Brew Your Own British Real Ale at Home

by Graham Wheeler, Roger Protz

196 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is difficult to review. I expected a book specifically about British real ale. What it is is a primer for home brewing. With that said, here we go: If I was just starting out as a home brewer and I wanted to make British ale, this book would be perfect. While it is not as in depth as the standard beginner brewing books ( John Palmer's How to Brew still sits on my nightstand and I've been brewing since '96 ) it manages to balance quality of information with not overwhelming the reader. The information provided is solid, interesting, and moves along rather quickly ( How to Brew can read like a chemistry text book at times ). This book, combined with the instructions that usually come with a recipe kit will really get you started as a brewer. The problem is I'm not getting started as a brewer. I've been doing this for over 15 years. In the beginning I found this book, at best, a nice refresher course, at worst, boring. Aside from the British terms like calling the boiling pot a "copper" there just wasn't much new information. I expected discussions on what made the beer "real" ale. Then I started noticing differences in techniques. For example this book recommends a 90 minute mash and a 90 minute boil. Now, everything I've ever read or heard in a class says that the grains we get today are modified to the point where you only need 60 minute mash and other than some really smooth stouts, I've never seen a recipe recommend anything but a 60 minute boil. But this book is new enough ( my copy was printed in 2011 ) such that he should be working with similar ingredients. So there are enough differences between this book and common American practices that it makes the reading worth while. Though still boring at times. Then there's the recipes. I haven't tried any yet but I'll update this when I do. The list of recipes is amazing. From Fuller's ESB and London Pride, to Bass, to Guinness Extra Stout, to beers that aren't imported, to beers that aren't made anymore. There are milds, pale ales, bitters, porters and stouts. The list is impressive. Most have extract versions as well. On the down side the author never says what degree any of the crystal malt is. He also discusses all the different yeast options out there but then gives no recommendations in the recipes. In the end I did enjoy this book and do look forward to trying some of the recipes, but it wasn't everything I was hoping it would be.