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North American Clone Brews Homebrew Recipes for Your Favorite American and Canadian Beers

Mike — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:47:09 +0000

North American Clone Brews Homebrew Recipes for Your Favorite American and Canadian Beers

Well over 100 extract, mini-mash, and all-grain recipes that will allow homebrewers to duplicate their favorite award-winning American and Canadian microbrewery beers.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Good, yes. Perfect, not quite
There are a few problems with this book, as already stated elsewhere. However, this is a very good book to get you very close to your favorites brews. I’ve done 5 recipes from this book, and have been pleased with all of them except the Fat Tire clone (try #2 is in the secondary). It saves a lot of research time trying to formulate your own clone recipe. It also is educational.

4 Stars Decent book, unfairly reviewed
While there are mistakes in this book (as there are in Clone Brews and Beer Captured), overall this is a worthwhile book-all the recipes I have made from this book have turned out well.

Much of the criticism of this book seems overdone. Beerman11, for instance, says that the extract version of the Immortales recipe asks you to continue the recipe with mini-mash recipe, and that this would require boiling 7.5 gallons. In my copy, the extract recipe asks you to use the mini-mash recipe after the boil–which would result in a boil of 3 gallons.

Admittedly, some of the criticism is fair. The book does not suggest lowering the amount of hops for the all-grain recipes, which is odd. I could not find the barleywine error mentioned elsewhere (although I’m not a big barleywine fan); it is possible mistakes in the first edition were corrected. On the other hand, Russell did actually include lagering in his recipes, which the Szamatulski’s did not in Clone Brews (and included only in the Helpful Hints section in Beer Captured, their latest book).

Frankly, I suspect many of the problems with this book are a result of the publishing format, which applies to both of the Szamatulski’s books as well. The short, one-page recipe format doesn’t leave enough room to discuss technique and other issues involved with making the beer, and I think a lot of useful information is left out. However, I can get this information elsewhere.

Overall, I liked this book better than the original Clone Brews and almost as much as Beer Captured.

1 Star Give the brewer a break
I bought this book and I am having a hard time with it. I have been an extract brewer for 15 years. I’m responding to “sioux181″ when he says “Give a guy a break!”, give the brewer a break. I bought the ingredients for two of the recipes in this book and when I started making them, I realized that the conversions he made from mini-mash to extract were incorrect and I had to guess at what to do. How can I give the author a break? I will admit that mistakes happen, but you sound like you must be the author because any homebrewer would be very upset with incorrect information on brewing a beer. Both the errors that were pointed out previously are pretty obvious. However, I don’t think the author spent the time to correctly convert to extract. For the Immortale recipe I start with 3 gallons of water for the specialty grains, he tells us to omit some ingredients, then follow the mini-mash recipe. It wasn’t until I started that I looked at the mini-mash recipe and it said to sparge with 4 1/2 gallons of water. I have never brewed an extract beer using a 7 1/2 gallon boil (for a 5 gallon batch). The other recipe I made was Whale Tale Brown Ale, with his recipe I would end up with a 5 gallon boil. If I wanted to do a 5 gallon boil, I would switch to all-grain. It is obvious that the conversions are incorrect. Every recipe is like this. I have to guess at how much water to use for the specialty grains and sparging. Also, among various other small but important pieces that are essential to brewing, he has completely forgotten about adding Irish Moss.

4 Stars Worth Buying
I’m glad I read my copy of North American Clone Brews before reading the reviews in this column. Give a guy a break! The book is fine. It does what it purports in a concise and readable manner. So, yes, “White Plains”, Mr Russell’s book contains a typo. Obviously he did not mean to mash (by my calculations) 16.75 lbs grain in 2.5 gallons of water. Mistakes happen. As to reduce the bittering in a full boil: to many variables affect hop utilization (at best 30%) to worry about this. Keep it simple. Relax, don’t worry….”White Plains” and his admirer from Texas clearly have some axe to grind. Odd that with all the “many errors” in the book both ‘reviewers’ point out the same two-and both got the weight wrong. The variety and scope of this book alone justify its purchase. Having examined the quality of the recipes, I plan to do my brewing this season exclusively from North American Clone Brews.

