I picked this book up as a companion to Fisher and Fisher’s The Homebrewers Garden. I am always on the lookout for any book that talks about home malting. There are very few out there. This book expands on home malting and hop growing in a meaningful way. The practical chapter on yeast ranching is clear and well explained. Unfortunately, this book is flawed. It is filled with an annoying amount of typos. The chapter on brewing herbs is mislabeled, chocolate malt is listed as 20 Lovibond, and plant is misspelled several times among other issues. There are several factual errors about the brewing process.

The chapters on malt, hops, and reasoning behind growing your own are great. The chapters on herbs, recipes, and brewing process are lacking. The chapter on herbs is basically a spreadsheet with all the facts, except how the herb affects taste. There are few recipes using the herbs listed in the book. The chapters on basic brewing and equipment seem unneeded. Growing your own ingredients is an advanced topic for homebrewers and they probably know how to brew if they pick up this book.

Overall, the book is good for malting and hops. The current list of suppliers of seeds, herbs, and other things mentioned in the book is very useful. The idea for a community beer garden is fantastic. The editing is distracting. The brewing chapters and herb chapter feel like padding. I would recommend this book for malting, hops, and an introduction to yeast ranching. If you are looking for a book on brewing herbs, then you should look elsewhere.

Growing HOPS lead me to believe that the book was mainly about the growing of hops. Instead, it was more about the beer brewing process and how hops, malts, etc. played a role in this. Needless to say, my husband and I found it less than informative regarding growing the different varieties of hops…………………