The joy comes through indeed in this very thorough book by the editor of Zymurgy, and president of the American Homebrewers Association. The book’s logic is quite clever: after an engaging history lesson the beginner is run through a simple recipe and instructions for making five gallons of beer of rewarding quality. There follow chapters of greater depth on processes and ingredients, then a cycle through a more demanding recipe where the brewer can use more complicated techniques and can exercise more choice over ingredients. That is followed by descriptions of the chemistry of malt, yeast, hops, and water, and of techniques and theory so that brewers can create their own recipes. Then a cycle through the process once again. There are 13 appendices, from a glossary to a treatise on siphoning, but no index.