5 Stars So Many Recipes! So Few Fermenters
I love this book. It is informative, original and full of some very good recipes. There are great instructions for the both beginner and seasoned brewer. There is a good variety of easy recipes and just enough variety in the complex brews to keep you busy for months. Each recipe has a complete header of beer specifics. Great for the beginner who wants to move beyond the basics.

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Make Your Own Moonshine Homebrew Still

Mike — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:25:39 +0000

Make Your Own Moonshine Homebrew Still

Building a Home Distillation Apparatus 1999. 45 pages. Table of Contents:
FOREWORD ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
WHERE TO START?………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
WHAT KIND OF STILL?………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
CONSTRUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10
BUILDING THE CONDENSER ……………………………………………………………………………….. 13
BUILDING THE REFLUX COLUMN ………………………………………………………………………. 19
HEATING CONSIDERATIONS……………………………………………………………………………….. 25
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER……………………………………………………………………………….. 27
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
LICENSE AGREEMENT…………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
HOW TO APPLY THE LICENSE AGREEMENT……………………………………………………….. 8
MATERIAL LIST……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
TOOLS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
INDEX…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11

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India Pale Ale Homebrew Class Homebrew classics

Mike — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:19:47 +0000

India Pale Ale Homebrew Class Homebrew classics

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Designing Great Beers The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles

Mike — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:07:04 +0000

Designing Great Beers The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles

Part 1 of Designing Great Beers is a complete book in itself, focused solely on home-brewing ingredients and techniques (including three superb chapters on hops alone). Ray Daniels proves himself the “techie” type, infusing his introductory chapters with as much brewing math as brewing lore. Yet, Daniels never hops off the deep end of beer geekdom. Instead, he complements this emphasis on data with the creative use of graphics; where one could get bogged down in the stats, there is usually a clear visual depiction to instantly summarize their meaning.

This focus on facts continues into part 2 of Daniels’s guide, where it backs an admirably pragmatic take on beer styles and their importance in home-brewing. Daniels devotes a chapter to each of 14 major style categories, detailing historical origins and modern brewing techniques. He lays a contemporary groundwork by compiling and analyzing the recipes of the National Homebrew Competition’s most successful beers. The assumption is that beers deemed representative of particular beer styles in modern competitions serve as ideal models for recipe creation. Among the information provided for each style is a chart showing the percentage of brewers using each type of grain and in what proportions the grains were added. Similar data are supplied for hop varieties, yeast strains, and water treatment. This reverse engineering of award-winning beers naturally benefits experienced brewers seeking to wow judges at the next competition. Yet, even brewers taking their first shy steps into creating their own recipes have much to gain from this kind of practical analysis. Daniels provides the basic tools a brewer of any level can use to formulate recipes with confidence and creativity. –Todd Gehman

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great book for the serious home/craft brewer
This book is amazingly well written and immediately applicable for either the home brewer or small craft brewery. It’s not for beginners wanting to copy down some easy recipes. Instead, it is a great compilation of equations, tables and facts that will greatly help the consistency, quality and authenticity of the beer you produce. So if you are looking for a book that will help you construct a grain bill for your award winning stout or trying to figure out how much gypsum you need for that porter, this book is for you. I wish I bought this book years ago!

5 Stars Brewing Bible
Very good book with many recipes and very techical notes on brewing classic beer styles

5 Stars Must have book for any brewer
I picked this book up on the recommendation of others and I’m glad I did. It is a bit dated but the information is timeless. This book will not teach a beginner the steps to brew, it teaches the whys not the hows. This should be required reading before any brewer advances to all-grain.

