Graham Wheeler

Published by Britain's Campaign for Real Ale, Wheeler's book collects recipes from many of England's regional breweries so that the homebrewer can recreate a neighborhood pub in his or her basement. The book begins with a substantial introductory section that outlines various homebrewing methods, ingredients, and equipment. While the general information about ingredients still holds, specific recommendations about yeast in particular are clearly out of date. Especially for American brewers, the homebrewing industry has improved and expanded the quality and variety of options available. The Brewing Instructions also show their age. The recipes are aimed at all-grain brewers with extract options provided as footnotes. However, the "Method B" instructions--really just a partial mash--call for a product no longer easily found in the US: Diastatic Malt Syrup. Some conversations with my LHBS yielded a workable solution using available base malts. Stripping away the outdated ingredient/method information, you're left with some very interesting information about the history of British Real Ales. Want to know how Bass bottled their beer in 1880? It's in there!

Of course, the meat of this book is its recipes, and there are plenty. Broken up into Mild, Pale & Bitter, Porter & Stout, and Old Ale & Barley Wine, each section begins with a short introduction of the style and then presents the recipes. Each ale begins with a short 1-2 sentence description followed by the OG in both specific gravity and degrees Plato. Ingredient requirements are listed for 25 liter, 23 liter, and 5 US gal batches. Mash schedule, boil time, racking gravity, ABV/ABW, IBU, and Color are indicated for each brew. At the bottom of the page are instructions for making an extract version.

The sheer number of recipes might feel a bit overwhelming, but it's clear that you're not going to run out of options. The best thing is just to dive right in. There are some of the more popular concoctions (Guiness Extra Stout, Old Speckled Hen, Bass, Worthington White Shield, Thomas Hardy) as well as many intriguing regional favorites. I don't know that a brewer beginning now would feel comfortable with the book given the adjustments that have to be made for current ingredients, but intermediate brewers on up should find the information more than accessible.… (altro)