Self enrichment classes for brewing at local college - which ones?

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ectoplasmicfunk

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Hey guys and gals,

I rarely post on here, but I'm looking into taking some self-enrichment classes at my local community college to improve my overall brewing knowledge and understanding.

I hold a Bachelor of Art degree in Digital Media, so I've never taken any serious college level science/math courses except Biology and College Algebra.

What courses would you the community recommend on taking?

So far I'm considering Pre-Calc, Microbiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics.

Thanks in advance everyone, and cheers.
 
Orgo for fun....lol.

Good on ya for wanting to learn, but I hope you aren't going to spend good money on this...I don't see why you'd want to pay to take a class that would not have any chance of a payoff down the line (promotion at your job, new career, etc.). You could probably read textbooks on your own and pick up all the relevant/applicable info.

If these are some sort of work benefit (use it or lose it kinda thing), what about finding some more enriching self-enrichment classes? Adult ed programs will frequently have interesting offerings (I know the one near me had beer tasting at one point) Those courses you list are all kind of dry, fundamental classes that undergraduates have to tick off their list before getting to the higher level stuff.

But to answer your question, you will probably want to take intro bio and intro chemistry before tackling micro, orgo and physics (they may even be pre-reqs.)

Good luck!
 
As someone that taken pre-cal and physics and then seen the horrors that lie 6-8 classes past that them, I dont see any reason to subject yourself to those classes unless its for a future career
 
I agree, o chem is a beast of a class, and precalc was harder than calc 1 for me.

Not knowing your entire background and meaning no offense, I would agree that more entry level science classes might fulfill your needs better than those. Those classes are meant for science majors and and far more information than you need for brewing
 
Excellent input so far, thanks everyone. Self-enriching is the idea, but also down the road if I want to get a MSc in Brewing and Distillation, a few places said I need some of these on my transcripts or I probably won't get in. Still not sure if I want to go that route but that's why I'm here brainstorming :)
 
@ectoplasmicfunk,

Unless you need official credits for career progression I would recommend this:
https://www.coursera.org/about/

Coursera provides universal access to the world’s best education, partnering with top universities and organizations to offer free courses online. Also, If you pay you can get a certificate for the course.

Edit: Changed credit to certificate.
 
So far I'm considering Pre-Calc, Microbiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics.

Clearly many of the posters here have never heard of knowledge for its own sake. What a pity but, I suppose, a sign of the times.

There is a saying to the effect that wine is made by farmers while beer is made by engineers. I'm not sure that really applies broadly to home brewers but certainly it applies to some especially those who have to know how things work, those that like to experiment and those whose enjoyment of the hobby involves making bits of their own gear including programming controllers.

In trying to think of the answer to the question 'what disciplines with which I have some familiarity have I used in brewing in one way or another' the best answer I can come up with is 'most of them'. That makes it tough to give you a short list.

In looking at your list certainly basic math, which is, I assume, things like graphs, analytic geometry, trigonometry, sets, limits and stuff like that, is essential. Calculus itself, at least differential calculus, comes up quite a lot but I haven't had to evaluate many integrals in brewing (and when I have I just used the computer). Basic chemistry is a must and to that I would add biochemistry. I'd skip the organic. Isn't it the basis of biochemistry? Sure but when a sugar molecule goes from the ladder form to the ring form all you need to know is that a hemiacetyl is formed - not where all the damned electrons went.

The subset of chemistry I probably spend most time on is p-chem (physical chemistry). Wort and beer are dilute solutions and understanding chemical equilibrium is essential to understanding things like water chemistry, how the density of worts and beers change with sugar and alcohol content, evaporation rates in the kettle, beer color, pH and how to measure it... Certainly microbiology should be on the list. Physics- hmm. It is true that anyone interested in any of the sciences should be versed in basic physics as it is ultimately at the heart of everything else discussed here. As you really can't teach it without introducing some calculus that may be the way to pick up some of that (don't take a 'Physics for Poets' class).

Learn to weld.
 
That's a rough group of classes. Most current college students would do whatever they could to avoid them.

How are you with Math and Science in general? Are you interested in Science? If not, you'll probably have a difficult time staying focused. However, if you can plow thorough, you'll learn a lot and I think you'll get a lot out of it.

I have a science degree. Science teaches you how to think and how to solve problems. It's invaluable IMO. Even though I'm not working in the field anymore, I feel that my science background pays off every day.

I say go for it, but I'd go slow. Maybe start with 1 course and see how you like it. I'd say Physics is probably the one that will help your brewing the least.
 
Hey guys and gals,

I rarely post on here, but I'm looking into taking some self-enrichment classes at my local community college to improve my overall brewing knowledge and understanding.

I hold a Bachelor of Art degree in Digital Media, so I've never taken any serious college level science/math courses except Biology and College Algebra.

What courses would you the community recommend on taking?

So far I'm considering Pre-Calc, Microbiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics.

Thanks in advance everyone, and cheers.

:rockin:
 
Excellent input so far, thanks everyone. Self-enriching is the idea, but also down the road if I want to get a MSc in Brewing and Distillation, a few places said I need some of these on my transcripts or I probably won't get in. Still not sure if I want to go that route but that's why I'm here brainstorming :)

Well, now you tell us!:confused::)

This is different than taking classes "for fun"...Yes you will probably need those classes as prereqs for an MSc degree, but you will also need the prereqs to get into the classes themselves(intro bio, intro chem, bio lab, chem lab).
 
...What courses would you the community recommend on taking? So far I'm considering Pre-Calc, Microbiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics...

I'm don't know what pre-calc would be unless it is a refresh of trig, but I would recommend taking a trig course before jumping into calculus. Consider thermodynamics instead of physics. Take a look at the syllabus of schools that offer zymurgy and/or oenology programs to see what the general prerequisite courses are, which should include courses like microbiology.

I haven't looked, but the AHA web site may have some information to help shape a direction. If you want to take a vocational approach, then the BJCP judge journey and/or cicerone certification could be a good start for example.

Edit: Looks like I didn't read some key posts. So, you do have an end goal of an MS degree.:mug:
 
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