Gift Ideas

It’s finally here—the comprehensive, authoritative book that does for beer what The Wine Bible does for wine. Written by an expert from the West Coast, where America’s craft beer movement got its start, The Beer Bible is the ultimate reader- and drinker-friendly guide to all the world’s beers.

No other book of this depth and scope approaches the subject of beer in the same way that beer lovers do—by style, just as a perfect pub menu is organized—and gets right to the pleasure of discovery, knowledge, and connoisseurship. Divided into four major families—ales, lagers, wheat beers, and tart and wild ales—there’s everything a beer drinker wants to know about the hundreds of different authentic types of brews, from bitters, bocks, and IPAs to weisse's, milk stouts, lambics, and more. Each style is a chapter unto itself, delving into origins, ingredients, description and characteristics, substyles, and tasting notes, and ending with a recommended list of the beers to know in each category. Hip infographics throughout make the explanation of beer’s flavors, brewing methods, ingredients, labeling, serving, and more as immediate as it is lively.

The book is written for passionate beginners, who will love its “if you like X, try Y” feature; for intermediate beer lovers eager to go deeper; and for true geeks, who will find new information on every page. History, romance, the art of tasting, backstories and anecdotes, appropriate glassware, bitterness units, mouthfeel, and more—it’s all here. Plus a primer on pairing beer and food using the three Cs— complement, contrast, or cut. It’s the book that every beer lover will read with pleasure, and use with even more.

Newly revised and updated, the Homebrewer's Companion is the master-level companion to the world’s bestselling beer making book, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. In this inviting, easy-to-follow, hands-on guide, Charlie Papazian, the godfather of homebrewing, takes readers beyond the basics of homebrewing. This second edition of the classic volume includes detailed charts and tables, the latest techniques and equipment information, new recipes, and more, including:

- Added details on the art and science of brewing beer
- Up-to-date malt and fermentation charts
- Websites and resources
- Everything you need to know about hops and how to use them
- Expanded information on yeast and microbiological enhancements that can make your beer even better
- A list of beer styles with references
- 55 beer recipes and 10 mead recipes, plus dozens of new recipes
- How to make gluten-free beer
- An expanded glossary of beer characters and a beer evaluation section
- Expert insight and recommendations on beer and food pairings and cooking with beer

Explore the many flavorful possibilities of vinegar. With dozens of recipes for infusing vinegar with herbs, spices, vegetables, and flowers, Maggie Oster fills this delightful book with mouthwatering mixtures that go far beyond salad dressing. Use your homemade vinegars to add some zing to everything from Green Chile and Cilantro Sambal to the white cream sauce enriching your pork chops. Oster also includes tips on making cleaning products from vinegar, so you can keep your kitchen naturally spotless when you’re done cooking.

Vinegar is versatile! And this book covers it all:

- Directions for buying, making and flavoring inexpensive, easy-to-make vinegars - dozens of ideas for combination herb, spice, vegetable and flower vinegars.
- Recipes for using flavored vinegars - just a splash for exhilarating basic vinaigrettes, fruit and vegetable salsas, flavorful and tenderizing marinades, spicy dessert sauces and many more.
- Gift packaging ideas and customized labels.
- Step-by-step instructions for growing flavorful herbs indoors and out.
- Household uses and hints - more than 100 home uses for vinegar, including polishing chrome, prolonging the life of cut flowers and preparing natural beauty treatments.

Even beginners can make their own fermented foods! This guide includes in-depth instruction for making kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles and then offers more than 120 recipes, using those basic methods, for fermenting 64 different vegetables and herbs. You’ll discover how easy it is to make dozens of exciting dishes, including pickled Brussels sprouts, curried golden beets, carrot kraut, and pickled green coriander. The recipes are creative, delicious, and healthful, and many of them can be made in small batches — even just a single pint.

From the Back Cover:
Eat live foods! Make lacto-fermentation part of your kitchen. A classic preserving method, the process yields nutrient-dense live foods packed with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and probiotic goodness. Master the techniques for making sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and fermented condiments, and then explore how to apply those simpler skills to fermenting with more than 60 fresh vegetables, herbs, and even a few fruits. In addition to 140 recipes and suggestions for an intriguing array of ferments, you'll find delicious recipes that bring your creations to the table as part of any meal.

Uncork all the answers! Alison Crowe, WineMaker magazine’s popular ‘Wine Wizard’, supplies practical, easy-to-follow answers to every question and problem that stands between you and your perfect vintage - from choosing the raw ingredients to fully understanding the mysteries of fermentation. Smooth and well-balanced, this broad range of wine making solutions will satisfy the most inquisitive vintner.

Here are just a few of the questions that you will find answers to:

- What could cause a bitter or tart taste in a cherry wine?
- What are the guidelines for aging and storing country fruit or vegetable wines?
- How are egg whites used as a fining agent?
- Is it possible to add too much yeast?

Beer has inspired, influenced, and excited human beings for thousands of years! Discover the mysteries of the fermented beverage, revealed at last in this intriguing book of cultural history, poetry, song, little-known facts, and quirky quotes by beer drinkers from Nietzsche to Darwin.

