Never before has the evolution of pale ale been so thoroughly explored. Terry Foster pays proper homage to this distinctive ale, and the substyles it has spawned.
The final book in the Classic Styles series for me. This is improved from the first edition, but the name is still misleading. This is a very informative book about English Ales, especially Bitters, with a few throw away lines about Amber Ales, IPAs and American Pale Ales which are probably what most people reading it are looking for.
This is showing its age a bit now but there is still a lot of good information here. The book can be a bit dry in parts but there is a good part on the history of pale ale as well as a wealth of recipes, information on water chemistry and brewing techniques, a good addition to any brewers library.
While, Pale Ale: History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes seems great for English Pale Ales, and Bitters, it leaves a lot to be desired for American Pale Ales. The book seems to be written from the English perspective and not much else. It does tell of good bit of the history of the English Pale ale and the English IPA.
This book focuses primarilly on the brittish style sof pale ale: bitters, india pale, etc with some mention of the american styles. It predates the double IPA trend. the book over does the history section, and has excessive detail about methods for cask serving. It's a little out of scope for the typical home brewer.