As much as I love both Ray and that book, I can’t recommend it any more. Too much has changed since it was written. Many of the recipe suggestions use ingredients that were subs for stuff you couldn’t get back then. Not that there isn’t good info in it, but there’s a lot that’s really outdated.
I never said limit your sources, just to avoid homebrewing books. Technical papers, Absolutely. Podcasts and clubs sure… but mostly the forums because they are quick help, have lots of differing opinions and are particularly good for keeping abreast of the latest tech. No sense learning old dodgy stuff and then having to unlearn it later.
By avoiding homebrewing books, you are limiting your sources. This is a homebrewing forum amd we’re homebrewers, after all. I suggest taking in info, trying it if it seems reasonable and fits your goals, and deciding for yourself .
I disagree about brewing books. There’s a TON of very good info. Sure, you have to look at when they were published, figure out what to disregard as old dogma, and make your own decisions about how you want to brew. But there are a lot of newer books or books that have been updated. I have learned a great deal from Charlie, Denny, Drew, John, and so many others that to ignore books completely is, in my humble opinion, your loss.
Beat me to it Denny! Cheers [emoji482]
And of course the fact that you write and sell books should be taken into account when considering your advice to read books. Don’t you think that is fair?
I’m not looking for a fight… but I’ve “forum known” Denny since long before he ever published a book. He has consistently recommended books when he thought they were useful to people. I’m as a big a cynic and sarcastic bast@#d as you’re are likely to find but I have never found Denny to be the kind of person who does what you’re suggesting simply to profit from it. I like to believe we’re all friends here and would like to see it stay that way. Opinions and and advice were requested and given free of charge.
Books contain a ton of information you will never get a forum that will help you understand how and why the processes we use actually work. Like the difference between knowing that hitting the power button makes the TV work and understanding how light and sound are transformed into encoded radio transmitted data and then back again so you can watch at home. One is pop culture and the other expertise.
He never said “read my books”. Denny simply to use all resources that are available to you. Books are resources, please feel free to use them, or not.
I need to go clean and oil my soapbox now.
Paul
Hey I’m not looking for a fight either. I assume that we all get to have our opinion and mine is that of all the things I’ve spent money on in this hobby, home brewing books were the least useful. In fact one might even say negatively helpful because of the dated content. The most useful has been the internet. I can’t think of anything you could read in a book that you could not ask someone in the forums and get a better more up to date answer, in less time. My opinion is save your money for brewing equipment… which is expensive, but usually worth it.
This thread is the perfect example of my thesis. If the OP would have gone into his LHBS and asked, “How do I learn to brew”?" he would have gotten one answer, “read those books there that I am selling”. Conversely he comes to an internet forum where he gets many up to date answers about the different ways to make beer and he didn’t have to pay a dime for the information.
I have several good homebrew books that I refer to frequently. These are primarily recipe books from authors I trust. I have several mediocre books and a couple of outdated ones as well. I will still buy homebrew books, but only from trusted authors on specific topics that interest me. Like most scientific fields, I only really consider purchasing fairly recent books, since there is constantly evolving research and development in homebrewing topics.
The benefit of forums is the near instant interaction, and ability to ask follow up questions when discussing a topic. You also get to know who you’re talking to, and can parse the information they are providing based on what you’ve learned about their preferences and biases. That’s a big advantage over books, especially if you aren’t familiar with the author.
I don’t limit my sources of information. I appreciate the distinction of those sources by date and that styles evolve as do techniques, so the source must be taken in that context. This is one reason that authors sometimes issue new editions.
Most books have been vetted by a technical editor. You can’t say that of forum posts.
^^^^ This.
Sometimes forums are useful. Sometimes a simple question by someone newish to the hobby devolves into a rather lengthy discourse on the pros and cons of whether books written by experienced homebrewers are worthwhile [emoji6]
Thanks and I have looked into local brew clubs but i think that will be something i pursue in a month or so, i just went and bought 4 books on brewing all ones that were recommended to me and have been reading them to do my research and again thank you
Apart from all of that, i do understand we all learn differently and have different methods of learning, and having the books so far i am starting to understand more of whats being said on here and my process and minor things i can do differently that i can improve on
So really its just do what works best for you ya know