Readers will be astonished to learn the esoteric facts that were discovered such as that in most ancient cultures only women were allowed to brew, and for much of history beer was considered a nourishing alternative to drinking water!

From the Back Cover:

Did you know that...
- The Mayflower abandoned its search for further destinations and landed in Plymouth because they had run out of beer?
- Women in ancient Sumeria dominated the art of brewing and tavern keeping, operating under the protection of Siduri, goddess of the brewery?
- Twenty people literally 'drowned in beer' in 1814 when a vat in a London brewery exploded, creating a tidal wave of beer?
- Alewives in Colonial America brewed a special high-test 'groaning ale' for a mother-to-be to swig while she was in labor?

The revised and rejacketed third edition of Cider offers thorough coverage of every step of cider making, from choosing and planting the best apple varieties to enjoying the finished product. Recipes include sweet and hard ciders, sparkling cider blends, and cider-based foods.

This newly updated handbook shows you how simple it is to turn fruit into nature’s most refreshing drink:
- Make fresh and delicious sweet and hard ciders - including blending and sparkling ciders
- Build your own working apple press
- Enhance your cooking with cider as an ingredient
- Choose the right apple cultivar for the flavor you want
- Plan and plant your very own home orchard for the freshest batch of cider ever!
- Plus interesting bits of history and lore shed light on cider’s colorful past.

Use the earth's naturally cool, stable temperature as an energy-saving way to store nearly 100 varieties of perishable fruits and vegetables all year long. Root Cellaring explains how to successfully use this natural storage approach. It's the first book devoted entirely to the subject, and it covers the subject with a thoroughness that makes it the only book you'll ever need on root cellaring.

Root cellaring need not be strictly a country concept. Though it's often thought of as an adjunct to a large garden, a root cellar can in fact considerably stretch the resources of a small garden, making it easy to grow late succession crops for storage instead of many rows for canning and freezing. Best of all, root cellars can easily fit anywhere. Not everyone can live in the country, but everyone can benefit from natural cold storage.

Root Cellaring will teach you:
- How to choose vegetable and fruit varieties that will store best
- Specific individual storage requirements for nearly 100 home garden crops
- How to use root cellars in the country, in the city, and in any environment
- How to build root cellars, indoors and out, big and small, plain and fancy
- Case histories — reports on the root cellaring techniques and experiences of many households all over North America

Infuse your yard with the flavor, fragrance, beauty and healing power of organic herbs. Whether you want to work herbs into existing flower or food gardens, grow them in containers, or plant a dedicated herb garden, Homegrown Herbs is your in-depth guide to everything you need to know about planting, caring for, harvesting, drying and using more than 100 herbs.

This is the definitive guide to planting, growing, harvesting, and using 101 popular herbs. A step-by-step primer for gardeners of every level, it includes in-depth information on seed selection, planting, maintenance and care, harvesting, drying, uses in the kitchen, home pharmacy, crafting and body care. Sensational color photographs by Saxon Holt bring the information to life. With renowned herbalist Tammi Hartung as a guide, readers will discover that growing their own herbs is one of the easiest ways possible to bring more beauty, flavor and health to everyday life.

Tammi Hartung has been growing and working with herbs for 30 years and is a frequent teacher and lecturer at herb and gardening conferences. She and her husband cultivate 500 varieties of herbs on their organic farm in Colorado.

Tammi Hartung offers dozens of ideas for using your homegrown herbs:
- Prepare relaxing herbal baths and soaks
- Mix custom seasoning blends for your favorite recipes
- Make healing tinctures, liniments and elixirs
- Perk up recipes-salads, soups, pastas, vegetables, eggs-with fresh or dried herbs
- Personalize homemade body creams with your favorite herbal scents and healing properties
- Give homemade herbal vinegars and butters as holiday gifts
- Put the soothing power of herbs to good use in sleep pillows and heating pads
- Craft wreaths and potpourris with long-lasting fragrance and beauty

Baking with sourdough is truly a wonderful craft and produces breads with an amazing flavor and texture. After learning about how to start a sourdough culture, your eyes will be opened to this ancient method of bread making and you will have a new appreciation for this simple food. Explore numerous recipes in this book such as traditional white bread, sourdough pretzels and even old-fashioned sourdough pancakes!

Learn How To Make:
- Sourdough White Sandwich Bread
- Sourdough French Bread
- Sourdough Pumpernickel
- Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread
- Molasses Rye Bread
- Sourdough Banana Bread
- Sourdough Skillet Biscuits
- Old Fashioned Pancakes
- Apple Muffins
- Sourdough Pretzels
- Sourdough Zucchini Bread
- Sourdough Cherry Cobbler
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Sourdough Chocolate Cake
- And More!

From the Back Cover:
Since the 1973 publication of Storey's first Country Wisdom Bulletin, our commitment to preserving the arts, crafts, and skills of country life has never wavered. We now have more than 200 titles in this series of 32-page publications, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins contain practical, hands-on instructions designed to help you master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. From traditional skills to the newest techniques, Storey's Bulletins provide a foundation of earth-friendly information for the way you want to live today.

