Brewing the Worlds Great Beers

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Question:

How do you feel about the book Brewing the Worlds Great Beers, by Dave Miller? I am a relatively new (but well equipped) all-grain brewer who is looking for an informative book which describes beer styles from around the world and discusses brewing techniques and all-grain recipes to produce them. From the title, this book sounds like it may be exactly what I want, but I’ve never seen the book. Are there others that you would recommend? Thanks, Joel

Response:

If you are an all-grain brewer, then I think you are probably beyond this book. (Known as "Miller-light" in some circles, to differentiate it from Miller’s other book, "The Complete Handbook.." which is called "Miller-dark" because of its dark colored cover). It is a very good book, and does have lots of receipes, but "The Complete Handbook of Homebrewing" has more and better all-grain info, though fewer receipes. My guess is that "Brewing the Worlds Great Beers" was written to target those that were intimidated by the "Handbook" Of course one can never have too many books! — Fred Waltman Culver City Home Brewing Supply Co.

Response:

I am currently enjoying two brews built on Dave’s recipes – Royal Oak and Fullers ESB. I adjusted the hop schedule to suit myself (Hallertau and Kent Goldings for bitterness in the kettle) but used the flavor and aroma hops from the recipes. I used Demarara sugar for brewing and bottling the ESB, but regular light brown sugar would also work. I used Turbinado sugar for brewing the Royal Oak, and primed with 1/2 Cup dark brown sugar. Both are all grain brews fermented with Wyeast 1968 – Special London ale liquid culture (not a slap pack) in 1 qt. 1024 starter. Dry hopping the secondary with pellets works fine (all hops were pellets). These are very nice brews. Try them. BREW ON ….fred

Response:

I was sent the following, but I think I’ve read some negative stuff about Line’s recipes really matching the beers they’re supposed to. So far I have one positive response (below) any others? Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy – Dave Line ISBN 0 900841 51 6 copywright The Amateur Winemaker Publications Ltd. The Standard Press The above in response to your posting asking for book recommendations. This is essentially a book of very detailed recipes which I have found yields excellent results if you are trying to imitate particular beers. Thanks, Joel

Since I was one of the ones disparaging the Dave Line recipes I had seen, I feel obligated to respond. Dave Draper sent me a note talking about his experiences with Dave Line, that led me to believe that Line’s recipes should be looked at with a critical eye, but not discounted. Draper pointed out that Line was brewing at a time when there was not as much homebrew information available, and he was one of the frontiersmen of homebrewing. The recipes I have seen of his tend to have the following flaws: 1) Use of saccharine. In most cases, I would just leave it out altogether. For sweeter beers you can always adjust the fermentability – either through mash temperatures or by using a less attenuative yest. For true milk stouts, use lactose. 2) Ludicrous hop schedules. This was most apparent in the Guinness recipe, which called for something like 4 ounces of Bullions! But Draper pointed out that quality hops were not available when Line was brewing and I suppose that would explain it. The best solution would be to make an educated guess as to the IBUs (or look it up in Eckhardt, Jackson, or other source of beer info) for the given beer and develop your own hop schedule. Then, since the IBUs calculated by any formulas I’ve seen can only put you in the ballpark, try your clone with the real thing and adjust hops as necessary. 3) Just plain wrong. This seemed most evident in the Watney’s clone recipe from that book. I will issue my standard disclaimer that I have never tried that recipe or compared it directly with Watney’s, but if it is even close I will eat my shorts. The only help here is a critical eye to realize that Watney’s certainly has nowhere near as much crystal malt as suggested by Line – if it has any at all (which I doubt). Dave Draper’s note suggested that there were a couple that fit into this last category, but maybe far more that do not. Like I said before, the only problem I had with the Guinness recipe was the amount of hops it used. So, definitely try some of the recipes and then post the results. Dave Draper is the only person I have talked to so far who has actually compared some of these recipes with the real thing – and he claims some success. Space Processor Software Engineering | Loral Federal Systems, Manassas, VA | (703) 367-6171

Response:

How do you feel about the book Brewing the Worlds Great Beers, by Dave Miller? I am a relatively new (but well equipped) all-grain brewer who is looking

Um, I’ll just take your word on the "well equipped" part… for an informative book which describes beer styles from around the world and discusses brewing techniques and all-grain recipes to produce them. From the title, this book sounds like it may be exactly what I want, but I’ve never seen the book. Are there others that you would recommend? Thanks, Joel If you are an all-grain brewer, then I think you are probably beyond this book. (Known as "Miller-light" in some circles, to differentiate it from Miller’s other book, "The Complete Handbook.." which is called "Miller-dark" because of its dark colored cover).

I love BTWGB and it’s the first one I recommend to new brewers. I have about 15 brewing books and this is the one I reference most often on brew- day. Having said that, let me add that Miller uses single-step infusion mashes for most styles. If you’re one of those who feel that you can’t do a true Pilsener (or bock or weizen) without a three-stage decoction mash (or you just want to try it out for the experience), you may be ready for Greg Noonan’s "Brewing Lager Beer". There’s a lot of good information (some of it debateable – what else is new?) in this book as well as Miller’s previous book, TCHoH. My vote: Buy BTWGB. If you find that you need more info. later, get BLB or TCHoH (ILA – I love acronyms . Also, I’ve heard that George Fix is working on his own "brewer’s bible" (my title, not his). -Rich p.s. For those of you who think of Dave Miller as "that anal-retentive guy", check out page 19 of BTWGB – there’s a picture of a man starting a siphon with his MOUTH! (Don’t try that at home).

Response:

I’ve got a copy and think it’s great! It misses out on some aspects, but does not rave on about each recipe like Papazian does. He gives basics on each recipe, but gives you room to experiment by suggesting a number of hop and yeast varieties. He also has a wider variety of styles than other books. The book is full of practical advice rather than theoretical, so is perfect for real homebrewers, not just dreamers. ___ Andy Walsh | "Symmetry is tedious" – Victor Hugo NSW. AUSTRALIA. | "There are forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers." – Captain Beefheart ___

Response:

Actually I like that book a lot. When I first got it I thought that there would be nothing new for me after reading TNCJOHB and Miller’s other book. But, I have found that I use it quite a bit. The main reason I like it is because it contains "generic" recipes (separate extract, partial mash, and all-grain versions of each) for many of the major beer styles of the world. I found that when I first make a style I like to try the generic recipe first. I can then modify it to my own tastes. The book also has dicussions on lagering and kegging which the other two aforementioned books don not. It is fairly procedural (step-by-step style) and doesn’t get as technical as his other book. I recommend this book to any brewer beginning any stage (extract, partial mash, or all-grain) of the process. –Russ

Response:

Thanks, Joel

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