Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The sad part of this book is that it really does have the potential to be a five-star book, but it falls short in many areas. It feels like an early draft (no pun intended) copy. With a good publisher and a good re-working, it could become a must-have book for homebrewers....
* This book is self-published and printed on demand by Amazon, so the book may take up to three weeks to be delivered; this is not clear from the listing on Amazon. Also, the formatting is done by the writer as far as I can tell (which is definitely not up to the quality of a book released from a publisher.) For example, the text is fully justified but it doesn't appear that any kerning has been applied; so this can be a little distracting compared to text that has been properly typeset.
* I am always leery of someone that insists on including PhD after his or her name--especially when they never mention what school they graduated from or what their major was. What you write is either good or it isn't. Adding three letters after your own name usually means you feel insecure about something (the exception is academic articles). A doctorate in computer science doesn't mean that you know more about brewing beer than anyone else.
* This book is exactly what it says it is--a compilation of blog entries. So there isn't a great deal of continuity from entry to entry and the entries were never written with the intent of ending up in a book.
* No pictures. Not a problem for a novel, but a severe limitation for a book on brewing. 'nuff said.
* It isn't clear who the intended audience for this book is. Beginning brewers? Intermediate? Advanced? This is basically Dr. Smith's notebook in printed form, so there are definitely some good nuggets of information to be mined from this book.
* Too much detail in some areas and not enough in others. For example, the author explains recirculation/vorlauf, but never mentions either term. Additionally, section on styles are just overviews, observations and suggestions; so most people would not be able to brew a beer to style using this book alone (if you could, you wouldn't need this book anyway).
* Lots of small typos. That being said, it never detracts from the information that is being presented. This book is sadly in need of a professional editor and a technical editor (or two).
* The formatting never complements the material being presented. It is barebones at best. Check out Lewis & Young's Brewing, 2nd ed., to see what a print-on-demand book can be when it shines.
* When a book has the name of a product (BeerSmith in this case), then I at least expect a chapter or an appendix (or two) about the software--how to obtain it, who could benefit from it and why, basic instructions and a couple of tutorials perhaps? Why miss such a great opportunity to proselytize a great product? BeerSmith (Download... CD Coming Soon on Amazon) I am sure many people would prefer to buy the CD through Amazon, but it has said CD coming soon since the entry was posted over a year ago....
There are many great books out there for homebrewers, and this isn't quite one of them yet. I feel that the other reviewers are fans of the author's software; and thus, they are fans of the book. In fact, all of the other reviews are copied from the author's website!
This is NOT a book for beginning brewers, so look elsewhere first. Would I buy this book again? Yes! Because I am always searching for new information and have most books published about brewing in English under US$150 in the US and UK over the past 20 years--and there is some good information in the book. Would I recommend the book to most other brewers? Probably not yet.
Here are a few books you might enjoy before this one:
+ How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time, John Palmer (the standard book for homebrewers at the moment)
+ The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition (Harperresource Book), Charlie Papazian (the old standard, but many still use it-- it is no longer state of the art)
+ Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass, Randy Mosher
+ Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew, Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer
+ Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles, Ray Daniels
+ Brewing Better Beer: Master Lessons for Advanced Homebrewers, Gordon Strong
I wanted to give this book 3.5 stars. I can't wait for the 2nd edition!
UPDATES:
14JUL11: Added links to suggested reading. Added Brewing Better Beer to suggested reading. Deleted info related to other software programs.
19JAN11: Updated information including comments referring to BeerSmith and other software. I DO like this book and have read it completely through twice and referred to it many times.
02DEC10: It looks like the BeerSmith program has a lot of fans and they have voted this review as "not helpful", but look at the "depth" of the other reviews and judge for yourself. I look forward to comments on my review to point out where I have made any incorrect observations.
11MAR11: Minor changes.
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Home Brewing with BeerSmith: How to Brew and Design Great Beer at HomeAre you looking to take your beer brewing from average to outstanding?Would you like to learn the latest brewing techniques?Home Brewing with BeerSmith is a compilation from over 70 of the best articles from the BeerSmith blog on detailed brewing methods, how to design beer recipes, and creating specific beer styles from around the world.This edition includes everything from how to get started with a simple batch to the latest all grain brewing methods, hop techniques, kegging, tips for making better beer, and articles focused around specific beer styles.Its a powerful compilation of brewing knowledge.Brad Smith has written over 125 articles on home brewing, wrote the top selling BeerSmith beer recipe software, and his weekly blog articles and newsletter at BeerSmith.com attract over 50,000 brewers each month.
Click here for more information about Home Brewing with BeerSmith: How to Brew and Design Great Beer at Home
