Experimental Homebrewing: Mad Science in the Pursuit of Great Beer

Take your brewing to the next level. They say that a meal tastes better if you make it yourself—that you can taste the preparation, labor, and care put into the final dish. It’s often the same for home-brewed beer; perhaps nothing on this earth tastes more sublime than that first victorious sip of basement ale. But eventually, as your skills improve and the difficult becomes easy, something nasty happens: you get bored. Luckily, if you’re a bored brewer, Experimental Homebrewing was written for you. Inside, authors and brewmasters Drew Beechum and Denny Conn don’t waste their time describing what malted barley is or how to use a hydrometer. Instead, they demonstrate how the scientific method can empower you to break the established rules of homebrewing in order to create new, unique beers all your own, using cheap and common equipment to your advantage. In addition to explaining special considerations for experimental homebrewing (such as recipe design and small-batch brewing), Beechum and Conn guide you through your first experiments before delving into ways you can deviate from the norm during boiling, fermentation, bottling, and kegging—and even in the glass. Of course, the book wouldn’t be complete without a rundown of unconventional ingredients, including flowers, cacao nibs, chili, seaweed, chicory, peppermint, and more. So whether you’re into IPAs, Belgians, porters, stouts, wheats, or all of the above, Experimental Homebrewing enables you to venture forth into a world of homebrewing possibilities you never thought possible.

About the Author :
Drew Beechum has been brewing and writing about brewing since he first picked up a kettle in 1999. He is the author of The Everything Homebrewing Book, The Everything Hard Cider Book, and The Homebrewer's Journal, and coauthor of Experimental Homebrewing. Beechum has also written for Zymurgy, the journal of the American Homebrewers Association, writes a regular column for Beer Advocate, and is the cohost of the Experimental Brewing podcast. He lives in Pasadena, California, with his lovely wife, a dedicated brewery, and his loyal army of dogs and cats. Denny Conn brewed his first batch of homebrew in 1998 and since then has brewed over 500 more. He is a BJCP national-ranked beer judge and has been a member of the governing committee of the American Homebrewers Association for nine years. His recipes have been brewed by several commercial breweries in both the United States and Europe. He was a contributing author to Craft Beer for the Homebrewer and coauthor of Experimental Homebrewing. He currently consults for several breweries, is a field educator for Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, Oregon, and cohosts the Experimental Brewing podcast. He lives in the foothills of the Coast Range in Oregon with his wife, five cats, and two dogs.

Review :
"I was delighted when I read this book for the first time. It's a whimsical yet authoritative treatise on the ingredients and processes that make great beer€¦and the best beer recipe book since Brewing Classic Styles. Experimental Homebrewing is a book that every brewer can benefit from." €” John Palmer, Author of How to Brew, Brewing Classic Styles, and Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers "What I love about homebrewing is the opportunity for experimentation, learning, fun, and great beer. Drew and Denny have captured all of that and more." €”Jamil Zainasheff, Author of Brewing Classic Styles, Owner of Heretic Brewing "Not since Radical Brewing has a book so thoroughly tackled the wildly-creative side of homebrewing." €” Gordon Strong, BJCP President, Author of Brewing Better Beer, and Three-time Ninkasi Award Winner