I read this after reading pale ale, and it is interesting how most ales were likely brown (and likely smoked too!) prior to the advent of porter. Then came pale ale, then bitter, then mild, then what we think of as northern and southern brown. Very cool bit of history. I like how Ray Daniels pulls some of the Brewing Better Beers bits in (like BU:GU) to help flesh out this style a bit. Also, liked the howto on making your own amber and brown malt. The recipes were good, looking forward to making them, and perhaps even making some of the food recipes. Very good book for the most part and very instructive on the style. And, it is interesting that quite a few experienced brewers would recommend starting with brewing a brown ale (as it is a bit hard to screw up) but this is fairly advanced, and the recipes are perhaps not good for beginners. Experienced brewers will likely benefit.