Recommended Reading for Intermediates?

[madscientist]

@beersk

I just picked up Brewing Classic Styles recently, it’s a good book.  Not sure if it’s intermediate or what it is.  I guess I’d say it’s for those who are starting to experiment with different styles and wanting a good guideline from a proven recipe.  So I guess I’d say that’s intermediate as beginner is mostly just brewing kits, in my opinion.

Yes, this is a really good book, particularly for those who want to build their own recipes.  The recipes here are a great guideline when you realize you can change up the hops/grain bill to suit your tastes.  Before reading this book, I never knew that late hop additions were such a big part of certain styles.  I’ve used a few recipes in here as guidelines and all beers came out fantastic.

[bluesman]

Many suggestions:

Zymurgy
BYO
How to Brew
Designing Great Beers
Brewing Classic Styles
BLAM

The internet is also a valuable resource. This forum among others. Brewing Techniques, etc…

[jrdunne (Joe Sr.)]

@dbeechum

I did that too. Got to be the same old stuff after a while.

Hard work keeping the content fresh on the hobby, but then you get that nugget that changes things.

I agree.  Looking back over the years there’s a lot of repetition of topics, but I think you get that with every hobby magazine (golf, skiing, etc.).

For now, I’m getting enough from Zymurgy.  And re-reading old issues of BYO from time to time.

[scarper11 (Pinski)]

Currently subscribed to Zymurgy and BYO, generally find them interesting and informative.  I’m on the forum daily and would say that this site has been the most informative and entertaining (not just for brewing) resource.  It’s interesting to hear what other folks are up to and have the opportunity to learn from their struggles and success.

[delo]

Currently subscribed to Zymurgy and BYO, generally find them interesting and informative.  I’m on the forum daily and would say that this site has been the most informative and entertaining (not just for brewing) resource.  It’s interesting to hear what other folks are up to and have the opportunity to learn from their struggles and success.

I have read a fair amount of books on brewing and I have subscribed to BYO for the past 4 or 5 years(still good info in it for me). I just joined aha recently and subscribed to Zymurgy and I agree completely. This forum is very informative/entertaining and the back issues of Zymurgy Ive read (now that they are online) have been fantastic.  I wish I joined earlier.

[lord2464 (James Lorden)]

@madscientist

@beersk

I just picked up Brewing Classic Styles recently, it’s a good book.  Not sure if it’s intermediate or what it is.  I guess I’d say it’s for those who are starting to experiment with different styles and wanting a good guideline from a proven recipe.  So I guess I’d say that’s intermediate as beginner is mostly just brewing kits, in my opinion.

Yes, this is a really good book, particularly for those who want to build their own recipes.  The recipes here are a great guideline when you realize you can change up the hops/grain bill to suit your tastes.  Before reading this book, I never knew that late hop additions were such a big part of certain styles.  I’ve used a few recipes in here as guidelines and all beers came out fantastic.

I agree, when this book first came out I tried to brew just about every beer in there just to get familiar with the styles and ingridients that I might have ignored in the past.  As a brewer I found myself getting into a rut and continuing to brew a few styles that I really liked and got good at over and over.  This was sort of a homebrewers Julie and Julia (James and Jamil) initiative.  After my first cut on each recipe I’d take tasting notes and adjust the recipe for a rebrew.

I finished the project, I’d say I got through about 65% of the recipes but I have rebrewed many of those with my tweaks.  The lesson hear is that you can get very booksmart at this hobby but at some point you need to really dig in and understand your ingridients and their affect on different styles.  BCS is a great tool for doing that.

[richardt]

I consider myself an “intermediate” brewer. 
I have almost all of the above books and have learned much from them.
(BLAM and Wild Brews are not yet in my library–Hint!  X-mas is coming!)

The internet is a great resource for intermediate brewers–this forum in particular.  Some things just don’t make it into books but nonetheless need explaining, e.g. how to dry hop (throw it in?, use a nylon bag?), corny keg posts mixups (gas in has a gash, fluid out does not), not using highly alkaline water to make up starsan solutions (use distilled or RO instead).

[jeffy]

My most frequent reference book is Greg Noonan’s Brewing Lager Beer (my copy doesn’t say “new”). 
I also consult Jamil’s Classic Styles when making up recipes.  It has very good tips.

[ynotbrusum]

@richardt

I consider myself an “intermediate” brewer.  
I have almost all of the above books and have learned much from them.
(BLAM and Wild Brews are not yet in my library–Hint!  X-mas is coming!)

The internet is a great resource for intermediate brewers–this forum in particular.  Some things just don’t make it into books but nonetheless need explaining, e.g. how to dry hop (throw it in?, use a nylon bag?), corny keg posts mixups (gas in has a gash, fluid out does not), not using highly alkaline water to make up starsan solutions (use distilled or RO instead).

+1.  Very good points - sometimes a nugget is found by just keeping attentive to all sources.  I am enjoying Gordon Strong’s Brewing Better Beers - some handy insights without belaboring the basics or getting crazy math/biology/chemistry/physics on a guy.

[clyells (Wheat_Brewer)]

I’ve read Mr. Papazian’s CJoHB, Mr. Palmer’s HTB and Mr. Strong’s BBB.

What should I read next?  I love ales,  have my first lager in the fermentation freezer and six AG batches under my belt.

Would really love to hear suggestions from the forum regulars and why?  Cheers!

I have most of the books listed in the other posts, but I still pull most of my ideas and recipes from Charlies’ books. Those are almost a daily read (1 recipe at a time), and I’ve probably read those books 4-5 times over.

[kgs]

I’m rereading Gordon Strong’s book, and really appreciating it. I have all the basics listed above and then some. Designing Great Beers was the book that was most transformative to me after I had the basics down.

I would add Basic Brewing’s videos to the list. Well-done and clear.

I have a list here: Lists | WorldCat.org

[brewmonk]

I just finished reading “Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation” by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff, and found it pretty interesting.  It was a good read in that it not only gave information about yeast and fermentation, but it was information applicable for both pros and homebrewers, and they actually gave practical advice for both.
I’d say if you liked Gordon Strong’s BBB where he focuses on the hot side of things, “Yeast” is a good book for the cold side.