How To Brew by John Palmer, 4th Edition

Fully revised and updated, How To Brew: Everything You Need to Know to Brew Great Beer Every Time is the definitive guide to making quality beers at home.

Whether you want simple, sure-fire instructions for making your first beer, or you're a seasoned homebrewer working with all-grain batches, this book has something for you. John Palmer adeptly covers the full range of brewing possibilities accurately, clearly and simply. From ingredients and methods to recipes and equipment for brewing beer at home, How to Brew is loaded with valuable information on brewing techniques and recipe formulation. A perennial best seller since the release of the 3rd edition in 2006, How to Brew is a must-have for every new and seasoned brewer's library.

This completely revised and updated edition includes more emphasis on the top five priorities:

• Sanitation. Good sanitation is the most important factor for brewing great beer. Brewing is all about preparing and fermenting a wort to your specification. Good sanitation ensures that your chosen yeast is the only microorganism in the brew.
• Fermentation temperature control. After good sanitation, a healthy fermentation is the most important factor for brewing great beer, and good temperature control is key. Yeast are living organisms and their activity is controlled by temperature.
• Proper yeast management. Good beer needs well-managed yeast. After temperature, the most important factor for managing the fermentation is pitching the proper quality and quantity of yeast. These topics are discussed in chapters 6 and 7.
• The boil. The ingredients are cooked during the boil. If the wort is not cooked right, the beer will not taste right. Yes, you can undercook or overcook your beer. This will be discussed more in chapter 4.
• The recipe. The definition of a good recipe is that it has the right proportions of ingredients to provide both complexity and balance of the flavors. A typical recipe will consist of a majority of a pale base malt, with additional specialty malts for signature flavors or accents, and enough hops to provide a balance of bitterness, flavor, and aroma to the beer. It is important to realize that a great recipe will not overcome poor brewing techniques and a good recipe does not need to be complicated.

Five new chapters covering:

• malting and brewing
• strong beers
• fruit beers
• sour beers
• and adjusting water for style

All other chapters revised and expanded:

• Expanded and updated charts, graphs, equations, and visuals.
• Expanded information on using beer kits.
• Thorough revision of mashing and lautering chapters:
• Expanded tables of recommended times and temperatures for single-infusion, multiple-step, and decoction mashing.
• Complete discussion of first wort gravity as a function of water to grist ratio.
• Complete revision of infusion and decoction equations.

Revised and updated information on managing your fermentation:

• Yeast pitching and starters.
• Yeast starter growth factors.
• Yeast and the maturation cycle.