Free Online Beer Chemistry Course

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I use Firefox and everything worked fine. Did way better than the first quiz even though I think both the quiz and the material were harder. I took someone's advice here and really concentrated on the course outcomes. I also studied a lot harder than for the first unit. At least I'm not failing anymore!
 
Totally know what I did wrong. Took the quiz and I was drinking wine instead of beer ... Dang!


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Was it good wine? If we're talking two buck chuck , I'd agree - blasphemy


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I'm hang in there for week 3. Almost feels like the course was intentionally difficult to drive off those of us who aren't paying. I think it will get better and more applicable to brewing procedure as we move forward. Really hard to complain when you're getting it for free.

I just wish there were 10x the examples to practice. One example and then a test question is pretty unfair



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The second module quiz was pretty rough for those without some biochemistry (the self-assessment quiz should have told you that from the get-go), but the good news is that if you've taken the self assessment quiz for module #3, anyone who has actually brewed beer should get 100% on it. I'm thinking that Module #3 ("Beer Styles") will be an easy one for most of us here. That said, once the "Fermentation" module (#7) kicks in, I'm suspecting that the biochemistry will overtake many of the non-chemistry folks. Best to study the course material and not rely on your homebrewing experience for this module.
 
I am enjoying the class but the Chemistry has been kicking my Arse! The last time I sat in a science class...... cell phones and Nintendo had not yet been invented and a computer was actually a word processer and similar in size to my Kegerator!

It is a Beer "CHEMISTRY" class..... Don't know how I missed that (lol)! Looking forward to the rest of the course! I'd venture to guess that all who stick it out will walk away from the class with a better understanding of the process and the ability to brew a better Beer!
 
I'm enjoying the class. I think this would be difficult for someone with absolutely no chem background.

I have a Bio Chem degree, but I haven't used it since the late 80s. It's amazing how much I've forgotten. It's coming back - but slowly. I can usually get the harder quiz questions down to 2 possible choices. Then it's a coin flip. For me, it's much easier to learn when it's put in a context to which I can relate. I'd have a hard time getting motivated if this were just pure chemistry.

I really do appreciate the opportunity to take the course.
 
I can certainly see how difficult the course would be to someone without a chemistry background. OTOH, the course is free, it's not for credit, and I can weed through and selectively focus on the parts I want to learn about. I can say that it is taxing my memory (curse growing old!) of chemistry classes taken 30+ years ago.

Secondary note to those continuing in the course: pay attention to the NAD+/NADH reactions, we will see them again in the fermentation section.

-- Old Goat
 
I signed up for the course, and today I got my first email about it! "Week 5-Chemistry of beer"

Huh. All other online courses tend to send out emails before the course starts.

So, how does one go back and start at the beginning?

B
 
Just sign up & start w/ the first section. You've missed the deadlines for the first two quizzes but you can still take them.
BTW- the course is in the third segment, not the fifth.


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I did poorly on the last quiz, which annoyed me but then I remembered, I am not trying to get a degree out of this and I'm just going to relax.

I signed up for the course, and today I got my first email about it! "Week 5-Chemistry of beer"

Huh. All other online courses tend to send out emails before the course starts.

So, how does one go back and start at the beginning?

B

PKU:p was it not in your spam folder perhaps? I think most people got the e-mail the weekend before it started so they did indeed send them. Evidently though, you can still take the quizzes but your "grade" suffers as a result. If you don't care about that, then get started.

I'm hang in there for week 3. Almost feels like the course was intentionally difficult to drive off those of us who aren't paying. I think it will get better and more applicable to brewing procedure as we move forward. Really hard to complain when you're getting it for free.

I just wish there were 10x the examples to practice. One example and then a test question is pretty unfair



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I couldn't disagree more. Chemistry is not easy in general, at least not for everyone. This course can't be dumbed down and still be considered a chemistry course, can it? Unless they literally just focus on the very basics of fermentation, leaving out thing such as NAD+/NADH reactions and such. I am not doing well but by God I certainly can't say it was intentionally set up so it would push people out because they didn't pay. Why would they even bother at that point? It's not like some are paying and others aren't.

