Rating: 
Summary: Good book for current or potential all-grain brewers
Review: After reading this book, I got the feeling that Dave was aiming to please the intermediate to advanced all grain brewing crowd. This is definitely not a book for the beginner to novice extract brewers. I tried to read this book from the prospective of a non-all grain brewer and felt that if I hadn't been familiar with the process already (through Papazian, local home brew club, personal experience, etc.), then I may not have been able to follow this book very well. There are very few pictures to reference and some very important areas are vague and could use more detail, such as yeast propagation and culturing. I think Papazian, although sometimes recommending bad habits to beginners, does the best job of explaining the process of brewing to a beginning home brewer. Papazian will later correct some of the bad habits he suggested in earlier chapters in his book, but at least he'll get a beginner going. I also think Papazian is much more entertaining to read and also includes a lot more detail in various areas, along with pictures to help you understand what he's talking about a little more. At any rate, I would recommend this book to anyone that's an intermediate to advanced brewer who is either looking into or already brewing all-grain beer. Dave is a pretty dry writer, but his views sometimes provide a different way of looking at the brewing process. I also like the fact that Dave preaches sanitation the way he does (although, again, not really going into much detail on the many types of sanitizers that can be used), as this is the most important aspect in brewing, in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: It has everything you need to start mashing
Review: All grain brewing can be a daunting experience to be sure.
I found the information in this book to be well organized,
presented and written. It covers everything you will need to know to brew using
the method and has lots of good recipes.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good book for reference..
Review: I am buying this book for the second time... I lost my old one and HAVE to replace it in my book collection.. There is allot of great information in this book. This was one of my first books that I got whe I started homebrewing. If the information seems heavy. Have faith and go back to it periodically as you become more familiar with brewing it self. I still find myself reading sections over and finally "getting them" (especially the chemistry part). But, the homebrewing practices are solid and many of the reference sheets I use all of the time. My only beef are the recipes in the back... They are accurate if you use the percentages/ratios of ingridients but, are not accurate if you use them for 5 or 10 gallon recipes.... Other than that no complaints.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book for reference..
Review: I am buying this book for the second time... I lost my old one and HAVE to replace it in my book collection.. There is allot of great information in this book. This was one of my first books that I got whe I started homebrewing. If the information seems heavy. Have faith and go back to it periodically as you become more familiar with brewing it self. I still find myself reading sections over and finally "getting them" (especially the chemistry part). But, the homebrewing practices are solid and many of the reference sheets I use all of the time. My only beef are the recipes in the back... They are accurate if you use the percentages/ratios of ingridients but, are not accurate if you use them for 5 or 10 gallon recipes.... Other than that no complaints.
Rating:
Summary: Packed with information yet intimidating for the novice
Review: I confess that I've yet to read it from cover to cover but this book does seem to have a lot of valuable information. It seems to me that probably every needed area is covered but it may be too much information at once for someone who would like to try brewing for the first time. I guess that the information is there, it's just that there is so much else (probably all worthwhile)included that the timid novice might feel like abandoning the attempt.
Rating:
Summary: Very informative, but not always easy to read.
Review: I liked this book very much and learned a lot from it, but I think it could use some editing and revision. The book seems to hop from one thing to the next with no clear structure and even repeats itself a few times. It also lacks all of the great illustrations that good brew books are usually filled with. Granted, this is not really a beginners brew book, but nonetheless, I wish it had been edited more clearly. However, I will not criticize the information that dave offers the homebrewer. He is certainly an expert and gives the reader much detail in each aspect of brewing. This is a great book for the partial mash or extract brewer out there who wants to move into all grain brewing... or if you're the kind of guy that needs to add another brew book to your shelves, go ahead and get this one. You'll learn a thing or two no matter how long you've been brewing.
Rating:
Summary: Very informative, but not always easy to read.
Review: I liked this book very much and learned a lot from it, but I think it could use some editing and revision. The book seems to hop from one thing to the next with no clear structure and even repeats itself a few times. It also lacks all of the great illustrations that good brew books are usually filled with. Granted, this is not really a beginners brew book, but nonetheless, I wish it had been edited more clearly. However, I will not criticize the information that dave offers the homebrewer. He is certainly an expert and gives the reader much detail in each aspect of brewing. This is a great book for the partial mash or extract brewer out there who wants to move into all grain brewing... or if you're the kind of guy that needs to add another brew book to your shelves, go ahead and get this one. You'll learn a thing or two no matter how long you've been brewing.
Rating:
Summary: Knowledgeably and expertly written
Review: Knowledgeably and expertly written by the winner of a lifetime achievement award from the American Homebrewers Association, Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide is an all-encompassing and up-to-date 358-page instructional and reference guide to brewing great-tasting beer in the privacy of one's home. Covering malts, water and water treatment, mash methods, hops, necessary equipment -- including kettles and wort coolers, methodical directions, practical and safety tips, and more, Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide is a "must-have" for anyone seeking to brew their own beer at home whether as an simple pastime or as an approach to acquiring a professional microbrewery expertise.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed, but repetitive
Review: This book contains a lot of good info, which I've found to be both interesting and useful as I get back into brewing after a break of a few years. I have Papazian also, and of the two books, I pick this one up more often, and find what I'm looking for more easily. Despite the comments of some other reviewers, one doesn't need to be an all-grain brewer to find this book useful. I'm creating my own recipes using extracts and specialty grains, and find this book to be very helpful. However, Miller is pretty repetitive. It is only a slight exaggeration that there are 3 chapters on each topic: on each on theory, equipment and method. I find that there is a moderate degree of repetition of material across these chapters. A consolidation of each topic into 1 chapter could well result in a 1/3 reduction in pages for the book. I'll echo another reviewer, who commented negatively on the recipes towards the back. They are really just lists of ingredients, without discussion on method (eg. mash temperatures) or variables. Having made these mild complaints, I'll go on picking this book up every day or so as I think about what to do for my next brew.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed, but repetitive
Review: This book contains a lot of good info, which I've found to be both interesting and useful as I get back into brewing after a break of a few years. I have Papazian also, and of the two books, I pick this one up more often, and find what I'm looking for more easily. Despite the comments of some other reviewers, one doesn't need to be an all-grain brewer to find this book useful. I'm creating my own recipes using extracts and specialty grains, and find this book to be very helpful. However, Miller is pretty repetitive. It is only a slight exaggeration that there are 3 chapters on each topic: on each on theory, equipment and method. I find that there is a moderate degree of repetition of material across these chapters. A consolidation of each topic into 1 chapter could well result in a 1/3 reduction in pages for the book. I'll echo another reviewer, who commented negatively on the recipes towards the back. They are really just lists of ingredients, without discussion on method (eg. mash temperatures) or variables. Having made these mild complaints, I'll go on picking this book up every day or so as I think about what to do for my next brew.
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