Reviews for Belgian Ale

The average rating for Belgian Ale based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-03-06 00:00:00 Lawrence Clower Somewhat dated in that the number of Belgian beers and brewing supplies available in the U.S. has proliferated beyond what the author could have imagined at the time this was published. Many domestic brewers have had great success in adopting and adapting nearly every Belgian style imaginable as well. That said, this is well worth reading as it contains a wealth of information about the history of various Belgian styles (some of which are basically extinct), their methods of production, and the traditions/philosophies involved. While on a scale well beyond the majority of home-brewers, the section where the author describes the production of a new beer (from recipe creation all the way through to bottle conditioning) at his home in collaboration with the brewer from Chouffe is tremendously illuminating. The small recipes section is diverse, authentic, and creative and each recipe is laid out with all grain or extract/partial options.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-01-06 00:00:00 Adam Jensen This book was written in 1992 and it shows. It contains a lot of information that was useful two decades ago but not so much any more. Of course, the author is not to blame for this - it is an old book and the world of homebrewing has changed at an incredible rate since it was written. My other complaint is that the book is just too small to cover such a broad range of beer. Although there are still some good snippets in here, I highly recommend the three books Farmhouse Ales, Brew Like a Monk, and Wild Beers which were released in 2004-2005, also by Brewers Publications. They split Belgian ales up into three separate books, all of which are much longer than this book!