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Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer's Yeast
Explores the world of Lambics, Flanders red and Flanders brown beers as well as the many new American beers produced in the similar style.
265 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 25, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 12, 2024
This has been called the definitive work on wild fermented brews, and it's easy to see why. A very complete overview of the subject that is also very easy and enjoyable to read, which is not an easy thing to accomplish.
The recipes at the end feel tacked on "because they need to be there", but overall I had a great time. The chapter about barrels isn't as good as "Wood & Beer" by Dick Cantwell, although it offers a good base. The main focus is obviously on all the critters we associate with funky, tart, acidic brews though and that's meeting all expectations.
The recipes at the end feel tacked on "because they need to be there", but overall I had a great time. The chapter about barrels isn't as good as "Wood & Beer" by Dick Cantwell, although it offers a good base. The main focus is obviously on all the critters we associate with funky, tart, acidic brews though and that's meeting all expectations.
March 13, 2011
The bible on sour beer making and a must for anyone attempting to brew the styles. Goes from the most basic to the most detailed intricacies of sour producing (cooperage to acid and ester production, fruit additions, etc). Absolutely essential. It also pays great attention to the history of sours and not just the technique.
Cons:
Its very much belgian centric. In almost completely ignores sour beers from Germany (berliner weisses, gose, etc), and doesn't touch into American sours in great detail (granted in 2004/5 when the book was written, American sours were in their infancy). It does touch on traditional English porters/old ales/stock ales (unintentionally soured and blended) which is very nice. The commercial examples (many are no longer produced) and some techniques are already a bit dated sadly.
An updated edition would be amazing, but as it is this book is still essential reading for the sour brewer.
Cons:
Its very much belgian centric. In almost completely ignores sour beers from Germany (berliner weisses, gose, etc), and doesn't touch into American sours in great detail (granted in 2004/5 when the book was written, American sours were in their infancy). It does touch on traditional English porters/old ales/stock ales (unintentionally soured and blended) which is very nice. The commercial examples (many are no longer produced) and some techniques are already a bit dated sadly.
An updated edition would be amazing, but as it is this book is still essential reading for the sour brewer.
October 12, 2018
I enjoy brewing my own beer. Saw this book at my local library and checked it out to see if I wanted the recipies inside. Great book but can be a little boring unless you are really into the science behind brewing. Author can get to a point where he sounds like a Peanuts phone call as he drones on about all of the perils of using wild yeast in brewing.
If you can slog through the boring bits, the history and technique of wild yeast brewing is interesting (at least for me). I will be adding this book to my brewer's library as soon as Amazon can drop it at the locker.
If you can slog through the boring bits, the history and technique of wild yeast brewing is interesting (at least for me). I will be adding this book to my brewer's library as soon as Amazon can drop it at the locker.
January 13, 2008
This may be the best book on brewing I've read. It captures the magical essence of wild beers, sour flavors, and Belgian tradition. It's not book of basics, but is fundamental.
April 11, 2019
While the author is clearly very knowledgeable and this book contains very useful information, it can be quite redundant and would have benefited considerably from an editor. Still, if you are interested in understanding how wild Belgian beers are made or making a wild beer yourself, this book is an excellent primer.
May 18, 2017
I found this very good on the Belgian stuff. Not as good on the American.
May 28, 2018
Interesting history of Belgian brewing, probably should be called mixed fermentation as in practice it discusses using multiple commercial yeasts, not spontaneous yeasts.
July 29, 2025
Beyond the typical homebrew book but definitely for the advanced brewer or those into exploration.
June 30, 2013
When it comes to brewing wild/sour/funky beer, it turns out there aren't many resources out there. Unlike homebrewing in general, where you'll find more "how to brew" books than you could possibly know what to do this, the relatively esoteric niche of brewing both traditional Belgian sours and their newly Americanized brethren are sadly represented both in print and online. Online, you'll find some great blogs like The Mad Fermentationist, Bear Flavored Ales, and brewing sub-forums like Homebrew Talk's Lambic & Wild Brewing section. When it comes to print, though, Jeff Sparrow's Wild Brews is pretty much the only game in town.
This might seem odd considering the glut of general homebrew books out there, but in many ways it makes sense. Brewing sour beers is a very, very small niche when you consider how small of a niche hobby homebrewing itself is to begin with. Also, this book has largely been canonical in the world of sour/wild beer brewing. Finally, it's just not a part of brewing that is particularly well-understood. The use of Brettanomyces and souring bacteria, in my opinion and experience, is much more of an art than a science. You may be able to brew a house IPA over and over and over that you've been able to nail down, but on a homebrew level it's going to be very difficult to brew the same lambic twice. There are just too many vaguely understood moving parts.
Wild Brew is less than 300 pages, but those 200-some odd pages are densely packed with a ton of information. I was concerned that it would be overly "science-y", but my fears were unjustified. Even at its most scientifically in-depth sections, the average brewer should have no problem comprehending most of it.
