The Brewer's Apprentice

A behind-the-scenes guide to the craft brewing world--with advice from the best in the business at Summit, Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, and more!Learn the finer points of craft brewing beer, ciders, and meads with eighteen world-class brewers, including Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head), and Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada)--as well as top brewers from Belgium, England, Scotland, France, Canada, and Germany--as they share their expertise in vivid, engaging interviews. In The Brewer's Apprentice, you get incomparable behind-the-scenes access to the craft brewing world, along with tutorials on everything from mastering the perfect pour to designing a world-class IPA. This illustrated handbook escorts you through the steps of the brewing process and offers a unique curriculum that supports and enhances your knowledge of brewing basics. Inside, you'll find:

• Advice on sourcing the best hops, barley, wheat, and more
• Information on farm-to-table and seasonal brewing
• Strategies for setting up your homebrewing workshop to master brewing chemistry 101
• Methods for tinkering with nontraditional ingredients and extreme brews
• Techniques for brewing mead, sour ales, and cider

"Maestros from Summit, Russian River, Schneider & Sohn, Dogfish Head, BrewDog, Fuller, Captain Lawrence, and Tugwell spill on mash and lautering, bittering hops, ales, Belgian style, lambic, brewing with fruit, barrel aging, ciders, meads, and evaluating beer . . . In the best possible sense, you will need a drink to get through this." --Library Journal