Here are a couple of books that have been hanging around my nightstand for quite some time. Fortunately the holiday season allowed a little time to give them a read. Here is what I discovered.
Hooch. Simplified Brewing, Winemaking & Infusing at Home
In Hooch, author Scott Meyer seeks to provide “an accessible and in-depth explanation of the basics of fermentation, beginning with essential supplies and handy accessories and then addressing the sciend of fermentation . . . and yeast husbandry, and finally summarizing the steps of fermentation.
Along the way, the book includes instructions for making homegrown wines, beer, cider, mead and distilling and infusing. Interspersed in that information are instructions for growing grapes, berries, hops, barley and more.
Indeed, the book has all of that, but calling it “simplified” is not an accurate characterization. “Summarized” is more like it. Simplified suggests you’ll find ideas for taking time honored processes and making them easier. Instead, I found the information to be good and relatively summarized explanations for exactly how things are traditionally done.
As an active, frequent homebrewer I can attest that the information on brewing is a useful overview, but incomplete for someone just starting out. A short paragraph on bottling in the brewing section, for example, is missing any information on how you get the beer from a bucket into the bottle. A longer explanation in the general fermentation section suggests using a bottle filler or funnel with plastic tubing. The level of detail just doesn’t compare to, say, Charlie Papazian’s Complete Joy of Homebrewing, which is a much more useful guide.
Certainly, Hooch does provide a good introduction and overview for creating your own wine, beer, or distilled spirits along with the basics for growing you own ingredients. It is certain to spark some ideas and create a little confidence in a beginner. Yet, those who already understand the basics will not find the kind of in depth knowledge to either simplify the process or take it to the next level.
Hooch is published by Running Press who provided me with a copy for review purposes. List price on the book is $22.00, though it is running around $16.50 on Amazon and the like.
D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., Images of America
It wasn’t long after David Gottlieb Yuengling immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1828 that he started a brewery in Pottsville, PA. One hundred eighty five years later, Yuengling is still a favorite beer of many who called Pennsylvania home at one time or another.
Author Robert A Musson, MD, is a practicing physician with a beer memorabilia fascination who tells the history of Yuengling through the use of rarely seen images provided by Yuengling family members. Early labels, cans and signs used to market the beer appear in the pages along with the brewery’s wagons and delivery trucks and brewing equipment.
The earliest known advertisement calls the facility a “Porter, Ale, Brown-Stout, and Beer Brewery.” Later advertisements in the 1880s from D.G. Yuengling’s Eagle Brewery referenced its “Porter, Ales and Extra Fine Lager Bier.”
By 1900 Yuengling was making more than 65,000 barrels of beer a year at the Pottsville facility and soon created breweries in Manhattan and Richmond, Virginia. Yuengling survived prohibition by continuing to produce “cereal beverages” and branching into ice cream production.
This is a must have book for die-hard Yuengling fans who seem to keep their love of Yuengling Lager long after branching out into the richer world of craft beers. Even those who have never tried a Yuengling might enjoy a look a the history of one of the U.S.’s oldest breweries from start-up to surviving prohibition, to continued production in this current modern renaissance of beer.
I received D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. from the publisher for review purposes and enjoyed my trip trough the book. You can get your own copy with this info: D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., $21.99, Arcadia Publishing. Available at local retailers, online bookstores, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888) 313-2665. I’ve seen it on Amazon for around $17.50.