As much as I would like for it to be easier, I also don't expect it to. It is a Chemistry of Beer course, not "how to brew".

I do agree that additional examples would be beneficial. Someone linked something about GABAa and such and it made so much more sense to me. I still think I bombed the question in the quiz though. I just don't think that "unfair" is a word I would use in a free course that is designed extremely well. I've done online courses that I've paid thousands for and they weren't nearly as good as this one in terms of organization and ability to just learn.
 
I just finished the self assessment quiz on Beer Styles, 8 questions, Easy !!!......... I hope the test is just as simple.......And then it's on to Malting & Kilning........
 
I don't think the course is unfair, I just think it's not very good.
I'm ok with something being complex, but there should be a lot more supplementry reading material. Some of the early questions were on material that was not well explained or worse, incompletely explained.

The course if free, so I'm not complaining about not getting my moneys worth. :fro: I do think the material could be presented a lot better. Not dumbed down, but provide a set of extra reading where those that haven't taken college chemistry can learn too.
If its just about memorizing a large set of disjointed facts, without explanations, then I don't think it's a worthwhile course.

Are those with a chemistry background impressed with the presentation and material?





I did poorly on the last quiz, which annoyed me but then I remembered, I am not trying to get a degree out of this and I'm just going to relax.



PKU:p was it not in your spam folder perhaps? I think most people got the e-mail the weekend before it started so they did indeed send them. Evidently though, you can still take the quizzes but your "grade" suffers as a result. If you don't care about that, then get started.



I couldn't disagree more. Chemistry is not easy in general, at least not for everyone. This course can't be dumbed down and still be considered a chemistry course, can it? Unless they literally just focus on the very basics of fermentation, leaving out thing such as NAD+/NADH reactions and such. I am not doing well but by God I certainly can't say it was intentionally set up so it would push people out because they didn't pay. Why would they even bother at that point? It's not like some are paying and others aren't.

As much as I would like for it to be easier, I also don't expect it to. It is a Chemistry of Beer course, not "how to brew".

I do agree that additional examples would be beneficial. Someone linked something about GABAa and such and it made so much more sense to me. I still think I bombed the question in the quiz though. I just don't think that "unfair" is a word I would use in a free course that is designed extremely well. I've done online courses that I've paid thousands for and they weren't nearly as good as this one in terms of organization and ability to just learn.
 
I don't think the course is unfair, I just think it's not very good.
I'm ok with something being complex, but there should be a lot more supplementry reading material. Some of the early questions were on material that was not well explained or worse, incompletely explained.

The course if free, so I'm not complaining about not getting my moneys worth. :fro: I do think the material could be presented a lot better. Not dumbed down, but provide a set of extra reading where those that haven't taken college chemistry can learn too.
If its just about memorizing a large set of disjointed facts, without explanations, then I don't think it's a worthwhile course.

Are those with a chemistry background impressed with the presentation and material?




VIII. How to take this Course
The course is broken up in 8 units with videos, discussions, required resources, self-assessments, and quizzes. Each unit contains both brewing and chemical concepts. The brewing content is covered in the Brew Master’s Corner videos and the overview of the unit. The chemical content is covered in the Chemical Concept videos and the Chemical Concept required materials.
Although there are many ways to go through the content, I would suggest starting with the learning outcomes that are listed under the required resources. This outlines the goals for the unit and will help guide your attention while you watch the videos and read the written content. From here, you can either watch the videos and then read the text or vice versa depending on your preference. Reading the written content related to a video shortly after watching the video will likely aid in retention and understanding. Make sure to take notes on those things that relate to the learning outcomes so that you can review them later.









III. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course covers the process of brewing from grain to final bottle product and the
chemical and biochemical process involved in each step. Students will be required to utilize
previous knowledge in General and Organic chemistry to understand:
chemistry of the
ingredients and products and the molecules involved in the biochemical processes. During the
course, students will also learn the similarities and differences between beer styles, the impact of
brewing techniques as related to chemical processes, and the chemical compounds that impact
beer aesthetics. There is a great deal of Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry involved in the
malting, mashing and fermentation process and understanding the chemistry behind the flavor,
aroma, and color of beer.
 