Be at the top of your bartending game with The Bartender's Black Book - the ultimate drink recipe collection for the 21st century. Compiled by master mixologist Stephen Kittredge Cunningham, this updated 10th edition is the most recent, up-to-date and complete guide on the market! With 143 brand new recipes added and over 2800 recipes total, you'll get all of your classic cocktails and the hottest new drinks too. Loaded with tips, tools and Robert M. Parker Jr.'s most recent Wine Vintage Guide, this indispensable book is the go-to manuscript for amateurs and professionals alike.

It is alphabetized with an index by ingredient so that it's easy to find the drinks you want. Additionally, it's spiral bound so that it can lie flat when opened to your drink selection as you mix your cocktail. It has over 2800 recipes including classic cocktails, martinis, coffees, punches, shots, frozen and dessert drinks. It is unbiased without preference to specific brands, has an easy to use index by ingredient, spiral bound, mixing instructions and metric conversion chart.

Ten thousand years of cheese making (as well as butter and yogurt making) wisdom is distilled in this detailed booklet. Expert cheesemaker Ricki Carroll teaches you the latest, most healthful methods for whipping up delicious dairy products in your own kitchen. Here is everything you need to know - from what equipment and ingredients are required to how to pasteurize your own milk. And, of course, you get recipes for making cheeses and other dairy products that surpass anything you could buy at the store.

Learn How To Make:
- Queso Blanco
- Fromage Blanc
- Whole-Milk Ricotta
- Feta
- Traditional Cheddar
- Gouda
- Monterey Jack
- 30-Minute Mozzarella
- Parmesan
- Sour Cream
- Butter
- Yogurt
- Crème Fraiche

Raise a glass of homemade burgundy and enjoy the fruits of your labor. This informative guide provides an overview of the entire home winemaking process, from the vine (or the boxed kit) to your glass. With more than 100 recipes for a wide range of delicious wines, ports, and champagnes, you’re sure to find a wine to suit your taste. Clear diagrams for setting up your equipment and fail-safe instructions ensure that your home winemaking will be a success.

From The Back Cover:
Few pleasures are more gratifying than pouring a glass of fine wine, admiring its clarity and color, savoring its rich bouquet, raising it to your lips, and knowing that you made it yourself. With this complete guide to home winemaking, such pleasure can be yours with little fuss and lots of fun. The Home Winemaker's Companion will guide you as you progress from making your very first batch of kit wine to mastering advanced techniques for making wine from fresh grapes. Included are Gene Spaziani's tried-and-true recipes for 115 delectable wines…even port and champagne! Making consistently great wine at home is easy; the hardest part is being patient while your wine ages!

Fully revised and updated, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is everything you need to know to brew beer at home from start to finish including new recipes, updated charts on hop varieties, secrets to fermentation, beer kit tips, and more - from the master of homebrewing...Charlie Papazian. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is the essential guide to understanding and making beer, from stouts, ales, lagers, and bitters, to specialty beers and meads. Everything to get started is here: the basics of building a home brewery, world-class proven recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, and the latest advancements in brewing. Master brewer Charlie Papazian also includes the history and lore of beer, the science behind brewing, and tips on how to create your own original ale.

This completely revised and updated edition includes:
- An expanded and updated homebrew recipe chart: How to brew 53 traditional beers
- A Beer Styles chart with easy-to-understand descriptions of key flavor and aroma characters along with homebrew technical data to make your own recipe formulations
- A list of more than 75 beer types describing strength, hop aroma, bitterness, flavor, color, sweetness, and alcohol percentage
- Expanded charts on 68 hop varieties, descriptions, and uses
- Brand new recipes
- Beer kit tips
- Key information about using and understanding hops
- Five secrets to fermentation
- And much more

For everything there is a season - and beer is no exception. Best-selling author Randy Mosher leads you on a delicious tour of beer-tasting opportunities throughout the year, guiding you through all the best seasonal beer releases and festivals. Discover which beers are best to drink on warm spring afternoons or icy winter nights, and learn to make the most out of Craft Beer Week and Oktoberfest. Fun, fresh, and full of insider information, Beer for All Seasons will have you enjoying the varied delights of your favorite beverage year-round.

From the Back Cover:
Randy Mosher, a nationally recognized authority on beer appreciation, is your companion for a year-long tour of discovery that opens up new tasting options for everything from mowing the lawn - try a Belgian farmhouse beer! - to tucking into the Thanksgiving turkey - a clean blond doppelbock balances that rich meal. Along the way, Mosher highlights beer festivals, suggests holiday gifts, and even outlines a full year of beer-centric travel. The world of beer is broad and varied; explore all the possibilities.

Add a little flare to your next party with these fun and casual cocktail napkins. This 20-pack of 3-ply paper cocktail napkins have a retro pop art style featuring an attractive young woman holding a glass of red wine with the phrase 'You Are What You Drink!'.