Starting a Seminar Series, looking for input

[Black_Marsh_Brewer]

Hey Fellow Homebrewers!

So I am a fairly well versed biologist and homebrewer and in my area I get a lot of questions from people regarding the details and science behind the brewing process. I really enjoy talking about it and have been toying with the idea of starting an advanced home brewing seminar in my local area to help people understand more about what happens in the science of brewing. This would be an in-person classroom style event.

I am looking for feedback on this idea, specifically regarding the following questions:

1) Do you have something similar in your area? Where a scientist actually gives talks on the subject of the science behind brewing?

2) What sort of questions would you like addressed if such a thing existed (or does exist) in your area?

3) Is this something that you would be willing/interested in going to a classroom for? If no, what would you be interested in going to a classroom for? (example, hands on experience, practical knowledge, shared public dialogue, etc.)

Thanks so much for your help.

-- BMB

P.S. If you don't feel comfortable posting your thoughts in the thread, please feel free to PM me.

 

[mongoose33]

I think it sounds like a great idea. We don't have anything around where I live.

IMO, you should consider the experience of the audience--what I'd love to hear you talk about is probably more advanced than someone who's just starting. So you probably should have a beginners and advanced series.

That said, the two things I find the most difficult to master are Water and, to a lesser extent, Yeast. Those are seminars I'd be interested in attending.

Here are some specific questions:

• I have a specific grain bill for "X" beer. How do I build up a water profile from RO water?
  
• How do you make a starter?
  
• How do you control temps, and what effect does temperature have on yeast performance?
  
• How do you harvest yeast for future use?
  
• How does oxygenation of wort influence yeast performance?
  
• How do you avoid oxidation post-fermentation?

As I noted above, the questions I have today tend to be at the margins--I've gotten to the point where I can brew good beer, but I keep trying to get better at process each time. So my questions would tend to be more subtle, where new brewers probably aren't as interested in a diacetyl rest, for instance, or using an O2 tank and aeration stone to oxygenate their wort.

Good luck with this, and good on you for trying to teach!

 

[m00ps]

I think one of the most misunderstood things in modern homebrewing continues to be the usage of brettanomyces other "wild" organisms in brewing. 100% brettanomyces beers in particular. I think going over the various aspects of mixed fermentations vs all-brett beers vs kettle souring, etc would help clear up the vast amount of confusion I see going around.

Also, the actual biological and scientific aspects of mixed fermentation are still largely unknown. The best sour/wild beer brewers in the world are still relying mostly on a depth of intuition or prior experience to produce their beers

 

[SGTSparty]

So I like the suggestions above but at a more basic level:

Grains: What is malting? How does it work and what’s the difference between 2 row and Black Patent? How do they affect flavor, color (what’s SRM and Levibond?), PH? Head retention? Specialty grains: What’s the max % in your bill and why, what do they do for your beer and why? How does all this play out when doing extract?

Mashing/Sparging: What’s actually happening? How do temp, time and grist ratio affect it? What’s Batch/fly sparging? What are the benefits? What does PH Stabilizer do? Do i need it? What’s a water profile? Do I need one? How do I change one?

Cooling: What's happening or COULD happen during cooling? How important is it to cool quickly? How quickly and to what temp? What are the types of cooling (Ice Bath/IC/CFC/Plate/No Chill).

Yeast: How does yeast grow and ferment. How does oxygen play into this? What’s the point of a starter? How do you make one? How do you harvest? What's attenuation and what’s its effect on your beer? Yeast imparting flavors, should they/which ones? How to pick a yeast strain based on purpose.

Fermentation: What’s the effect of temp control? Do I need it? What’s secondary? Do I need it? What’s dry hopping? Do I need it? What’s top fermenting vs. bottom fermenting? What’s lagering? What are diacetyl rests? How do I do them and do I need them? What's cold crashing? What are finings, how do they work and do I need them? What's an infection? What does it look like? How does it happen? What can I do to prevent them?

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Black Marsh Brewer, I think that your idea for a seminar is great. One thing I think that many brewers (and wine makers) do not really understand is yeast. Does yeast need oxygen? What is happening during the lag time? How much yeast is needed to ferment a batch of beer? What does yeast need to remain healthy and unstressed during the fermentation process? What are the optimal temperatures for fermentation - and why? - and what in fact happens if I ferment at too high a temperature? Can I ferment at too low a temperature? (And for wine makers - what causes stalled fermentation, and how can I test to check to see what was the cause of my stalled ferment - and how can I get my fermentation to take off again... )

 

[YeastMode]

My respectful suggestion would be to tackle one of those topics in a very in depth way. Maybe even use pictures and experiments and results. Then have someone film it and start a lecture series.

For example, I would be very interested to know the finer points of infections, such as what surfaces they are most likely to appear on, or how long it would take to have a certain sanitizer to kill a certain number of organisms on a particular surface (PET vs Glass vs Stainless, etc.). This will help determine what is myth vs what is real and beneficial. The same could be done for yeast and propagation techniques.

I think the basics have been covered by many people and are readily available for anyone to find who has the desire to look and learn more. In fact, IMHO, there is almost too much information out there and has lead to a fair amount (again, IMHO, don't PM me nasty things people) of conflicting information on some basic topics, and I would be curious to know what is real and what is legend. Perhaps you should consider exploring that dichotomy, almost like a mythbusters for beer.

Just my 3.363 cents (which is my 2 cents, but I have adjusted for inflation).

 

[Black_Marsh_Brewer]

This is all great stuff! Anyone else have any feedback?

 

[JohnnyHa]

A sensory seminar (aromas and off-flavours )!

We all know the sensation "well, this beer actually smells/tastes funny" but very often we can't describe what we smell or taste let alone put the finger on what has actually gone wrong in the brewing process.

That's also something you can only partially find out through reading but you have to train your taste buds and your ability to verbally express what you taste or smell.