Hey y’all! Brewing with kits is simple, and that’s what I love about it. But if you ever want to dig deeper into the why behind what you’re doing, there’s one book I keep pointing people to: The Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian.
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Why I reference it
When I wrote my post on how to prime your beer for bottle conditioning, I wanted to give you solid guidance on how much priming sugar to use. Instead of just giving you my opinion, I quoted Papazian directly. His advice is very clear: don’t exceed the recommended priming sugar dosage per 5 gallons, and note that it’s measured in cups, not pounds.
That kind of practical, specific guidance is exactly why the book is so useful. Over-priming your beer is one of those mistakes you really don’t want to make, and having a trusted reference on your shelf helps you avoid it.
For the curious brewer
At the end of my stroll through 7,000 years of beer brewing history, I recommended this book for a more in-depth and extremely detailed overview of all things homebrew. If you’ve got a few batches under your belt and you’re starting to wonder what’s going on inside your fermenter, this is a great next step.
You don’t need it to start
I want to be clear: you don’t need to read a big brewing book before your first batch. A beer kit and its instructions will get you there. My Brewing with Kits 101 guide walks you through it. But once you catch the brewing bug (and you will), a good reference makes the journey even more fun.
Grab a copy, grab a homebrew and enjoy the read. You can brew it!
Read more: How to prime your beer for bottle conditioning, 7,000 years of beer: a stroll down brewing history