>>. Students will be required to utilize
previous knowledge in General and Organic chemistry to understand: chemistry of the
ingredients and products and the molecules involved in the biochemical processes.

I'm fine with that. I do think additional supplementary material would have greatly improved the course. And I still think the material is not as well presented as it should be.

I'm not asking for a baby course, but that the supplementary material be available. Maybe I'm asking for too much?
I don't think so, because I think there is demand there for a better course. I guess it would have to be longer, or require a lot more reading, so the students who aren't as knowledgeable about chemistry would have the background material to read and understand the course material.
 
>>. Students will be required to utilize
previous knowledge in General and Organic chemistry to understand: chemistry of the
ingredients and products and the molecules involved in the biochemical processes.

I'm fine with that. I do think additional supplementary material would have greatly improved the course. And I still think the material is not as well presented as it should be.

I'm not asking for a baby course, but that the supplementary material be available. Maybe I'm asking for too much?
I don't think so, because I think there is demand there for a better course. I guess it would have to be longer, or require a lot more reading, so the students who aren't as knowledgeable about chemistry would have the background material to read and understand the course material.

I'm not terrifically impressed with the course yet...but then we haven't gotten to the actual "Chemistry of Beer" part of it yet. I did enjoy the brief relevant portions in the first lesson. I skipped over the second lesson entirely. And so far the third lesson is so simplified that a lot of it is "sort of true" to those of us that know something about brewing.

That said, I'm not sure that it makes sense to acknowledge that there is a prerequisite of biochemistry knowledge and then turn around and complain that the course doesn't address our not meeting the prerequisites. If you find that you are in fact not qualified to take the course (and I certainly am not!) and it matters to you then go and find the information that you need to fill the gaps. I wouldn't have expected a college course, intended to build on the student's previous knowledge, to do this for me. I think we, as brewers, are looking for something more or different out of the class than the "students of chemistry" it is more likely intended for.
 
That said, I'm not sure that it makes sense to acknowledge that there is a prerequisite of biochemistry knowledge and then turn around and complain that the course doesn't address our not meeting the prerequisites.

It's like people receiving food stamps complaining about purchasing restriction.

If you find that you are in fact not qualified to take the course (and I certainly am not!) and it matters to you then go and find the information that you need to fill the gaps.
The youtube is full of information to fill in the gap.
I look for all the resources on line to help me with the course and worked out great.
Chemistry is not my background, English is not my primary language and I manage.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB
 
I like the course so far. I didn't have a strong chemistry background, so I struggled a bit in the first two tests, but I knew going in that was a big part of the course.
Some people just need to complain I guess.
 
Unit 3 is way more interesting, but I still don't think I've learned anything that will help me with brewing. There's still a lot more to go, so maybe there will be some info that I can put to use.
 
Got busy and bored with the class, so I didn't look at the materials for awhile. I just went in and did the second test (2 days late) and did better than I did on the first test! Then I took the practice for the lesson 3 after not reading anything and got 100%.

I agree with ncbrewer that I haven't learned anything that would make me a better brewer.
 
I don't want to give away anything, but quiz 3 has one historically innacurate answer and one completely nonsenical question.
 
I don't want to give away anything, but quiz 3 has one historically innacurate answer and one completely nonsenical question.
Liked because I love the word nonsensical.

Now I am going to check it out because I am curious.
 
I haven't been able to get online for any studying or prep work. We've been w /o power or cable/internet for the last two days. Hopefully, we'll have those & heat back soon. I've burned almost a cord of wood & have some more. Thank goodness!



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I haven't been able to get online for any studying or prep work. We've been w /o power or cable/internet for the last two days. Hopefully, we'll have those & heat back soon. I've burned almost a cord of wood & have some more. Thank goodness!



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Stay safe down there, at least this is a pretty light unit for experienced brewers.
 
I haven't been able to get online for any studying or prep work. We've been w /o power or cable/internet for the last two days. Hopefully, we'll have those & heat back soon. I've burned almost a cord of wood & have some more. Thank goodness!

Hang in there. Hope you get your power back soon.
 
Took the test today, I did better on the last one!! 2 of them I should have double checked before I hit submit. Oh well. got 4 wrong........lol
 
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