One of the most successful and respected homebrewers in America and highest ranking judges in the BJCP, there are few candidates better placed than Gordon Strong to give advice on how to take your homebrew to the next level. In Brewing Better Beer, the author sets out his own philosophy and strategy for brewing, examining the tools and techniques available in an even-handed manner. The result is a well-balanced mix of technical, practical, and creative advice aimed at experienced homebrewers who want to advance to the next level. The book is also a story of personal development and repeatedly mastering new systems and processes. Strong emphasizes that brewing is a creative endeavor underpinned by a firm grasp on technical essentials, but stresses that there are many ways to brew good beer. After mastering techniques, equipment, ingredients, recipe formulation, and the ability to evaluate their own beers, the advanced homebrewer will know how to think smart and work less, adjust only what is necessary, and brew with economy of effort. The author also pays special attention to brewing for competitions and other special occasions, distilling his own experiences of failure and (frequent) triumphs into a concise, pragmatic, and relaxed account of how judging works and how to increase your chances of success. The author's insights are laid out in a clear, engaging manner, deftly weaving discussions of technical matters with his own guiding principles to brewing. Learn to identify process control points in mashing, lautering, sparging, boiling, chilling, fermenting, conditioning, clarifying, and packaging. What are the best ways to control mash pH, which mash regimen suits your process, how can you effectively control your process through judicious equipment selection? Other tips on optimizing your brewing include ingredient and yeast selection, envisioning a recipe and bringing it to fruition, planning your brewing calendar, and identifying the critical path to ensure a successful brew day. There is also a detailed discussion of troubleshooting to address technical and stylistic problems advanced homebrewers often face. Through it all, Strong highlights you are the ultimate arbiter, giving advice on how to judge your own beers and understanding how balance takes many forms depending on style.
Three-time Ninkasi Award winner, Gordon Strong has been a towering presence in the homebrewing community for many years. Now this Grandmaster Beer Judge invites you on a guided tour through over 100 of his own as-brewed recipes. While discussing the fundamentals of homebrewing, the author also invites you to develop your own style, with tips on recipe formulation and ingredients substitutions. In the initial chapters, Strong cover the basics of brewing, summarizing a variety of processes relating to water adjustment, mashing, and hopping. The author concisely and clearly lays out techniques like infusion mashing, step infusion, decoction, cereal mashes, and hybrid mash schedules. Get the rundown on adding hops in the boil, first wort hopping, hop bursting, whirlpool and steeping, hopbacks, and dry hopping. Learn the basics of recipe design and how to think about style recipe profiles; know the intensity of your ingredients and what contributes to a balanced recipe and how that might differ between styles—do you know what makes a balanced IPA versus a lambic? Make intelligent substitutions with ingredients you have and become comfortable scaling recipes, accounting for volume losses, mash efficiencies, and differences in hop utilization. The recipes themselves are tried and tested, provided by the author as he has brewed them, including specific advice and sensory profiles, plus insights into the creative process behind each recipe. There are myriad IPAs and everyday styles for easy drinking, such as pale ale, blonde ale, wheat beer, altbier, Kolsch, and brown and amber ales. Classic and modern lager recipes include Vienna, dunkel, Maibock, Oktoberfest, bock, and schwarzbier. Dark beers are plentiful, with dark milds, porters, and stouts, making a nod to both American and classic English versions. Stronger fare is on offer with barleywine, strong ales, and winter warmers; lovers of Belgian beer will also find an eclectic selection of traditional recipes, as well as some saisons and biere de garde. For when the creative juices are really flowing, the author includes a collection of experimental and historical recipes that may not find a place in any set style—pale mild or dubbel American brown ale, anyone?—but are delicious nonetheless.
