Essential books in a homebrewer's library?

[integersmirk]

Shortly after starting brewing from kits I picked up Charlie Papazian's "The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing", which has been a fantastic help to me.

Are there any other books you would recommend?

I am almost exclusively brewing from malt extract, specialty grains and hops now, but would like to take a further step up.

I keep seeing hundreds of different brewing books for sale but don't know if they will offer anything more than what is covered in the book I have.

[JoKing]

Classic Brewing Styles by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer is a must have for new Brewers. It has indexes on how to brew, keg bottle - all the basics. It has 80 award winning recipes for Extract and All grain conversions.

I wish I had this book for the years I was"figuring out" how to brew all grain - it would have shaved a whole year off the amount of time it took me to get to my current level of experience.

[Pint_of_Bitter]

I have a copy of How to Brew - John Palmer (see http://www.howtobrew.com/). It seems pretty through both for novices and experts. I have found it really useful though haven't completed a full AG brew yet. Sections can be viewed on the website from memory.

I got my copy from the Sylvia Park bookstore in Auckland (Borders I think) for $24.

[denimglen]

In order of necessity (IMO anyway)

How to Brew - J Palmer - a must have for every homebrewer IMO. You can get it free online but the print edition has a few extra bits and pieces and I like having the hardcopy. Mostly a technique book.

Brewing Classic Styles - As mentioned by Joking. More a recipe book than a technique book so complements the above nicely.

Designing Great Beers - A good starting point when you want to get into recipe design.

[Tony]

Palmer's- How to brew, is my bible. I believe this should be the starter book for anyone looking at brewing. It takes one from start to quite complex issues. You can get it free on-line, but having a hard copy on hand is very helpfull, for any sudden problems. From there, there are many books to go-to. I guess it's a matter of taste. I find, Ray Daniels- Designing great beers, my second go-to book.

Having said that, you can over analyze and there is no substitute for 'just doing it'. Ask questions and talking to people will give little tips on doing things.