Palmer vs Papazian etc

[LorenzoJ]

I'm accumulating a pretty extensive brewing library and although there are many areas of agreement as you would expect, there are also more then a few quite opposing views. For example: Palmer says " ... don't worry about transfering the hops residue to the fermenter.." and Papazian says that ".... its important to try to strain it out.." I was struck by that one as Papazian is generally the more "Don't Worry" guy.

Any thoughts on your most consistently trustworthy source.....Palmer, Papazian, Daniels, Miller, Korzonas, etc

[b3s]

here i was expecting a celebrity death match thing ;)

[GunNut76]

I don't know what kind of answers you are gonna get, but my guess will be that everyone has an author that they read when they started brewing and that is who they will trust...especialy if all their early brews turned out fantastic. I myself am a Palmer man, but I will take what others say just as serriously.

[Fast_Eddy]

Of the mainline authors, I've read Miller, Pap, Daniels, and Palmer. I've also read Foster(Pale Ale), Fix(VMO), Richman(Bock), and Lewis(Stout) on specific styles. I take the mainline writers info and augment it with specific style info - in the case of a conflict, I go with the style specific suggestions. If its an issue not addressed in one of the style books then I make a judgement call and try to be consistent about it.

[paul84043]

I read one book to get my feet on the ground. After that I just do a little research on a particular style if I think I'm going to make one. I don't rely on any one source and my ultimate test is wether or not I like the beer that I make.

[b3s]

mainly i reference palmer, mostly because it is online. i have the papazian book and read it, but the two are basically (in many respects) the same. after that i like the daniels book (designing great beers) as it helps with styles and the homebrewers bible. based on tweek's advice i'm getting a copy of noonan's lager book as it is supposed to be an excellent treatise on all-grain brewing.

[rocketman]

My first read was Miller, simply because it seemed the most comprehensive of the bunch (and Pap seemed old school). They all seemed extremely similar, and I liked his presentation -chapters, illustrations, guides, etc. When I wonder, I simply refer back to my one Miller book, but for more style specific questions I'll have to find a supplement, and I've yet to find a definitive guide that covers all styles in depth (then again I haven't looked very hard either). I also reference my collection of BYO, and other articles (which isn't too vast) but they usually prove helpful.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by rocketman
My first read was Miller, simply because it seemed the most comprehensive of the bunch (and Pap seemed old school). They all seemed extremely similar, and I liked his presentation -chapters, illustrations, guides, etc. When I wonder, I simply refer back to my one Miller book, but for more style specific questions I'll have to find a supplement, and I've yet to find a definitive guide that covers all styles in depth (then again I haven't looked very hard either). I also reference my collection of BYO, and other articles (which isn't too vast) but they usually prove helpful.

For style guides, I use the AHA Classic Beer Styles series books. They are chock full of beery good info.

[rocketman]

Originally posted by Fast_Eddy
For style guides, I use the AHA Classic Beer Styles series
books. They are chock full of beery good info.

Eddy,

Thanks for the tip, but now how do I get my hands on these? I'd like to give them a read and they certainly sound more appealing than sifting through my various papers, articles, printouts, etc. Are they full size books, I could try ordering from a bookstore?

[LorenzoJ]

Williamsbrewing.com shows 8 of the Classic Beer Style guides in their catalogue. Yes they are real books.... anywhere from 150 to over 300 pages for each beer style covered.

[rocketman]

Originally posted by LorenzoJ
Williamsbrewing.com shows 8 of the Classic Beer Style guides in their catalogue. Yes they are real books.... anywhere from 150 to over 300 pages for each beer style covered.

LorenzoJ,

Thanks, sounds good, I'm going to try ordering some.

[LorenzoJ]

Hey Rocketman,

Amazon.com lists about 17 of the Classic Beer Style guides at a good discount. Also possible to purchase used for even less.

Tried to send you an email but no go.

[Fast_Eddy]

You can also buy from http://www.beertown.com/ - and while you're at it you can join the Homebrewers Assoc of America. Good cause to support, IMO.

[brewmonkey]

That is the BEST place to buy them as they are published by Brewers Publications which is a branch of the Association Of Brewers which is also the parent organization of the American Homebrewers Association and the Institute for Beer Studies.

[rocketman]

Hey guys thanks for the tips, I just didn't know they were so widely available. Then again, I've been doing alright with Miller, Papzian, Daniels, et al. so never really searched for anything like that. Since I now know where to go, I'm going to look around for the best deals.

[OldHooky]

I think it depends on where you are as a brewer. A friend of mine, gave me a copy of Clonebrews before I ever decided to brew. I found it very clear, concise, and made homebrewing seem like something even I could do. Had he given me Papizans book, I'm not sure I would have even started brewing. I'm on my eighth batch(4th all grain) now, and I seem to glean info from all of my books. I still use Clonebrews for most of my recipes because I've yet to screw one up. The others I use for reference. One other book I would recommend is Brew Wares. It literally shows you how to build alot of useful devices used in homebrewing and it helps you save alot of money.

[tj beerman]

sorry all my replies are so dated but I just got back into homebrewing and I am really excited and this thread has forgotten the best information brain trust, all of you guys!!!

[LorenzoJ]

I've been messing around with computers for many, many years but this is the only forum I've really gotten hooked on. Great bunch, friendly, helpful, non-judgemental (mostly). The "friendly drunks" of the online community you might say. Not to say that homebrewers ever overindulge. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL and a BEERY HAPPY NEW YEAR