Project Extreme Brewing

Nicely written tutorial. Excellent volume for the novice and also good tips for the more experienced home-brewer. Clean, concise, and well photographed, Project Extreme Brewing teaches the reader how to make "extreme beer" (using different, and not typical ingredients - not your average six-pack!!!) and breaks down the process within three clearly written, and simple to understand, sections: 1. Ingredients, 2. Equipment, 3. Brewing. Highly recommended for those interested in the process!

Once upon a time, I hated beer. Then a local microbrewery opened up a couple blocks from my office. It wasn’t long until I had the realization that I didn’t like the mass-produced stuff that floods grocery store shelves across America. Early on, I discovered Dogfish Head & it remains one of my favorite breweries. Sam Calagione is a pioneer in the industry & was turning out his off-centered ales way before hipsters decided it was cool. Before I go any further, there are two things I should disclose: a) I’m a total fangirl & b) I may have once cried over spilt 120. Thankfully, my love of all things Dogfish lead me to this book.

This book is comprised of three parts, the first of which is a primer on setting up your own home brew system. There are chapters devoted to ingredients & equipment as well as a guide to get you through your first batch of beer. There are two stand-alone pages on sterilization, which new brewers often overlook. Additionally, its called out during applicable steps in the first batch guide. Given that sterilization is the single most important factor of good beer, I appreciate how often the book emphasizes it.

The second & largest portion of the book is comprised of recipes. This is really where the book shines. The best part is that most have both an extract & all grain kit which will satisfy both sides of the home brew divide. The chapter on Dogfish recipes are as off-centered as you would expect--martini inspired blonde ales, pepper IPAs, & fruited saisons. I was excited to see an English barleywine, which I’ll be personally brewing this holiday season. The second chapter was a pleasant surprise--contributed recipes from some very recognizable breweries across the country. I was excited to see two of my favorites from my home state of Florida (7th Sun & Funky Buddha).

This book is an enjoyable guide for those new to home brewing who want to start with something other than a prepackaged lager kit. The recipes in part two will appeal to even experienced home brewers. Calagione & the Alstrom brothers have a great love of craft beer & it shines through out the book.

Project Extreme Brewing, due out 21st Nov, 2017 from Quarto Publishing and the very well known artisinal brewers and beer advocates, Sam Calagione and Todd & Jason Alstrom, is a useful tome of beer advice, instruction and recipes covering 'extreme brewing', which they define as:

Extreme beers are beers made with extreme amounts of traditional ingredients or beers made extremely well with non-traditional ingredients. The people who make these kinds of beers, both professionally and at home, share a curiosity for how things work, and a passion for breaking free from the crowd (in this case boring, watery beer), a desire to put their own thumbprint on the world, and a propensity for risk. (1)

The book starts with a pretty good introduction to methods, necessary kit and sterilization. The authors do presuppose that the reader isn't a total neophyte brewer and is more or less familiar with the basics. There are also some interesting introductory picture and question sidebars with some neat trivia and info about the artisinal brewing culture in the USA and short history of same. The intro and tutorial parts of the book fill about 40% of the total content.

The lion's share of the content is given over to very specific recipes in both extract and all-grain formats. These recipes are for specific beers from specific breweries including Sam Calagione's own Dogfish Head Brewery. There are a couple recipes for saison in the book which I fully intend to make this winter. (Fruited beers and spiced meads are my faves, and I don't care who calls me a philistine!!).

The last 10% of the book has a nice Q&A and afterword, along with a handy index.

All in all, a worthwhile addition to the zymurgist's library and guaranteed to keep the keen homebrewer busy for a long long while.

Five stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

A collection of fascinating, out-there home brew recipes from creative craft brewers around the country. As a super-novice, they seem a bit complicated and intimidating to me, but I can't wait to try some after I have more experience with the home brewing basics. This book also contains helpful but high-level sections on ingredients, equipment, and the brewing process - though you'll probably want a more in-depth guide when actually doing the brewing itself. Overall, very inspiring.

As long as there’s been beer, there’ve been brewers pushing the envelope of what we traditionally define the beverage as. Extreme brewing is as old as beer itself but it’s come to new heights with the craft beer explosion of recent years. For those looking to brew their own extreme beer, Project Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast’s Guide to Extreme Brewing at Home by Sam Calagione and Todd & Jason Alström may be just the book you seek.

This isn’t the first time Sam Calagione has written about extreme beer. This new book is really just his 2006 book, Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast’s Guide To Brewing Craft Beer At Home, rebranded with some extra worthless babbling from the Alström Brothers. The old book has been updated a number of times and had additional recipes added over the years also.

Project Extreme Brewing takes the homebrewing basics contained in Sam’s earlier books and adds over 50 homebrew recipes from more recent commercial craft beer examples.
Project Extreme Brewing Sanitation SectionLike any homebrew book, this one begins with explanations of ingredients, equipment, and how to brew your first batch. It’s far more brief and less detailed (as you can see in the picture that’s then entirety of the coverage on sanitation, one of the most important parts of brewing) than you’ll find in the most recommended homebrew titles like The Complete Joy Of Homebrewing and How To Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. If you haven’t read those first, they’re a far better investment to get you started.

While the recipes included in this book offer a range of extreme brews, most aren’t going to excite. Extreme beers take some skill, and starting beginners with these crazy beers will most likely result in less than awesome end product. New brewers should learn the craft first, before attempting to get too crazy (though maybe some of these weird ingredients can cover up the off-flavors often present in beginner brews).
So what do the Alström Bozos add to the book? Absolutely nothing. Their typical lowbrow gibberish and back-patting does nothing to benefit this book in any way. Like their website, they make money off of the contributions and work of others. Go ahead and skip their couple small parts without worry of missing anything worth your time.

Sam Calagione may have written the original book on extreme brewing but this latest release seems to be just a repeat of what he created more than 10 years ago. Though the recipes have been updated, it doesn’t offer much more than some decent recipes and brewing basics.

While it might not be a great reference for the starting homebrewer, this book may be a good starting point for a bit more experienced brewers looking to try their hand at some commercial extreme brews. If you’d like to check it out, grab your copy of Project Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast’s Guide To Extreme Brewing At Home on Amazon now.

I received an advance copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've always been a huge fan of beer. And not just any regular beer, but beer that is unique, involved, and creative in the respect that you can't believe the brewer actually pulled something like that off. I have a lot of respect for that. I may not be a brewer.....yet....but I am in the midst of learning more about beer in order to start.

I really enjoyed this book. For a beginner, like me, who's really only taken beer classes and is a student of the movement (and a great taster I might add), it was nice to get a splash of colour with all of the pictures, a bit of history (I really enjoyed that part), and an explanation of what goes into beer, what is needed equipment wise, and some helpful tips with the recipes provided.

I enjoyed the way the book was written, a mixture of formal and informal language, with a hint of humour. I also really appreciated that the recipes came from all over North America, and some brewers from Canada (that's me, your neighbour to the North) were included. I was impressed that Beau's was included with their Gruit, but hey, it's a lost art that's being revived. The recipes were really interesting and I wish that I could get my hands on some of the bottles from the breweries because they just sound so tasty. I would recommend this book to any novice brewer or anyone interested in getting into it. It gives you a taste of what you're in for. I really enjoyed it and once I get there, I'd look forward to trying some of the recipes..

Respect the beer! Cheers!

I have never brewed beer before (just kombucha), but after reading this book I think that I could do it. Even if I never do start brewing beer, reading this book was interesting. I learned a lot about what goes into those delicious microbrewery beers.