I’ve only got the Complete Joy of Homebrewing right now, and was wondering what other guiding hands you guys recommend. While I love going online and bugging the hell out of ya’ll with my inane amateur questions sometimes the responses take too long and I’m not finding everything I need in Papazian’s book. So it goes: any recommendations for brewing literature?
I need to grab a copy of how to brew by palmer
If you are creating your own recipes, I really like Designing Great Beers, It is pretty Technical, but offers a welth of great information.
This is free online.
All the above are great. I would also suggest Brewing Lager Beer by Noonan.
I just picked up Yeast, by Jamil Zaniseff and Chris White. It goes quite in depth about the real makers of beer. The yeast section of most brew books is pretty inadequate compared to this entire book on the matter. And I can’t think of two more credible sources than Jamil and Mr. White (white labs)…
This is free online.
All the above are great. I would also suggest Brewing Lager Beer by Noonan.[/quote]
The online version just scratches the surface
+1 How to brew by Palmer is a great very in depth book.
Already good suggestions. If you want technical detail about water, mashing, grain, boiling, ect, ect get How to Brew. I’d buy it just to have it around rather than looking online. If you want more about recipe design I’d go with Designing Great Beers by Daniels. As it’s been said, its a tad stale and boring but incredibly helpful with writing recipes to style guidelines. And if ou don’t like style guidelines it can still be a starting point. Yeast was good but a bit much for me right now, some useful stuff, too much detail and science IMO.
The best “how to” book IMO is Palmer’s “How to Brew.” I think that is a must have for any beginner/intermediate/moving toward advanced brewer.
The best recipe book, i think, is Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Z. and Palmer.
I am currently reading “Yeast” by Jamil Z. and C. White - very good, and exhaustive look at all things yeast.
Also, if you are not a member of AHA - that is worth doing as you get a subscription to Zymurgy, which is a great magazine. Brew your own is another good magazine subscription to consider.
Actually, I just put in a big order of brweing books on Amazon - I LOVE reading books - this is what I just ordered:
1 "Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition"
Markowski, Phil; Paperback; $10.85
I
1 “Brewing Better Beer: Master Lessons for Advanced Homebrewers”
Strong, Gordon; Paperback; $11.68
1 "Bavarian Lager: Beerhall Helles History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes (Classic Beer Style)"
Dornbusch, Horst D.; Paperback; $10.46
1 "Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass"
Randy Mosher; Paperback; $12.39
1 "Kolsch: History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes (Classic Beer Style)"
Warner, Eric; Paperback; $11.47
1 "Altbier: History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes (Classic Beer Style)"
Dornbusch, Horst D.; Paperback; $11.47
1 "Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them"
Hieronymus, Stan; Paperback; $11.18
1 "Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers"
Palmer, John; Paperback; $18.70
Available for Pre-order
Its a decent read, but definitely not as in depth or advanced as I was looking for.
Brewing Classic Styles, for sure
I got a print copy of How to Brew this weekend. The 1st edition is free online, and I was making do with it for a while, but the book (3rd edition) seems to have quite a bit more information. There are whole sections that don’t show up on the website.
Its a decent read, but definitely not as in depth or advanced as I was looking for.[/quote]
Wow! Maybe it’s time for you to enroll in a chemistry class at a local college then!! 
+1. Great beginner tips and I haven’t brewed a recipe that wasn’t outstanding (18 so far!)
Its a decent read, but definitely not as in depth or advanced as I was looking for.[/quote]
Wow! Maybe it’s time for you to enroll in a chemistry class at a local college then!! [/quote]
He’s not the only one. The yeast book was pretty good, but pretty basic.
As a novice brewer (4 batches so far), Palmer has been my Bible.
Agreed, add one more.
I was browesing my local half-priced books yesterday and found a “new” (appears to have never been read) third edition for $9.00. GGGGGGGGGGGGGooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllll!!!
amazon is selling palmer pretty cheap, too. Mine’s in the mail. 