3 Stars Good book but might be getting outdated now
A very useful and informative book, packed with lots of great in-depth detail, covering a wide range of information from historic beer-brewing facts and analysis through to modern home-brewing techniques and tips.

However, a substantial portion of the information provided focuses on ‘NHC Second-Round Beer’ and what (home) brewers used (or did not use) in their entries into the second-round of the NHC Competition. So much so that at times it almost seems like a statistical analysis of the competition entries. Given that the data is about 10 years old now and is focused on only a small sample, I do wonder how relevant that portion of information is now and what may have changed since.

5 Stars Excellent guide for designing your own recipes
This is a great book for the advanced brewer who is tired of blindly following recipes.

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A Year of Beer 260 Seasonal Homebrew Recipes

Mike — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:16:56 +0000

A Year of Beer 260 Seasonal Homebrew Recipes

Each chapter begins with a description of a beer style, with recipes for every level of brewer–from extract to all-grain.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Not the best for beginners
Most of these recipes are all grain. Not a great idea for beginning brewers. But a great idea if you are thinking about making the move up to all grain. A creative brewer could probably make many of them into extract recipes.

The best part is helping you figure out the best the brew for the time of the year. Over all, a fine book.

5 Stars A lot of good recipies.
Recipies from award winning homebrews. There are a lot of good recipies in here and a lot that it’s hard to imagine that they won anything at all. Regardless of the material the author did a great job compiling all of the recipies and presents it well in this edition. A must have for homebrewers.

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Clone Brews Homebrew Recipes for 150 Commercial Beers

Mike — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:51:31 +0000

Clone Brews Homebrew Recipes for 150 Commercial Beers

You can now brew beer at home that tastes just like your favorite brands with this collection of 150 “cloned” recipes for premium beers from around the world, such as:

– Pilsner Urquell

– Pete’s Wicked Ale

– Guinness Extra Stout

– Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

– Dos Equis

– Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

– Bass Ale

– Anchor Steam Beer

– Foster’s Lager

– Chimay Red

All 150 recipes come with separate extract, mini-mash, and all-grain instructions. You’ll also find tips for replicating any commercial beer so you can make your own clones when you discover a new favorite!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Impressed
I’m rather impressed with this book. I’m a HUGE fan of Magic Hat #9, Yuengling Porter, and also Murphy’s Irish Stout. ALL three recipes are in here.. I’m excited to give them a try.

My worldly friend was floored to see some of the import recipes he drank when on his travels, so he’s excited for me to brew a few of them.

Thanks for the most excellent book. DOWN WITH DISTRIBUTORS – LET’S ALL DRINK HOMEBREW!!

4 Stars clone brews
what a great book. The authors give you 3 skill levels to work from along with some very tasty brews to chose, making this a very usable read.

with easy to follow recipes I have managed to make a few really good beers that I like,while saving a few dollars to. My first ale from the book is headed to the state fair this year (it’s that good). A nice resource for someone who doesn’t have a local brew store or access to other local brewers…

5 Stars clone brews
book was in really good shape and shipping happened in a reasonable period of time.

3 Stars A decent edition to your library, but not a must have
There are things to like and dislike about this book.

Likable: The extract, partial mash, and all grain recipes are presented for all brews, so any level of brewer can attempt to replicate the desired flavor.

Dislikes: Book lists many ingredients, such as brands of malt extract, that are no longer produced. It is not organized well by beer style, or even alphabetically by brand. Many of the brews listed will be totally unfamiliar to those in the US and the tastes are not described well. The method of producing extract brews using specialty grains mentions sparging them, which really isn’t a problem when dealing with small quantities of specialty grains in a bag, but the method of doing so isn’t covered at all and this is not a common practice that is described in beginning home brew books, so check with a brew forum such as brewers round table if you have questions. To be honest most of the recipes can be gotten for free on home brew forums from other home brewers.

