This is not an exhaustive list. These are the books that I’ve read. If readers think there are others I should look at, or would like to suggest, please do so in the comments section.
Home Brewing
The Complete Joy of Home Brewing (Charlie Papazian) – My wife gave me this as a birthday present almost 20 years ago. In my opinion it’s the best place to start.
The Home Brewer’s Companion (Charlie Papazian) – The next step.
Home Brewer’s Gold (Charlie Papazian) – Information about beer styles, and many recipes (malt extract and all grain).
Radical Brewing (Randy Mosher) – Wonderful history, recipes and ideas for branching out in your brewing.
Brewer’s Companion (Randy Mosher) – An (out of print) brewer’s workbook. Mine has lots of typos, and a few sentences that just end (before they’re done). Still, a detailed resource that will help home brewers make better beer.
Designing Great Beers (Ray Daniels) – Definitely more advanced. If you want to start formulating your own recipes, or learn how to brew to style, this is a great place to start. Some excellent technical details too. Candidate to be the required text for CHEM 300 in 2011.
How to Brew (John Palmer) – Online resource.
Brew Ware (Karl Lutzen and Mark Stevens) – How to find and build equipment for home brewers. I built my immersion wort chiller using their directions. It works. Really well.
(More) Technical Books
Brewing (Michael Lewis and Tom Young) – A solid technical book about all aspects of brewing. Not light reading.
Beer: Tap Into the Art and Science of Brewing (Charles Bamforth) – Nice discussion of brewing, with solid science. Not too technical.
Brew Chem 101 (Lee Janson) – A short guide to brewing chemistry. Good for home brewers who want to have a bit more technical information than the typical home brew book provides. Will leave scientists wanting more. But that’s the point of the book, I think.
Principles of Brewing Science (George Fix) – A reasonably detailed discussion of brewing science. Some of the chemistry rubs me wrong (like Fix’s discussion of water). Still, it’s not a bad book.
