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Rating: 
Summary: I'm giving this book one star only because I can't give it 0
Review: Don't waist your money. The first chapter on the history was great. He tells how Guinness got started and things about other breweries. But after that it's all down hill. This is the worst in the series. I thought it would be geared for the home brewer like the others in the series. Boy was I wrong. This is the worst beer book I have ever read. The author goes on and on and on with formulas and equations. I guess he has to show off his knowledge. He is a doctor. He does not have to impress me with all this stuff I just want to know how to make Stout in simple terms. He brings up a lot of stuff that in my opinion is not related. You would have to be a biochemist and a doctor to understand 99% of this book. A commercial brewer with some education may understand some. And there are no recipes for Stout. How is a person supposed to know what it tastes like if you don't know what's in it? How are you supposed to make it if you don't know what's in it. In my opinion the other books in the series pull this one threw. People think the others were good so this one must be to. NOT!! In my opinion the author is a quake who just so happens to know some history about Stout(That was ot very much get got most of the info from some were else and he even says so) and he filled the rest in with garbage that the average guy has no clue about what he is talking about. This book is not about brewing Stout and how to like the rest. It's the biochemistry of Stout.
Rating:
Summary: I'm giving this book one star only because I can't give it 0
Review: Easy, quick and pleasant to read, very interesting. Probably a good book for the experienced beer maker but not enough information for the first timer.
Rating: 
Summary: not the best.
Review: I found this book on stout to not be as good as the chapter on stout in designing great beers. This is probably the worst in the series. If you are getting all the books in the series you may as well get this one otherwise save yourself some time and just get designing great beers. My biggest complaints.a. Completly dismissive of the Oatmeal Stout style saying it's just a sweet stout plus marketing.
b. Treats imperial stout as just a stronger version of standard stout.
c. Doesn't ever define stout.
d. no recipies for milk stout or oatmeal stout(see a).
e. Refuses to accept porter as a different style.
f. Lot's of downright incorrect information.
Rating:
Summary: not the best.
Review: I found this book on stout to not be as good as the chapter on stout in designing great beers. This is probably the worst in the series. If you are getting all the books in the series you may as well get this one otherwise save yourself some time and just get designing great beers. My biggest complaints. a. Completly dismissive of the Oatmeal Stout style saying it's just a sweet stout plus marketing.
b. Treats imperial stout as just a stronger version of standard stout.
c. Doesn't ever define stout.
d. no recipies for milk stout or oatmeal stout(see a).
e. Refuses to accept porter as a different style.
f. Lot's of downright incorrect information.
Rating: 
Summary: Stout text on the subject..
Review: I'm not Irish, but I love Stouts. Dr. Lewis' introduction touched my heart in a way that only a true lover of stouts can appreciate. For people like me, this book is worth buying--even if you don't have a biochemical engineering degree (which I do). Of course the author is a god in the world of brewing, but I have seen him in action. His humor comes out in the book almost as well as in person. I only wish that I knew him better so I might have gained these pearls of wisdom directly from the source. Also, don't forget to have a four-pack of Murphy's in the ice box for when your copy arrives. PS--If you need help with your homebrewing, just drop me a line: rpackard2000@aol.com
Rating:
Summary: Uninspiring, surprisingly empty - worse than 'Belgian Ale'
Review: The books in the classic beers styles vary to a great deal- they are all written by different authors, and some beers just happen to have more vivid or unique histories than others. But no matter what, all of the titles are written by authors with barely contained enthusiasm and affection for the style. It is in these respects that Mr. Lewis fails. A few of the more disappointing aspects of the book: *At risk of sounding like a snob, Lewis claims that his all time favorites include Guinness and Budweiser. His experience as a brewer aside, one must certainly question the man's taste. *He scoffs at the idea of a separation between stout and porter. Read Terry Foster's far superior 'Porter' and you'll know this to be patently false. How can anything this man says be taken seriously? *He doesn't seem to 'believe' in milk stout or oatmeal stout. This alone is an unforgiveable stance. *The 'homebrewing' section of the book was not written by Mr. Lewis and thus is in no way tied to the rest of the book. The homebrewer (or craft brewer) is robbed of any real context for the few, very questionable, recipes presented. *He goes out of his way to take pot shots at Michael Jackson. His only motivation here seems to be to dismiss the idea of substyles, and to promote his own very sterile, near meaningless critiquing system. *Historical aspects of the book are often speculations- and bad ones at that- that do little to provide historical background. *Pages and pages of mostly irrelivant survey material from a number of stout breweries is presented, out of context and to little effect. *Aside from a very few remembrances of Welsh coal miners slaking their thirst with a stout, this book reads like it was written by a brewer's CPA, not someone with a great deal of respect and enthusiasm for the style. In 'Belgian Ale,' Rajotte can (maybe) be forgiven for producing a less than adequate book because the subject is so diverse. In this case, one can only hope that a new edition of 'Stout' will feature a different author. Compared to others in the series, this edition is without merit.
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