Summary

Essays in Malting and Brewing is an original and comprehensive examination of brewing from the perspective of a real brewer. Brewing texts generally use a sequential barley-beer-bottle organization that takes the reader systematically through the various stages of beer-making in a logical and informative way. This approach adequately communicates the essential operation. However, brewers think about all of the stages in the process that might affect a single property, such as beer color. Alternatively brewers might ponder the influence of such affective agents as modification or oxygen throughout the process.

Essays in Malting and Brewing departs from the traditional sequential approach to pursue brewing in the manner a brew master approaches the process. It is structured to look down the length of the process for causes and effects. Each essay discusses a problem, a beer component, or a flavor, by following how this one item arises and how it changes along the way. This is a crucial feature to bear this in mind when reading the book because this organization brings together information and ideas that are not usually presented side-by-side. The essay format allows the reader to understand how the raw materials of brewing and the way they are handled impact on process performance and product quality.

This new approach to an enduring subject is essential for the informed reader interested in the malting and brewing process.

Choice Review

Lewis and Bamforth (both, Univ. of California, Davis) discuss a number of issues and topics related to brewing. Product qualities, which include proteins, pH, color, foam, haze, microbiology, and inorganic ions, are treated in the first section of the book. The second section is headed "Processes"; chapter topics include raw materials, modification, enzymes, yeast, oxygen, water and energy, and sanitation and quality. This book describes the science and technology associated with each topic, with no references or citations. The authors have considerable experience in brewing science, and they have chosen to present their knowledge in a format useful to those interested in learning more about brewing. The chapter descriptions make use of chemistry, biochemistry, and microbiology, with the assumption that readers have some undergraduate backgrounds in science and some prior knowledge of brewing science. Each chapter forms a relatively complete essay on the topic. Extensive index helpful to readers looking for specific information. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; professionals. L. E. Erickson Kansas State University