American Sour Beers

What a wonderful book! Sour beers have been traditionally classed as a Flanders Ale (Red or Brown), some variant of Lambic or as a Berliner Weisse. There are alternatives and that's what this book is all about. This is a recently published book and I see new styles of sour ales are finding their way into the BJCP guidelines. This is an exciting time for homebrewers.This book is probably the most comprehensive text on sour beers for the home brewer - it's full of useful information. The author has a website (search for the 'Mad Fermentationist') and obviously has a lot of experience on this topic.Be warned, this is not a book for the beginner. Brewing sour beers is a long complicated process and the results are not assured. The reader must be at least familiar with all grain brewing techniques in order to get most out of the book.Those of you who have already acquired a taste for sour beers will know that commercial examples are not at cheap and often will cost 10 to 30 dollars for a single bottle. Making them yourself costs no more than for other beers - you just have to wait a few years before they are ready. So start the production line now - this book will help you.Those of you who haven't acquired a taste, go out and buy some and see what you're missing - then buy this book.Highly recommended!

This book is fantastically well researched, and extremely informative in an area of brewing that is short on really quality literature. "Wild Brews" and "Farmhouse Ales" are both very quality books for traditional methods and the history of old world "wild" beers, but if you are interested in brewing or consuming experimental American sour beers, this book is absolutely essential.The author has an exceptional blog he has maintained for many years titled "The Mad Fermentationist". I have read nearly every article on the blog, and it got me started brewing sour beers in my own home. I have brewed over a dozen sour beers now, and felt like I mostly knew what I was doing. This book goes FAR beyond the content on his blog, and expanded my knowledge far beyond what I expected.The in-depth information into the methods of elite sour breweries and award winning homebrewers allows you to not only attempt to replicate their methods, but also gives you enough information to create your own methods from their advice. While incredibly well researched and dense with information, the book is extremely accessible due to the excellent writing style of the author.Overall I can't recommend it enough. If you brew sour beer, or want to brew sour beer, you absolutely must own a copy of this book.

Michael Tonsmiere is a national treasure for brewers. I've gotten more knowledge from reading his website, his posts and comments on Reddit and elsewhere, than from anyone else in the brewing industry, besides my amazing boss who taught me this trade. As a homebrewer, I purchased American Sour Beers and pored through it absorbing as much as my brain could handle. As a professional brewer, I've read it again and it has helped immensely - as I used this info to begin our own sour program. Anyway, if you are a homebrewer or a professional brewer that wants to know how the absolute best in this industry make sour beer, then you need to read this book. His exhaustive research for this book benefits us all. Anyhoo, thanks for writing this book, Michael. And to you reading this review, your drinkers demand that you purchase this book!

Yea, you figure you could probably find a lot of the information in this book online, if you spent a few days scouring forums and blog posts that all somewhat contradict each other. Or you could just buy this book. Anyone that's used to buying homebrewing paperbacks kind of gets used to the thin volume with somewhat oversized and spaced text, but this book is not one of them. This book is abut the thickness of a Brewing Classic Styles and a Farmhouse Ales added together, which is to say that it's quite a deal for the price listed here. There's tons of information, some of it so specific and comprehensive I doubt you're going to find a better source unless you happen to have the phone numbers of some notable brewmasters.

Dear Mike,Your book is an amazing jumping point but I have listened to you on the Brewing network and other areas and sometimes it sure sounds like you are changing your views and opinions on souring techniques. So your books awesome starting point but then you have to keep learning from other sources as you should as a brewer. Much appreciated for the launching point!

Dear Michael,Your zeal for brewing is more infectious than some Brett in an old wooden barrel.Out of all the great Brewers out there, I am hard pressed to think of anyone that embodies the spirit of homebrewing more than you. Thank you for being a great asset to the homebrewing community and inspiring me to brew better beer.Your writing style (as in your blog) is approachable, smart and informative. I just brewed my first Berliner Weisse with the recipe out of the book. I used Wyeast 5335 and Wlp 644 for the fermentation. Very strange looking spent grain in the mash tun!I look forward to using this book as my guide through my Sour Beer journey.Regards,Jon Permen