The book starts with an overview and history of the classic Belgian sour styles (Lambics, Flanders reds, Flanders browns/Oud bruins), then proceeds to a whirlwind tour of the breweries in Belgium which brew and sell sours. Many of them you've probably heard of (Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, Rodenbach), but there were a handful that were new to me. There is an illustration section which shows photos of many of these breweries.
It then proceeds on to the science of how sour beers end up like they do, describing the yeast/bacteria involved, the life cycle of fermentation, and the effects of different fermentation vessels that pro brewers use. It then wraps up by explaining how you can make this magic at home and provides a number of recipes that you can use to brew these classic styles.
Verdict? Wild Brews really is canonical for a reason. The information contained in it is damn near exhaustive when it comes to brewing classic Belgian sours. It's an invaluable asset to any homebrewers who want to start down the path of brewing sours or even for the sour beer lover who wants a better understanding of how the beer he or she is drinking was made. The only qualm I have with the book is that I wish that Mr. Sparrow would issue an updated version of the book. I realize it focuses primarily on the classic Belgian styles of sour beers, but a lot has changed (in particular, in the United States) since 2005 when it comes to craft beer and the rise of sour/wild beers. New strains of Brettanomyces and Brett/bacteria blends have been released by White Labs and Wyeast since then, as well. Overall, though, that's just me nit-picking and it shouldn't deter anyone from purchasing this book. Available for less than $15, this is easily the most enlightening homebrew-related book I've read since I opened John Palmer's How to Brew and started down this fun path.
This might seem odd considering the glut of general homebrew books out there, but in many ways it makes sense. Brewing sour beers is a very, very small niche when you consider how small of a niche hobby homebrewing itself is to begin with. Also, this book has largely been canonical in the world of sour/wild beer brewing. Finally, it's just not a part of brewing that is particularly well-understood. The use of Brettanomyces and souring bacteria, in my opinion and experience, is much more of an art than a science. You may be able to brew a house IPA over and over and over that you've been able to nail down, but on a homebrew level it's going to be very difficult to brew the same lambic twice. There are just too many vaguely understood moving parts.
Wild Brew is less than 300 pages, but those 200-some odd pages are densely packed with a ton of information. I was concerned that it would be overly "science-y", but my fears were unjustified. Even at its most scientifically in-depth sections, the average brewer should have no problem comprehending most of it.
The book starts with an overview and history of the classic Belgian sour styles (Lambics, Flanders reds, Flanders browns/Oud bruins), then proceeds to a whirlwind tour of the breweries in Belgium which brew and sell sours. Many of them you've probably heard of (Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, Rodenbach), but there were a handful that were new to me. There is an illustration section which shows photos of many of these breweries.
It then proceeds on to the science of how sour beers end up like they do, describing the yeast/bacteria involved, the life cycle of fermentation, and the effects of different fermentation vessels that pro brewers use. It then wraps up by explaining how you can make this magic at home and provides a number of recipes that you can use to brew these classic styles.
Verdict? Wild Brews really is canonical for a reason. The information contained in it is damn near exhaustive when it comes to brewing classic Belgian sours. It's an invaluable asset to any homebrewers who want to start down the path of brewing sours or even for the sour beer lover who wants a better understanding of how the beer he or she is drinking was made. The only qualm I have with the book is that I wish that Mr. Sparrow would issue an updated version of the book. I realize it focuses primarily on the classic Belgian styles of sour beers, but a lot has changed (in particular, in the United States) since 2005 when it comes to craft beer and the rise of sour/wild beers. New strains of Brettanomyces and Brett/bacteria blends have been released by White Labs and Wyeast since then, as well. Overall, though, that's just me nit-picking and it shouldn't deter anyone from purchasing this book. Available for less than $15, this is easily the most enlightening homebrew-related book I've read since I opened John Palmer's How to Brew and started down this fun path.
October 13, 2013
This book was incredibly informative about wild brewing, specifically lambics and Flemish red brewing. I really was interested in the history of wild brewing. The information about the brewing process was very detailed. I did think parts could have been better organized, and sometimes the jumping between styles got a little hard to remember some of the specific details and how it related to one style vs the other.
November 22, 2007
I thought this book was fascinating. It contains a great history, a "tour" of Belgian sours, history as it relates to brewing technique, an decent review of involved germies, recipes, etc.. It contains enough real how-to on sours & esters to make you comfortable with experimenting on your own.
August 21, 2014
Really good book covering the history, some of the current state of play in Belgium and a comprehensive over view of practices and processes. A great starting point for anyone wanting to try their hand at doing some brewing in this style.
March 4, 2011
Very informative. At times not written as clearly or as well as it could have been, but at the same time I don't ask writers to brew excellent beer. Overall delightful and informative.
May 20, 2013
Very informative on the souring process and associated bacteria.
September 22, 2021
It was a fine book. Definitely packed with lots of information and will be a guide that I can go back to. A great resource for lambic, gueuze, and Flanders acid ales.
May 8, 2012
This was one of the most informative and interesting beer books I've read.
April 15, 2017
Дуже грунтовна і практична книжка для тих, пивоварів, хто хоче здичавіти:) Ну і для зацікавлених пивопивців теж
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews