Clone Brews. Homebrew Recipes for 150 Commercial Beers

Customer Reviews

Good but old recipes

2008-06-18
I really like the way this book is laid out and the recipes look good. Its especially nice to have extract, PM, and all grain recipes in one book. The only big downside for me is that it does not have my favorite beers. Breweries like Rogue, Dogfish Head, Left Hand, etc.. are almost totally absent. I don't have the book in front of me but I can't remember any recipes from most of the wonderful craft breweries in this country. If you more into the larger 'premium' breweries, this book is for you.

doubles are good

2008-06-17
The recipes are easy to follow, and tasty. Overall a great book. Try it yourself. A definite must for the zymurgist's library.

a good Idea with some limitations

2008-05-03
After you're done with your introductory beer book and you've made a few batches, you may find that you want to brew something that reminds you of your favorite commercial beer.
This is almost the book for you.

The selection of recipes is heavily slanted toward beer that many homebrewers may find unexciting. But the authors have a very good point: by brewing imitations (maybe we should say tributes) of commercial beers, you learn how beer tastes are built. You get to refine your own sensibilities and taste. And you can't help but end up a better brewer.

Lynn Hoffman, authorNew Short Course in Wine,The

Good Clone Book

2008-01-14
Although this book is slightly dated now (some of the ingredient manufacturers needing an update), I found it very useful & informative for using tried and tested recipes & formulating recipes simular to the types of brews I like to drink. I would recommend it to any novice seeking to replicate their favourite beers at home.

One down, hundred or so to go

2007-11-07
I've only tried one recipe so far and was very happy with it. I partial mash and I modified their recipe to include more grain and less extract. So many brews . . . so little time!

Not a bad book

2007-10-23
Re-creations of brands such as Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Guinness, Foster's, and more.

Highly over-rated 2007-08-21
Although it deserves more than one star, I'm trying to compensate for the blatant over-rating this book has received. It is obvious to me that many of the ratings are from friends or clients of their brewshop in Connecticut, USA(my home state)
The recipes seem fine for beginning to intermediate brewers, although I find them ridiculously precise with such beauties as "after 48 minutes of the boil, add so and so, then boil for 13 minutes, then add so and so and boil for 2 minutes, etc". Does boiling for 48 minutes make a different beer than boiling for 50 minutes?
What avid, advanced homebrewer would want to use these recipes for all-grain beers? Who honestly believes that you can "clone" beers using malt-extract recipes? And finally, what all-grain brewer ever goes back to using extracts once they have experienced the FAR SUPERIOR results of cereals?
I won't repeat other reviewers' negative comments (amazon.co.uk), but I wholeheartedly agree. I do regret having bought this book.
My advice for all who find this book excellent: try proper brewing with cereals and not extracts and you will experience a whole new world!

Good, but dated 2007-03-02
I wanted to give this a higher rating and it does have a lot of better ratings from many others, but I just couldn't do it. There are quite a few recipes and I have made a few. If I hadn't done so, my rating on this would be higher. The book is well written, instructions are clear, but it is not for a complete novice, as some of the recipes are in need of revision. The yeast parings are questionable on a few recipes, as are a few of the recipes themselves. There was a recipe for one beer I know how to make quite well, and it was quite off.

A few notable items that are due to the books age: their knowledge of yeasts is limited and the brand of extract has long since changed their name. Muntons & Fison is now just Muntons. These are small things, but they show this book would benefit from an update.

Don't get me wrong, this book is good, but I would suggest that it is better for those brewers that have enough experience to adjust the recipes as needed. I know it was written about a decade ago, but if you are buying this book, you should know what to expect. I'm hoping for better things in Beer Captured.

Clone Brews 2007-02-08
Good book for the begining brewer. It will give you recipies for some of the best beers in the world. It is a true test of your brewing abilities, to try to replicate one of the beers in this book.

BREWING WITH CLONE BREWS 2007-01-03
This book is well written and the recipes are very easy to follow. The recipes created by Tess and Mark are so close to the store bought beers you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I have been home brewing for many years and have won several competitions using the recipes from this book. The Pilsner Urquell and the Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout are exceptional (just to mention a couple)!! Follow the recipes, be patient while the beer carbonates, and enjoy.