The Best Books About Beer: A Perfect Gift for the Beer Lover

Looking for a great gift for the beer lover on your list? Here are some of my favorite books about beer:

THE OXFORD COMPANION TO BEER
 
This book, organized like a hybrid dictionary/encyclopdedia, is my go to reference guide for everything about beer.

As described by the Oxford University Press website:

The first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer features more than 1,100 A-Z entries written by 166 of the world's most prominent beer experts. Attractively illustrated with over 140 images, the book covers everything from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and the social and political implications of sharing a beer.

COMPLETE JOY OF HOMEBREWING

This book is a must have for the beginning to expert brewer. 

As described by The Complete Joy of Homebrewing website:

Charlie Papazian, master brewer and founder and president of the American Homebrewer's Association and Association of Brewers, presents a fully revised edition of his essential guide to homebrewing. This third edition of the best-selling and most trusted homebrewing guide includes a complete update of all instructions, recipes, charts, and guidelines. Everything you need to get started is here, including classic and new recipes for brewing stouts, ales, lagers, pilseners, porters, specialty beers, and honey meads. 

MICHAEL JACKSON'S EYEWITNESS COMPANION: BEER

If you are going to own any book about beer, it should be one written by the late great Michael Jackson. The companion to beer is a nice little guide, easy to travel with, and easy to reference. The perfect book for that person who enjoys beer, but wants to learn more about different styles and new styles.

TASTING BEER: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE WORLD'S GREATEST DRINK

This book is for the true beer geek. It's filled with lengthy descriptions of the anatomy of beer - why is beer a certain color? What does bitterness really mean, and how is it measured? How do I have my own tasting party? All of this and much much more is included in these pages. It's also filled with some lovely illustrations, graphs, and infographics, which was wonderful for somebody like me who loves visual communication.

Enjoy finding and reading some of our favorite beer books! 

Did we miss one you love? Let us know!

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Beer Gifts: The Brewing Magazine

Looking for a great gift for the beer lover? How about a subscription to a brewing magazine? The homebrewer, the beer lover, and the beginning aficionado will enjoy their monthly / bimonthly news, sent straight to their doorstep. Here are a few magazine suggestions Jolly Good Fellows would like to recommend:

 


Draft Magazine is "America's Favorite Beer Magazine." It is filled with reviews, traveling ideas, and everything beer . 
 


 
All About Beer is a magazine that focuses on the culture of beer. Each issue includes beer and brewing news, made for the beer lover, the connoisseur, and the brewer.

 



Brew is one of the best resources for homebrewers of all skill levels. If you somebody who is dabbling in this hobby (or thinking about it), then this magazine is a must have resource for the brewers library. 

Beer Gift Ideas: Etsy Style

Looking for a gift for the beer geek on your list? Skip the beer baskets this year and build your own beer gift with these beer gift ideas from Etsy.com. Sure, it's a unique beer gift idea, but the one of a kind quality makes it that much better. Check our this treasury, filled with ideas, hopefully giving you some inspiration!

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Beer Recipe: Bavarian Style Mustard

Want to cook with beer? Here is a great beer recipe that is easy to make at home, and delicious. It's homemade mustard, great with sausages, pretzels, and anything you would find at Oktoberfest. Also - this is an expensive beer lovers gift you can make for your friends this holiday season.

Here's how to make a simple Bavarian style beer mustard:

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup whole brown mustard seed

• 1 cup beer, ambers, browns, or pale ales work best

• 1 cup dry mustard

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine mustard seed and beer in a medium glass or plastic bowl (nothing metal!) and let stand overnight. Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and blend until almost smooth (mustard will be grainy). Add the dry mustard, sugar, and salt; blend well.

Place in a jar with tight-fitting lid. Age in a cool dark place 2 to 8 weeks. Store in a cool dark place.

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Download the recipe card here:

Below are a few pictures I took during the process. Please let us know if you have a favorite homemade mustard recipe, especially if it's a beer recipe.

Prost!

For jars, I sanitized some small canning jars I had around the house. These are pint sized, and I simply boiled them in water for 10 minutes.

