Dornsbusch has written in my opinion one of the best of the Classic Beer Series. Bavarian Helles, a style that unfortunatly is quickly disappearing in Germany (many German beers call themselves Helles but are in fact blonde industrial lagers), is the summit of Lager Beer. Dornsbusch does this style justice. Both the home brewer and the professional can benefit from his small treatise. Dornsbusch cover the history, style, and brewing techniques of this most elegant beer. The recipes are easy to follow, and the advise is very practical.

Pale, lightly hoped lagers are very difficult to brew. Dornsbusch sets the brewer at ease, and leaves much of the theoretical biochemistry to the brewing scientists. If a brewer is determined to replicate the soft, malty, elegance of the Bavarian Helles this is the book to buy. For those who have never brewer lagers before Dornsbusch gives some practical advise.

If the brewer is also interested in the Rhineland Altbier style, then he/she should also get Dornsbusch Altbier.

The various books in the Classic Beer Style series are as mixed of a bag as their subjects. While each makes an effort to provide a bit of a history lesson, some technical background and a few recipes for the homebrewer, each author seems to have been pretty much left to work out the details. As a result, some examples got lost by being muddled with too much history, too many technical details or recipes that are at the extremes of the complexity scale.

Dornbusch managed to get a great balance of the three in this book, and he presents it in a style that shows that he downright enjoys his subject. The result is a book that, from a homebrewer's standpoint, is actually fun to read. But most importantly, you can make some pretty good brews from his recipes.