Search

March 8, 2012

Concise Course in Brewing Technology Review 2/3

Recently I reviewed the first part of my introduction to professional brewing. I have been keeping up with the course work without any real problems. The weekly chat sessions were condensed because not as many people were showing up as the instructors wanted which means I have to try to do the chats at work so I'm not getting quite as much out of them.

The topics on the life cycle of yeast, yeast management and control of fermentation temperatures were really useful and interesting. The material was presented in a way that the biochemical aspects did not make me feel like I was going to pass out. The filtration chapter was probably the hardest I have come across so far, I feel like the provided material was not terribly clear in describing how a filter operates (in terms where wort flows and where the filtration medium is deposited) but my instructor provided me with some additional information that cleared up my questions.

This week I finally read the module I was most interested in, recipe formulation. There was not a lot of hard data on formulation (there were some slides adapted from Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels). There were however a few good things to think about regarding the difference between professional and home brewing, like the focus of recipes and brewing in general "homebrewer: art and craft, professional brewer: craft and science" and "The process of consistently producing the beer within defined specifications separates professional brewers from amateurs". The chapter also gave some good tips on taking notes during brewday. It was not what I had in mind but it was still a really useful read.

1 comment:

  1. Heya! I was just wondering if there was a part three of your Concise Course in Brewing Technology Review that I am failing to find? I am seriously considering taking this course but since I currently reside in New Zealand it is defiantly going to need to be the online course. I have been All-Grain brewing for the last four years and have finally decided that I want to try to make a career out of it. Did you find that this course was worth it in the end? How much of the science did you know before going in? How knowledgeable do you feel know that you have finished it?

    Sorry for picking your brain. I just want to make sure I am throwing my money in the right direction.

    Cheers
    Kagan

    ReplyDelete