The Homebrewers' Recipe Guide: More than 175 original beer recipes including magnificent pale ales, ambers, stouts, lagers, and seasonal brews, plus tips from the master brewers

Unfortunately I don't see copies this book at the local bookstores or LHBS anymore. Grab a copy before this gem goes out of print.


Get this book, it's worth twice the asking price.   December 14, 2000
John P. Stamper (Central Florida)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Anyone can put together a list of recipes for all the classicstyles of beer, throw a cover on it and hawk it for ... ... or put up a web site and collect a thousand different ways to combine malt and hops... recipes are easy to come by. But this book is more than just a collection of formulas.

I give it a wholehearted five stars because the authors fill the pages with their passion for brewing great beer. The pages are a combination of anecodtes, brew tips and best of all quotations from all the greats of literature... Shakespeare to Orwell, they all had something to say about beer. I never tire of flipping through the pages when I am getting ready to make the next batch, and laughing at the wit and wisdom found within. I'll say it again. Get this book, it's worth twice the asking price.


A Worthy Companion to Papazian's books   May 1, 2005
Steve Abell (Texas)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

It's fitting that Charlie Papazian wrote the foreword for this book. "The Homebrewer's Recipe Guide" is written very much in the spirit of Papazian's "Complete Joy of Homebrewing". The book is filled with famous beer related quotes and bits of beer related prose, most of it quite good. The recipes are divided into the usual categories, most of the recipes have whimsical names and a little information about the brew or the person who made the recipe. Everything about the book is light and fun, much like "Complete Joy of Homebrewing". I've tried a few of the recipes and they made good beer. I'm sure all of them will make good beer. One of the more interesting ones is a Belgian Wit that involves dry hopping Cascades, definitely not to style but I bet it tastes good.
The authors are right up front that this is not a technical manual but rather a guide, hence the title. I'm puzzled by all the negative reviews that criticize for not specifying IBU's and not including instructions for partial boils. If you've brewed a few batches of beer, you should be able to look at these recipes and understand how to adapt them to your system and your personal taste, it isn't difficult. The authors weren't out to write a textbook but rather to share whats worked for them and inspire the reader to brew beer. This, like "Complete Joy of Homebrewing", is an excellent book just to browse through on rainy days when you can't brew. For me, both books really capture the spirit of homebrewing. You can follow these recipes to the letter no matter what size boil you're doing or what %AA your hops are and make great beer or you can change these recipes to hit whatever marks you want to hit. There's all kinds of software you can plug the ingredients into to figure out what you're going to get, or you can calculate with pen and paper, or you can just wing it. I don't think it's fair to criticize this book for not nailing down all the specifics and for not providing specific conversions for extract, partial-mash, and all grain versions of each recipe. It's not that kind of book and it doesn't pretend to be. It is a great recipe guide with some wonderful bits of literature. It's not a beginner's guide but it certainly can be used by beginners and it's not an advanced manual but you'd have to be pretty heartless not to like it.
If you didn't like Papazian's "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" because it's a little too whimsical, not specific enough, and contains "outdated" information, then you're not going to like this book either. However, if you love "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing", this book makes an excellent companion. As for the politics several people have mentioned, there are no political discussions in my edition (1996). There is a reference to Jimmy Carter since he's the one who made homebrewing legal in the US and there is a reference to Thomas Jefferson also in a beer related context, but I find no references to Newt Gingrich or the Democrats in my edition and I've read it many times.
Amazon has the "Search Inside This Book" feature available for this book. The sample pages are a good representation of what you get. If you like what you see, I highly recommend purchasing it.


The best extract homebrew recipe book out there   October 30, 1998
thalgott@konnections.com (Ogden, UT)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is a delightful book of recipes, tips, and antecdotes. As an extract brewer, the book meets my needs perfectly. The recipes are varied and wide ranging, from classic recipes to historic and seasonal brews.


An invaluabe stepping stone   March 20, 2006
KENNIE DEE
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

As a beginning homebrewer looking to extend beyond pre-hopped extracts and pre-packaged kits, this book was exactly what I was looking for. I found the asides and exerts amusing. I would higly recommend this book for anyone who's already brewed a few batches and is looking for more recipes.