Extreme Brewing, Sam Calagione

[EatYourBeer]

Hey all,
I figure since I asked for this sub-forum I may as well inaugurate it too. :D

So I picked this one up recently, and I half love it, half hate it.

The love: There's a couple tables in there detailing how much to use of some pretty unusual ingredients, which is what made me buy the book once I saw it. My wife and I love experimenting with unusual flavors, and having a good list of quantities to use as a jumping-off point is going to be invaluable for our recipe formulation. :alc:
The recipes in the second half of the book are also pretty well laid out, and wide ranging. I'm looking forward to adapting them.

The hate: The first half of the book is a mediocre re-hash of every other basic intro to brewing book out there. Seriously, HALF of "Extreme Brewing" is dedicated to how to steep hops, and open a can of malt extract and pour it into a pot.

WHY???? Why, Sam, did you waste so much paper acreage in a book obviously geared towards people who already brew? There's so much you could teach us mere mortals about the things you do at Dogfish Head, and you blew the opportunity.

Anyone else picked this one up yet? I DO recommend it, despite the venom above. :rolleyes:

[MrMarbleHead]

I have it and had a lot of the same thought as you. It has been a long time since I have even opened it though. I remember one thing is that all the recipies are extract recipes, while it is not hard to convert to AG, it would have been nice for them to list both.

[Ó Flannagáin]

Wonder why he would do all extract recipes in an "extreme" brewing book. That's interesting. What really odd ingredients stand out in your mind that he mentions, Eat?

[EatYourBeer]

Wonder why he would do all extract recipes in an "extreme" brewing book. That's interesting. What really odd ingredients stand out in your mind that he mentions, Eat?

*grabs his copy off the shelf*
Not necessarily too far out, but:
Allspice
Anise
Chicory
Coriander
Grains of Paradise
Juniper
Licorice root
Rosemary
Saffron
St. John's Wort
Valerian

Along with quantity and recommended time.
Also a chart on various fruits and quantity/time/temp to avoid pectin haze, etc.
The recipes delve into chamomile, kiwi, peppercorn, cranberry, oaking, etc.

It's sort of a good overview of how to add interesting things to beer without going overboard. Also has clones for T'ej, Raison D'Etre, Midas Touch, and some others.

[Ó Flannagáin]

I've used black peppercorns in a saison and LOVED it

[fishruss]

I made the T'ej Ale. I'm drinking one right now. Pretty darn good. Takes a leap of faith with the ingredient bill though! I modified it somewhat. I used 12lbs. of the light amber blend honey Northern brewer sells. Did a preboil of a lb of light DME and 8oz. of gesho. Boiled the honey for 60min. Did an addition of 1 0z. cascade hops at 30min. Then another at 10 min. with the preboil gesho tea. Cooled to 70 and added the Wyeast Mead yeast. Secondary @ 2 weeks, Bottled 3 weeks after that. ABV is 9.8.

[Big_John]

I recieved the book as a Christmas present a few years ago. Very disappointing, much like most of Sam's beer. Both over-rated IMO.

[rdwj]

Wonder why he would do all extract recipes in an "extreme" brewing book.

Maybe he means extremely expensive?

[Rhoobarb]

I like DFH beers and Sam seems like he'd be a cool guy to have a beer or two with at the bar. But those ingredients listed, while different, aren't all that extreme. Give me something like chicken feet, rocky mountain oysters, goat scrotums or the frozen head of Ted Williams - now that's extreme!

[rdwj]

Give me something like... rocky mountain oysters, goat scrotums

Sounds like Sean's house ale

[Dale]

Goat scrotums make a good hop sack and Ted Williams should always be added to the secondary.

[Lerxst]

Ted Williams should always be added to the secondary.

Defrosted or frozen?