Craft Beer and Food

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Beer Information Overload - Where to Get Info

Well in January I started this blog to chronicle my introduction and experiences in the current beer world. The biggest problem I am having with the whole idea is that there is simply too much information out there. It is overwhelming!

So I thought I would put together a list of some of my favorite homebrew and craft beer website, books, and shows (podcasts). I will be constantly updating the information; each category will have a page on my website.

Today’s top 5 places to start your beer journey.

1. CraftBeer.com

“Craftbeer.com is administered by the Brewers Association (BA), the national organization that represents the interests of small and independent craft brewers in America.” It is a beautifully designed and well organized site that has information for those that enjoy craft beer and the brewmaster. I really appreciated the explanations of the styles of beer and the suggested glassware. In the beginning, I just wanted the basics and did not like wading through the BJCP Style Guidelines for tidbits of info.

2. HomeBrewersAssociation.org
This is the site for all potential and current home brewers. It has great lists of suppliers, clubs, events and more!

3. "The Naked Pint: An Unadultered Guidel to Craft Beer” by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune. This book is a nice introduction to craft beer and will give you a good overview of beer styles, the history, some recipes for cooking with beer and info about home brewing.

4. Joining the Twitter beer community
has helped me find new sources and information. Although I do find that some of the people I follow will tweet about anything and I do spend more time than I would like sorting through the information.

5. Brewing Software –Brew Smith.

If you are beginning to brew your own, this software will be very useful. The program is very easy to use, it is organized and prints out a brew sheet with all the necessary instructions for the day of brewing.

What is your Top 5 resources you would recommend to the someone wanting to learn about beer?

Your comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated.