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Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them |  | Author: Stan Hieronymus
Publisher: Brewers Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $10.71
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Seller: pbshop
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 15932
Media: Paperback
Edition: illustrated edition
Pages: 295
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6
ISBN: 093738187X
Dewey Decimal Number: 663.42088255125
EAN: 9780937381878
ASIN: 093738187X
Publication Date: October 25, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Brew Like a Monk delves into monastic brewing, detailing this rich-flavored region of the beer world. It also examines methods for brewing these unique ales suited to commercial and amateur brewers.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
 Want to know everything about brewing Abbey ales? December 9, 2005
Jeffrey S. Erway (Navajo Nation, NM)
62 out of 64 found this review helpful
So if you've just done your first batch of beer this is not the book for you. As a matter of fact, if you have just done your first all grain batch this might not be the book for you. However, if you are a seasoned veteran of the mash tun and want to really delve head first into some of the most beautiful beers on earth this could be your ticket. I know Stan and can affirm that he knows as much about Belgian brewing as anyone in the US. Interviews with Belgian beer masters as well as those stateside gives the advanced homebrewer or professional a great idea of what it will take to brew great belgian inspired beers. Clearly the most important parts of this book to the brewer are the sections on ingredients and fermentation. If you are a diehard English inspired brewer this book will be an eye opener as to what exactly is so different about brewing belgian ales.
While being the most accessible of the series, Brew Like a Monk does have periods of extreme tehnical pursuit and it is not just there to baffle, but to educate. Topics such as pitching rates, krausening, bottle conditioning, mash PH, hop extracts, fermentation temperatures, attenuation, and adjunct types are covered in full. For those that are so inclined, Malt analysis and enzyme content are also covered as well as fermenter design of the trappist and secular breweries.
As I said, this, as well as the other two in this series, are not for the novice brewer, but if you really want a definitive and complete working knowledge of belgian brewing in the trappist tradition, look no further.
Indispensable for brewing abbey-style ales September 8, 2006
maltdog
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a good idea for the reader to have several years of all-grain brewing experience. That, and an existing appreciation of abbey-style beers; words alone cannot adequately portray the unique flavors of Belgian fermentations.
Homebrewers often set out to create trappist-inspired beers with the goal of high alcohol content. From reading the book, one will learn that this is a flawed approach; these beers are about allowing the yeast to contribute flavor and attenuation, about embracing the quirky qualities of the yeast, and about retaining balance and "drinkability" in the beer. Higher alcohol content is serendipitous, but almost incidental.
Insightful interviews with trappist brewers, and secular brewers of superb abbey-style ales, introduce the reader to this brewing "philosophy." These discussions, and the technical data of the beers they brew, are of enormous value. (As are the lessons they learned from brewing less-than-spectacular beers.) In fact, the differences in malt bills between the two schools is radical at times. I found it amusing that many of the most revered examples of the styles do not fit neatly into the "guidelines" that are supposed to define them.
All aspects of abbey-style brewing are explored in depth... from water, ingredients, and mash temperatures to pitching rates, influences on yeast behavior, and bottle conditioning. Questions about two of the most controversial topics among homebrewers... yeast origins and sugars... are definitively answered.
Finally, the text is a joy to read! At once both thoughtful and passionate, the book conveys the reader on a journey of exploration and teaching. (As of this writing, my copy is only a few months old, and already frayed and littered with page markers.) It is amazing that such a wealth of useful information can be packed into under 300 pages and still remain so interesting and approachable.
In my fifteen years of homebrewing, I can think of no other publication that is as captivating and enlightening as Brew Like A Monk.
Technically valuable and a good read! March 20, 2006
Lyle W. Neander (Australia)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
The author presumes you are a proficient brewer and concentrates on the philosophy of belgium abbey brewing rather than the mechanics of brewing. It is a good read and provides the home brewer with useful data to incorporate into their brewing. Excellent section of the use of sugars for increased attentuation and reduced cloying qualities associated with malt only brewing. Overall I would recommend this book without reservation to any home brewer seeking to gain more professional results in their brewing and greater complexity.
A Conversation around the Fire July 25, 2008
Lynn Hoffman, author:The Short Course in Beer (Philadelphia)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Imagine that you-an experienced homebrewer-got to gather around a fire with some folks who had years of experience brewing versions of your favorite beer style. It would be hard to have a bad time, harder still not to come away a better brewer for it.
This friendly, if somewhat disorderly book is just that conversation. I love the complexity and depth of belgian strong beers. Occasionally, by dumb luck, I've brewed one. Other times, my efforts have been dull, or over-concentrated or just odd.
In these conversations, we get some clarity about yeast, malt, fermenters, temperature control and bottling.
I think the odds in my favor just went up. This is a book to mine for insights.
Lynn Hoffman, author of The New Short Course in Wine
A survey of the history, traditions and flavors of Trappist monk brewing January 7, 2007
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Any interested in beer brewing probably has had a hand in home brew and familiarity with some favorite styles such as pilsner or stouts, but BREW LIKE A MONK: TRAPPIST, ABBEY AND STRONG BELGIAN ALES AND HOW TO BREW THEM offers something different, exploring the unique flavors and brews of monastic brewing through visits to modern producers in both America and Belgium. BREW LIKE A MONK isn't just a recipe collection, though of course some brew recipes are included: it's a survey of the history, traditions and flavors of Trappist monk brewing in the Belgian tradition and contrasts the products of independent breweries with American and European brewing traditions.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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