Belgian Brewing book

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guillotine

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Anyone have good recommendations for a Belgian brewing book?

I have done a few a recipes from the Greg Hughes book and now I'm looking for more info and recipes in the style.

I found the Terry Foster Porters & Stouts book very useful for that style and ideally would like the Belgian equivalent.

I have seen 'brew like a monk' and 'Farmhouse ales' but as usual internet reviews are not very consistent: from Brilliant lots of recipes, to Rubbish not enough recipes!
 
Anyone have good recommendations for a Belgian brewing book?

I have done a few a recipes from the Greg Hughes book and now I'm looking for more info and recipes in the style.

I found the Terry Foster Porters & Stouts book very useful for that style and ideally would like the Belgian equivalent.

I have seen 'brew like a monk' and 'Farmhouse ales' but as usual internet reviews are not very consistent: from Brilliant lots of recipes, to Rubbish not enough recipes!

There is Pierre Rajotte's book in the Classic Beer Style series, I have read it but not done anything from the book, I am not a fan of Belgian Beer. I found that it was up to the same level of Terry's book on Porters and Stouts from the same series. The main message that I retained from the book is that Belgian beers are so idiosyncratic that it's difficult to give any rules or solid guidelines. Give it a go, you could probably pick it up second-hand on Amazon.

Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymous ... I bought his book on Brewing with Wheat ... and swore that I would never buy any of his books again ... he is a journalist and the Wheat book is full of journalistic pap. It's nowhere near the level of Terry Foster or John Palmer or other excellent writers out there. I have seen similar points of view on the net regarding his other books ... shame, I would have liked to have bought Hops :-(
 
Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymous ...

I just finished reading this. A very interesting read into the histories of the monastery's and brewing etc and some good tips on techniques.
I found it a bit 'American' at points but once you get past that it's a good reference book.

DA
 
I have Brew Like a Monk and Farmhouse Ales. They're great for historical context, processes and so forth. They have definitely changed the way I look at recipe formulation. If you're looking for more straight recipes, then they may not be the best.
 
Brew Like a Monk is a good read but does not contain usable recipes, if that's what you're after.
 
Brew Like a Monk is a good read but does not contain usable recipes, if that's what you're after.

usable recipes => which is exactly what my gripe is with the book on Wheat ... it's a chronicle not a manual

But I will admit that I do have a few issues with journalism and journalistic writing so my point of view has a definite slant to it. I came close to burning the book on Wheat but that is against my religion ... because we all know the last set of people were who started burning books :whistle:
 
I actually really enjoyed BLAM. As others have said it's not a recipe book, however it will definitely inspire you to create your own Belgian recipes.
If it's recipes you're after have a look at Candi Syrup Inc's recipe page here.
 
Thanks, I have brought Pierre Rajotte's Book, its pretty much what i was looking for. It definitely needs updating though: it suggests Table Beer is good for Pregnant Women or people who are driving, and I'm guessing there was no live yeast back in 92 as the main source of yeast is to buy some Belgium beer (in Belgium so its fresh) then collect the yeast left in bottle. I guess we have less fun now, and are hobbies are all to easy!
 
Brew Like a Monk and Farmhouse Brewing would be my first picks, they contain all you need to know about brewing Belgian style beers. I'm not a fan of straight recipe books as they seldom tell you the thought process, inspiration and reasoning behind the recipe, so can't really recommend any Belgian specific ones, but Modern Homebrewing Recipes by Gordon Strong is what I feel a recipe book should be and has a good selection of Belgian Recipes.
 
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