[dannyj621]

what helped you learn about beer and brewing? I suppose this is a question for the more veteran brewers on the forum.  Did anyone go to school for it, or did you read books and if so what are some good books to read, or did you guys just actually brew a whole bunch

[a10t2]

Brewing the same recipe several times in a row with minor variations in process or ingredients is the BEST way to learn, IMHO.

Some books that I consider essential:
How To Brew
Designing Great Beers
Principles of Brewing Science
Radical Brewing
The "style series" books from Brewers Publications, for any styles you find particularly interesting.

[dannyj621]

ill look into those books thanks !

[majorvices]

Yeah, read, READ, READ! All those books are well worth purchasing. I started out with Papazians books and they were great at the time (though outdated today, still a good read from an entertainment value).

These forums are great tools too, never be afraid to ask a question - even if we make fun of you a little.  j/k - we probably won't. We all had the same questions when we started brewing, too. 

[mikeypedersen]

I agree witht he above posts.  Read all the books you can get your hands on.  How to Brew and Designing Great Beers are 2 of my favorites.

Join a club!  It's always a great resource when other people are in your area to talk about brewing and maybe even get together to brew.  There's always stuff that you can take away from brewing for the day with friend.  Often times you might pick-up some shortcuts or realize that there are more ways (sometimes easier ways) to do certain processes.

[hopfenundmalz]

Read books and magazines.

Surf the internet beer forums and look for technical papers.

Join a club and listen to what others have to say.  Brew with them on Big Brew Day.  Have the BJCP ranked folks try your beers and make suggestions.  Think about what they say and do it as best you can.

[dannyj621]

how can i find BJCP people?

[darkerpower]

look for bjcp sponsored competitions:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?board=23.0

you don't have to be present just mail your brew to the appropriate location.  Or i'm sure if you asked you could find a few people willing to try your homebrew on the forums if you mail it to them, or if you're lucky find someone close enough to drop it off.  Sadly i'm not bjcp certified or I would offer to do it for you.

+ a lot on join a club.  Chances are pretty good they'll be at least one bjcp certified member, and even if there isn't i'm sure they can offer you some solid pointers.

[dannyj621]

problem is where i live in ocean city maryland there are literally no home brew clubs or home brewers for that matter

[a10t2]

There's one in DC, 4 in DE, 18 in MD, 27 in PA, and 18 in VA. One has to be close to catch the occasional weekend meeting.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/directories/find-a-club

[dannyj621]

for some reason the pdf file wont load in my browser

[Thirsty_Monk]

Listen podcasts form basic brewing or brewing network.
And there is a lot of them.
You can go years without repeting the same podcast.

The mentioned books are also great source of info.

[dhacker]

Principles of Brewing Science by the late George Fix is the only book in the list that is over my head technical. It was written by a PhD for PhDs! It is for the most hard core brewer IMHO. I don't consider it an imperative read, and one that COULD make your head explode! 

[blatz]

as was mentioned, the forums and BJCP were big helps.

also, if there is a brewpub in the area, try and make friends with the head brewmaster and volunteer to help out on a brew session.

[dannyj621]

good call on that i actually just got off the phone with dogfish heads brew master and am going to do a one month volunteer session with them