I haven't done much reading and I hope I haven't come off as taking advantage of the folks here! Good suggestion though. I do own The Complete Joy...and can read Palmer's book online. I have a couple of other recipe based books which I can look at as well.
I can assure you that no one feels taken advantage of on this forum. I can also assure you that you are not the first person to attempt to LTBBF, nor will you be the last. The use of terms such as "flame-out," and the improper use of the term "dough-in" tells me that many people are skipping foundational reading (i.e., there's no such thing as a "dough-in" when performing a single infusion mash).
With that said, my concern is more for your development as a brewer. The first three books that I mentioned focus on brewing fundamentals. John Palmer has done a better job of keeping his book current than the other authors. I really like Dave Miller, but his writing style can be repetitive at times. Charlie P., well, what I can say? I learned how to brew reading the 2nd edition of
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (which was actually titled
The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing). All three of these titles are are breadth books that teach proper brewing terminology and basic technique.
After you have worked your way through one of the foundation books listed above, I recommend reading Greg Noonan's book, while somewhat dated, is an encyclopedia of decoction mashing, which is the most difficult and labor intensive way to mash. I rarely decoction mash, but I often perform a double mash, which is derived from the decoction mash. Noonan's book will also teach you why a "dough-in" is called a "dough-in," and when it is used in brewing. I personally believe that Ray Daniels' book is a must have because it looks at recipe creation from a very interesting point of view. The gem that I took away from Ray Daniels' book was bitterness unit to gravity unit ratio (BU:GU). You will be surprised how looking at beer styles from a BU:GU point of view will help to explain why you tend to prefer certain styles over others.
If you still have a burning hunger for more technical knowledge after reading the books listed above, I recommend
Brewing by Micheal Lewis and Tom Young.
Brewing can be rough sledding for a new or intermediate brewer because it is really targeted at people who want to go to work in the brewing and brewing-related trades. However, it is digestible by dedicated advanced home brewers.
In the end, the most comprehensive way to learn how to brew is via a combination of self-study, attempting to apply what you have through study, and sharing what you learned and possible new discoveries with other brewers. I started brewing over two decades ago, and I learn something new on this forum on at least a weekly basis.
Topic: Starch in Wort (Read 5778 times)