Here is what the seeds look like after soaking them in beer overnight:

And this is the consistency of the mustard after grinding it in my food processor:

Brewing Beer as a Holiday Gift

I know what you are thinking... how can I possibly think about the holidays when it's the beginning of October!? Well, friends, if you want to brew some beer for your friends, you are going to want to start thinking about it. On average, it takes approximately 6 - 8 weeks for a beer to properly ferment, carbonate, and do it's general "beer thing." That means we should start brewing in mid-October to make Christmas.

This year I'm testing out a recipe for a spiced pumpkin ale. I'm starting by making a one gallon batch to test it out. The pumpkin beer recipe is below. It's a simple homebrew recipe, and great holiday beer to share as a beer gift, or just for your own celebrations.


 INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. 2 Row Malt
• 8 oz. 2 Row Pale Ale
• 8 oz. Crystal 60L

• 0.25 oz Northern Brewer Hops (@45 minutes)
• 0.50 oz Northern Brewer Hops (@5 minutes)

• 1/2 Package of Muntons Dry Yeast

• 2 lbs. Pumpkin (pie pumpkins are preferred, but a regular ole Jack O' Lantern works, too)
• Spices: 2 cinnamon sticks, several whole cloves of garlic, fresh ginger (peel the ginger and slice it), whole all spice, 2 teaspoons dry nutmeg (@30 minutes)
• Place all the spices in a teabag or, as I did, just use a grain bag (since the spices do not go in until after the grains come out, I just dumped the grains from my bag and reused it for the wort) 

DIRECTIONS


To begin this homebrew recipe, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Peel the pumpkin using a pairing knife or vegetable peeler. Cut in half and clean out the guts. Chop roughly into 2 inch squares, place on the lightly greased baking pan, drizzle with oil, and roast until it's fork tender, but not mushy.

While the pumpkin is roasting, heat 3 quarts of water to 170 degrees.

Place the grains and the cooked pumpkin in two separate grain bags. When the water is at 170 degrees steep both together for 45 minutes, keeping the water temp between 145 - 155 degrees. Stir every fifteen minutes.

While grains and pumpkin steeps, heat 1 gallon of water in another pot to 160 degrees. After 45 minutes of steeping, take the grains and pumpkin out of the pot and rinse the grains with the 1 gallon of water (I placed a metal strainer over my pot and used that for sparing).

Boil wort for 45 minutes, adding hops and spices according to schedule above. At this point you can add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar or molasses, but this is entirely optional. I didn't use it this time (and didn't list ingredients above), but have read several recipes that do add sugar during the wort process.

After 45 minutes, take off the heat and cool to 70 - 80 degrees using a ice bath or a wort chiller. Pour cooled wort into a sanitized one gallon jug, adding more water if necessary. Place cap on top and shake to aerate. Take cap off, pitch yeast. Top with water, if necessary, and place stopper with blow off tube at top.

Let ferment for two weeks (don't worry about second fermentation) and bottle. No need to use corn sugar for carbonation, it will be fine as is.

Enjoy, and let us know if you try it at home or have your own recipe!

Prost!



Questions? Comments? Please write below, or contact the author at: sjames@beerfellows.com

Welcome to Your Weekend: Sarah James Style

The Oxford Companion to Beer edited by Garrett Oliver is a book I've been salivating for. Thank goodness I had a recent birthday and my brother-in-law and his wife were kind enough to buy me a copy, which I will take most of my weekend reading through. Granted, the book is not one you sit and read from cover-to-cover, but rather, it is a complex and thorough encyclopedia for all things beer. That said, it is very readable and fun to delve into. I have already noticed it even lists one of my favorite brewers - New Glarus Brewing Company - in its pages:

I'm telling you, if you want a great beer book (or need a gift for your beer loving friend), this is the book to purchase for them. It's extensive content and easily read entries answer all your beer questions, leaving you a walking beer guru (and who wouldn't want to be that?).

The book is a little pricey ($65) - but having supernatural knowledge of beer? Say it with me: PRICELESS!

The Oxford Companion to Beer
by Garrett Oliver

Post Script: If you haven't read Garrett Oliver's other book, The Brewmaster's Table, I would highly recommend that, too. Oliver takes you on a beer journey with his narration of the places he has been, the food he has ate, and, most importantly, the beer he pairs with food during his travels. This beer book is a must have beer resource for your personal library!