So Yeah, Dood…

A great resource for brewers, Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels is not merely a cook book for beer makers.

Instead of simply laying out simple instructions to reproduce a particular beer, Daniels’ book goes further into discussing the origins of the style, that style’s evolution, what ingredients are typically used, and finally the basics surrounding how some award winning versions of that style were made. Think of this book as less a recipe book, and more a stylebook — the A.P. Stylebook of beers, if you will.

First published in 1996, with a new edition in 2000, Daniels book provides guides for the classic styles; this isn’t your guide to the so-called “extreme beers.” Instead you’ll find honest, carefully researched information on topics ranging from water profiles and mash schedules to malt types and yeast recommendations. The style origins go into extreme detail, noting the geographical, historical and cultural conditions that affected the way the beer was formulated. Using this book, one can come up with his own approximation of how to brew just about any base style of beer, and – with a little imagination – how to make that beer into something completely his own. (more…)