5 Stars Excellent Learning Tool
This is one of the first books I bought when I got back into brewing. I found the variety of recipes exciting and it encouraged me to try brewing different styles of beer. I was a pretty basic brewer when I purchased this book and found my horizons expanded greatly. It has been a great learning tool.

This book contains a wealth of information about brewing techniques and beer styles. Each recipe has extract, mini-mash, and all-grain versions. The recipes are very detailed which allows the brewer some flexibility in modifying things to their own taste. There is something for every style of brewer in this book.

The best I can say about this book is that it really got me experimenting with my beer and enjoying the brewing process. Now that I am getting close to opening my own brewery. I still refer to this book for ideas when creating new recipes.

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How to Brew Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time

Mike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:11:20 +0000

How to Brew Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time

Everything needed to brew beer right the first time. Presented in a light-hearted style without frivolous interruptions, this authoritative text introduces brewing in a easy step-by-step review.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great book! Lots of good information.
Got this book for my husband. He is happy with it. It is even his pool side reading material. He said there were good explanations in this book and it is a five star for the writing!

5 Stars Best Brew book
This is quite possibly the best brew book on the market. It was recommended to me by some homebrewers and as it turns out most of the local micro brewers also use this book. Definitely worth every penny.

5 Stars It’ll get you brewing asap
this book rocks, you’ll learn everything you need to actually start brewing right away. I started off with a Mr. Beer Kit, but before it was even ready (I knew it would taste like pi**) i was on to my next extract plus grain brewing. The great thing about this book is it will explain everything you need to know but encourage you to skip ahead if you don’t want to get into the details of each particular phase. I’m still a little lost when it comes to all-grain brewing but have only browsed over those chapters. Great book, must have for beginners and as a reference as he has a lot of chemistry knowledge.

5 Stars If you buy just one book on Homebrewing………………..
The title says it. If you buy just one book on home brewing, buy this book. I have bought every edition that has came out. It is that good. Almost everything I have learned in regards to home brewing has came from this book. I have bought just about every book there is on home brewing and have quite an extensive collection. This is the book I have on the table next to the Brewery every time I brew for quick reference. The author covers in simple detail every type of brewing from extract to all grain. He explains water, hop, grain, and other adjunct profiles in detail. All along it is written in a manner that even the complete novice can follow and understand and at the same time the old hand brewing veteran will find fascinating. You learn something new every time you pick it up to read. I have actually bought numerous copies of this book and given as gifts to friends who want to get into brewing or have just started out. I really can’t heap enough praise on the quality of education in this book.

5 Stars A Book For *ANY* Home Brewer’s Shelf
Whether you have never brewed before, or you are a seasoned veteran – this book is a must have. For the beginner – this book contains not only the ‘Hows’, but also the “Why’s” and the “What the heck happened’s”. For the experienced, it has the little details you may have missed, along with a massive heaping of helpful tips. Understand – even the instructions you get from the local home brewing store (or some of the home brew supply shops on the Internet) can be flawed. I highly recommend this book – not so you can simply brew beer, but so that you can brew beer you can be proud of. You do not need a degree (high school or otherwise) in chemestry to understand this book. If you buy only one book on home brewing – this is your book.

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The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition Harperresource Book

Mike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:55:50 +0000

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition Harperresource Book

Charlie Papazian, master brewer and founder and president of the American Homebrewer’s Association and Association of Brewers, presents a fully revised edition of his essential guide to homebrewing. This third edition of the best-selling and most trusted homebrewing guide includes a complete update of all instructions, recipes, charts, and guidelines. Everything you need to get started is here, including classic and new recipes for brewing stouts, ales, lagers, pilseners, porters, specialty beers, and honey meads.

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, third edition, includes:

Getting your home brewery together: the basics — malt, hops, yeast, and water
Ten easy lessons for making your first batch of beer
Creating world-class styles of beer (IPA, Belgian wheat, German K

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