All good things must come to an end…

…including homebrewing season. Fortunately, some great new books on brewing beer have been added to our collection since last fall, so I’ll have plenty of summer reading to inspire me until homebrewing season returns:

Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them by Stan Hieronymus — Brew Like a Monk details the rich history of monastic brewers and their complex beer styles, and includes clone recipes of some of the most revered monastic brews, such as Chimay and Orval.

Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition by Phil Markowski — In Europe’s agricultural days, French and Belgian peasants made flavorful ales known as biere de garde and saison to drink as refreshments during harvest season. Farmhouse Ales delves into the history of these “peasant beers,” and provides tips for making your own.

Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast by Jeff Sparrow — Some Belgian style ales, including one of my favorites, the Flanders red ale, are fermented in open barrels to expose them to wild yeasts and microorganisms, such as Brettanomyces. While this may not sound appetizing, the wild organisms lend a pleasantly tart flavor to the beers they invade. Wild Brews discusses these styles and how to make them.

Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales, and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass by Randy Mosher — This is perhaps my favorite book on homebrewing. Mosher lays out in colorful detail brewing history and methods along with very unique recipes, such as Pudgy McBuck’s Celebrated Cocoa Porter and the Doktor Schnurrbart Schwarzbier, which I happen to have lagering in my basement as I write this.