NEWLY Revised Edition of Shield of Skool, Book One of the Clovel Sword Chronicles, which now includes the prologue, Mythos of Kamin. In this epic fantasy and adventure, a simple mission from his overlord turns into a perilous trek and personal quest for Urith, known as the Clovel Destroyer. Leading his nephew Oslaf across enemy lands, the warriors find allies in the demigod Mivraa and a beautiful young prophetess named Fedelm. As told by mystic visions, one of the group is destined to discover the first piece of the lost Skool, an ancient weapon of the gods, long thought destroyed. On their quest to recover this powerful weapon, they must battle mortal enemies, both human and monster, who will stop at nothing to destroy them. The kings of Kamin are against them and chaos creeps into the world of humans and realms of the immortal gods. All sides learn they have much to fear about their future as enemies create shifting alliances and friends become treacherous partners as they seek to find the Shield of Skool. The Clovel Sword Chronicles are a series of men's adventures novels and novellas set in a sword and sorcery world of gods, and monsters. You can discover more at www.clovelsword.com.
Long before becoming a heroic legend with his destruction of Grendel, Beowulf is a young leader on the rise. Impulsive and eager to prove his noble nature, an inexperienced Beowulf receives an offer to rid the lands of the feared Dreygurs. In his quest to destroy the deadly monsters of Bernicia, the future hero learns pride and foolish bravado can be as lethal as the magical terrors they face.
When Irish stumbles across Florence who appears ready to commit suicide, he enters a dark conspiracy. Seeking to prove his new client is sane, Ray unleashes a series of increasingly terrible events. Soon, the police accuse Ray of killing his lawyer after Florence disappears. Like a bull in a china shop, Irish saves his client from certain death. However, the shamus finds the dark secrets of others leaves him even more cynical about trusting people. Blood sacrifices and seemingly random murders put the citizens of Oyster City on edge. As Andras, in the guise of Peter Smyth asserts his control over his pool of demon followers, he joins forces with a notorious gangster, Jacobi. One cult member confides her fears to Catherine Bennett as the demon's followers begin to have doubts about their role in the new world. Returning to Oyster City, Irish must confront Jacobi in a deadly battle that changes his life and those closest to him.
Urith of Esterblud carries a fearsome and honorable reputation with him. Known as the Clovel Destroyer, he is part of a warrior culture which dominates the human realm.
Warren is dead. And he is beginning to wonder how many ways one guy can die. At this point, he is convinced he will spend eternity as the reoccurring murder victim in an eerie film world purgatory. In this paranormal mystery, Warren wakes inside a new character aboard a tramp steamer returning from Cuba during the 1930s.
Not all quests are destined to end well. Chaos and bloodshed fill the three realms of the dark fantasy world of Kamin. The Clovel Destroyer continues his search for the final piece of the Skool to complete the weapon of the gods. While their civilization falls apart around them, humans fight underworld monsters that emerge from the depths to kill the innocent. The Sacred Overlord now hides inside the Citadel of Br-Ynys while the remnants of an Aberffraw army ravage his kingdom, seeking the man's death. Following the wave of destruction which leads them back to the Citadel, Urith and his followers suffer heartbreak and betrayal. They attempt to confront a vengeful Guardian in his underworld kingdom as hordes of monsters stand in their way. This book is intended for adult readers. Due to the brutal and ruthless nature of warfare and cultural norms of the Kamin world, the stories contain graphic violence, sexual violence, creative language, and innuendo. This book does not contain explicit sexual content.
Three Volumes of the Clovel Sword Saga! The early adventures about Urith of Esterblud focus on his unsettled past as a mercenary fighter and treasure seeker. Set in the time before the Clovel Sword Chronicles, where the turmoil of dark overlords brings a warrior who seeks vengeance at the tip of a spear or the edge of a sword. Volume 1 begins with the loss and heartbreak that shapes Urith's future. Recently scarred in battle, Urith tries to adjust to the death of his father when his world collapses in disaster and heartbreak. Volume 2 finds Urith working on releasing the spirits of his loved ones from the clutches of a vengeful underworld god. Bitterness fills him, and he seeks retribution for his loss. Volume 3 brings a friend back into the life of Urith. Fame and fortune wait for discoverers of the lost Temple of Nilgava. However, there's a reason the city remains cursed and abandoned. The Clovel Sword Saga is a series of epic dark fantasy stories previously released as independent novellas.
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