I borrowed 80 Classic Brews and discovered most, if not all recipes are written for extract. Some negative reviews said the same things, the AG conversion recipe was not accurate and neither were the hops and yeast selection for the style. I don't know. It makes me wonder if several people say the same thing. On the other hand the overall rating is positive and two guys from a brew club I just joined recommended it so bought it. Also bought the Scotch Ale, Barley Wine and IPA books from the Classic Beer Style series. Didn't buy the Stout book as it got bad reviews, too technical and chemistry formula driven. I have read "How To Brew" by Palmer and "Designing Great Beers" by Daniels so figure with all these resources, and this web site, a bad beer can only be attributed to operator error.