Homebrew Beyond the Basics: All-Grain Brewing & Other Next Steps

This book (in either the 1st or 2nd edition) is a gem. Its major strength is that the author tells you straight up what you need to worry about in all-grain brewing and what you don’t. That’s helpful, because most of us don’t need to worry about certain complicated (and mostly unnecessary) brewing process steps that other brewing literature suggest are essential. The book is under 200 pages total, with perhaps about half in pictures. So, it’s not a dense read, but it is still filled with essential and sometimes advanced information (more on that later). Another hallmark of this book is its clarity. For example, the author explains mashing for the uninitiated much better, than, say, Papazian in his “Complete Joy of Homebrewing” and “Homebrewer’s Companion,” but without Papazian’s tired, folksy tone.The book provides “beyond the basics” information more in terms of ingredients and experimentation than pure brewing technique or process. For example, it doesn’t cover electric brewing, BIAB, or specifics on using hardware like a wort pump. For that reason, I recommend reading this along with “Brew Like a Pro” by Dave Miller, which will acquaint you with a realistic, start-to-finish process.I like that you can read each chapter and have enough information to skip other books on the same topic, unless you want more theory or a deeper dive. For example, there’s no need to read Jamil’s “Yeast,” because this book explains the nuts and bolts of harvesting and reusing yeast sufficient for 99% of homebrewers. Same goes with Tonsmeire’s “American Sour Beers,” Palmer’s “Water,” Mallett’s “Malt,” etc.I credit this book with convincing me to start using a refractometer for monitoring the sparge (to ensure the gravity doesn’t go below about 1.008). This process can make or break a session beer. Even “Session Beers” by Jennifer Talley—an entire book supposedly devoted to brewing low abv beers—doesn’t mention the risk of oversparging, collection of tannins, and benefits of a refractometer or monitoring the sparge.This book is also an excellent introduction to kegging, though I have my doubts about the author’s claim that 30psi for 30 seconds can carbonate 5 gallons of beer.The author’s experiments are another standout. They address practical aspects of brewing (and challenge some oft-repeated wisdom) with actionable take-aways. In this way, the book not only compiles information, but adds to the homebrewing knowledge base.The hop chapter is comprehensive and details many hopping techniques, but some of the info is pretty basic and you’ll find it in every other homebrew book, even those geared toward extract brewers. Same goes for the yeast chapter.I found myself wishing this book received a full update. Some details were overlooked, such as omitting John Mallett’s “Malt” as a reference on p. 192 (that book was published in 2015, a year after the 1st edition of this book, which is why it was originally omitted) or Mike Tonsmeire’s new Sapwood Cellars brewery (also p. 192). Page references are provided throughout, though a few are incorrect (on page 56, the reference to “Why pH is Important” should be 58, not 66; on page 92, the reference to hop bursting should be 88, not 84).As a final critique, some of author’s advice is inconsistent with the experience he shares. For example, he mentions how he has successfully repitched yeast for 10 generations, but advises the reader not to go beyond 4 generations (p. 124). Same with his description of using flours in the mash; he mentions “no problems” with using flour for up to 50% of the mash, but then advises using no more than 40% (p. 162). Finally, he suggests fermenting high-gravity beers like Imperial Stout on the yeast cake of a low-gravity beer (p.110), but in his recipe for an Imperial Stout he suggests just 2 packs of dry yeast (p.65).

The books is a easy read for the beginning brewer that explains the process along with equipment needed.What I found helpful was the sections on adding herbs or fruit to beer. In these sections the writer explains what to look for and how it changes the process.

Best book ever on brewing beer. It has everything you need to know.

Great book, can't wait to try my own brews.

This needs to be a part of every homebrewer's library. great read. excellent reference material after you've finished.

All everything you need to know about all-grain brewing.I love this book

I'm happy with the revised edition of "Beyond the Basics." The orginal release has been one of my favorite homebrew books. Incredibly informative and easy to read/understand. The revised/expanded release particularly addresses new information regarding hops/hop additions, as well as fermenting with different yeasts and bacteria (lactic acid bacteria). Really enjoyed the updated information on mixed culture fermentation and kettle souring.Overall, not a vast amount of new information but enough to warrant the purchase. It'll continue to be a book I regularly go to for helpful advice.Karnowski makes incredible beer at Zebulon so I know that I'm receiving solid guidance.

I have been brewing for about 7 years and I was afraid this book would be boring considering my level of brewing knowledge. But it wasn’t. This book is packed with great information presented in a way that every brewer can understand. I highly recommend this book.

I have read many books on brewing, this is without a doubt the best choice for novice, or fly by night brewers.