Better Beer & How to Brew It

by M.R. Reese

Beginners can learn how easy and inexpensive it is to brew beer at home. From choosing the equipment and ingredients, to preparing, fermenting, and aging, to bottling and serving. 137,000 copies in print.

Genres: Beer

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 12, 1981

Reviews

[B. Jay]

The greatest criticism of this book is it's age, as noted in the 'Why brew your own beer' section which states that there just simply is nowhere in the US where one can purchase quality beer... in 1978, that is. However, the nature of beer has not changed a whole heck of a lot since Thomas Jefferson had his own home-brew setup, so the bulk of information in this beginner's guide holds true today and is perhaps more useful to folks like me who may be intimidated by today's thick volumes on brewing science and techniques.
I would have given this book a three-star rating but it's well-written in general, and I love the '78 photos of people standing in a kitchen brewing beer. So it gets a one star bump.

[Will]

I did a book report on this in my science class, senior year of high school! I got a B. The truth is that at the time I had no idea what better beer was.

[Beeraucratic]

Not a bad beginners book, but a bit dated in my opinion. There are other books out there like the Joy of Homebrewing that give better guidance.