Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them,   ISBN:9780937381878

Customer Rating: 

I bought this for my husband's birthday and it took him no time to read through it. He's a homebrewer and recently wanted to research trappist and abbey ales. Had a great history about the monks themselves and their practices. The only thing he said he'd would have like is if the book talked more about how a homebrewer could make this work in their home. Otherwise, great book.

Customer Rating: 

What a great book. This goes into a great amount of depth in the Belgian style of brewing. I made a dubbel after reading this (with things I learned from it) that is fantastic. A few things to remember about this book if you're considering purchasing it;

1. Not for beginners; If this is your first foray into homebrewing, this book will probably not be what you're looking for. It's not really a step by step into how to brew Belgian beers.

2. Not a recipe book; Although it does have a few recipes, this book is not a recipe book. It revolves more around theory and techniques that can be applied to your brewing practices rather than telling you what to do.

Beyond that, it is well written and easy to read.

If you've made a few batches of beer and know the terminology (or some of it at least) but want to gain a little more insight and a new perspective. This is the book for you.

Customer Rating: 

This book is filled with history and information on trappist beers and is a delightful look into brewing. So for the Belgian beer lover who wants to know more about the history and origin of their favorite beers, it's amazing.

Customer Rating: 

I'll admit this book is long on history, but it's very short on what most home brewers want-recipes. The book is more about techniques used at these breweries, a sprinkling of their history, and a description of what each tastes like. There was some recipes in the book, but not really clones of the major Trappest's ales, but a few of the more well know Abby Ales. Original gravity and attenuation was given for each, however. You would really have to know how to design a beer and use this book as a starting point, a concession the book makes in the first chapter. It is really designed, to use a cooking analogy that they did in the book, to give you an idea for a dish and it's up to you to come up with a recipe. To be honest, if all your wanting to do is clone your favorite Abby, be it Trappest or not, doing a Google search or checking out some of the better forums will do you far better. This is more for the advanced brewer, and a novelty at that; however, it was a decent read.

Customer Rating: 

Brew like a Monk is an excellent book that tells a great story about the history and state of Abbey-type beers in Belgium. It's an excellent source of information for beer enthusiasts or intermediate to advanced brewers. While it's certainly not the first book an aspiring brewer should buy, I would highly recommend it for any admirers of Trappist beer.