"Tasting Beer" by Randy Mosher. Informative, insightful, well-researched, and entertaining!

 

Favorites to date, in no particular order:

1) General beer knowledge and of course the obvious for homebrewing


2) Not limited to just-beer, but interesting read nontheless on the various histories of alcoholic beverages:


3) Fantastic level of information, though I'm only ~15-20% into it so far: