A behind-the-scenes guide to the craft brewing world—with advice from the best in the business at Summit, Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, and more! Learn the finer points of craft brewing beer, ciders, and meads with eighteen world-class brewers, including Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head), and Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada)—as well as top brewers from Belgium, England, Scotland, France, Canada, and Germany—as they share their expertise in vivid, engaging interviews. In The Brewer's Apprentice, you get incomparable behind-the-scenes access to the craft brewing world, along with tutorials on everything from mastering the perfect pour to designing a world-class IPA. This illustrated handbook escorts you through the steps of the brewing process and offers a unique curriculum that supports and enhances your knowledge of brewing basics. Inside, you'll find: Advice on sourcing the best hops, barley, wheat, and more Information on farm-to-table and seasonal brewing Strategies for setting up your homebrewing workshop to master brewing chemistry 101 Methods for tinkering with nontraditional ingredients and extreme brews Techniques for brewing mead, sour ales, and cider "Maestros from Summit, Russian River, Schneider & Sohn, Dogfish Head, BrewDog, Fuller, Captain Lawrence, and Tugwell spill on mash and lautering, bittering hops, ales, Belgian style, lambic, brewing with fruit, barrel aging, ciders, meads, and evaluating beer . . . In the best possible sense, you will need a drink to get through this." —Library Journal