September 18, 2008

It's the University of Wisconsin beer class with beer tastings!

But this is quite serious. It's a fermentation and zymurgy class in the bacteriology department, with prerequisites in microbiology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry.
[The teacher Jon] Roll said students will plot yeast growth curves, learn how to properly pair foods with a variety of beers and taste test their creations....

MillerCoors has donated a $100,000 set of pilot-scale brewing equipment to the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to train future fermentation experts and advance the science of biotechnology....

“It’s meant to benefit first and foremost our students and our future,” [UW Chancellor Biddy] Martin said, adding it would also supply the industry with “a pipeline of well-educated, motivated graduates who can step right in and help the companies that they choose to work with. It’s a win-win.”...

“We’re thrilled to celebrate the roles that fermentation plays and to create the scientists of the future that will lead us forward in a whole host of products and technologies that will be crucial for this state’s and our nation’s success,” [CALS Dean Molly Jahn] said.
Just one of the many wonderful reasons to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And the night is young here in Madison, where it is time, once again, to celebrate fermentation.

IN THE COMMENTS: A lot of you are into home brewery.

54 comments:

vbspurs said...

And the night is young here in Madison, where it is time, once again, to celebrate fermentation.

Wonder if the Sorbonne has viticulture classes?

In Britain, there is the RAC, the Royal Agricultural College. They don't study fermentation, though. They just drink it.

Peter V. Bella said...

College campus. Beer. Class on beer making. Beer. Study of fermintation and zymurgy. Beer. Plotting yeat growth curves. Beer. MillerCoors, college students, beer. Advance the science of biotechnology. Did I mention beer.

chuck b. said...

A college class that actually prepares you for a career..!

What a concept.

UWS guy said...

"Beer yeast, when dispersed in water, breaks down into an infinite number of small spheres. If these spheres are transferred to an aqueous solution of sugar, they develop into small animals. they are endowed with a sort of suction trunk with which they gulp up the sugar from solution. Digestion is immediately and clearly recognizable because of the discharge of excrements. These animals evacuate ethyl alcohol from their bowels and carbon dioxide from their urinary organs.

Thus one can observe how a specifically lighter fluid is exuded from the anus and rises vertically, whereas a stream of carbon dioxide is ejected at very short intervals from their enormously large genitals."


Freidrich Wohler and Justus von Liebig. Annals of Chemestry, Volume 29, 1839

The Drill SGT said...

I am a graduate of the University of Calfornia at Davis. The home of the worlds best viticulture and Enology programs. I am proud to say UW is behind the times. 35 years ago I was taking enology glasses from Singleton and Amerine, and imbibing of the grape. Great place to meet chicks also :)

where the ag engineering guys, met the food science babes :)

My first wife was a food science babe

Alexv said...

How about a seminar on "Law and Brewing"?

UWS guy said...

Fresno state has a pretty good program running these days Drill Sgt. They're wine is worth trying.

Chip Ahoy said...

I'm very interested in learning this. I discovered I like ale a lot more than lager. I've already become quite knowledgeable on cultivation of bread yeasts and fermentation of sourdoughs and it seems to me that beer is tantamount to liquid bread. Therefore, it's only natural that I should make my own ale. I would use Newcastle as my target ale to attempt to emulate. Perhaps I could do even better.

I don't think a college course is necessary to learn mad yeast fermentation skillz. That's just plain unimaginative. And working for another company -- bleh.

Unknown said...

Sounds interesting, in an technical sort of way. Me? I like to watch as the elderberries slowly convert into the finest brandy you'd ever want to sip. Deep garnet, not too sweet and delicious in an unusual way.

We just got a forty pound batch started last week.

Ann Althouse said...

Yeah. Beer and the Law. We need another "Law and" course to annoy Scalia.

The Drill SGT said...

UWS, I've heard that and believe it, but not in my day :)

Revenant said...

Chip, it is not at all difficult to make first-rate ale yourself. I encourage you to give the hobby a try. :)

Bissage said...

The science of brewing?!?!?!

I blame those Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards!!!!1!!!!1

The Drill SGT said...

Those Fat Belgian Bastards make excellent lace, beer, fries, chocolate and I like their stew better than the mussels

Jim Hu said...

I did my PhD work in old EB Fred Hall, and the new Microbial Sciences building is quite the contrast with that loveable old dump. As I understand it, EB Fred was a dean or something who decided that old Bact would be a role model for building labs under budget - and it showed. Who needs slate benchtops when you can paint wood black? Vents for the autoclaves - an unneeded extravagance!

vbspurs said...

OT:

Ann changed her profile pic! And her sidebar is now bolded!

That is all.

Asante Samuel said...

Make enough to cry in, Badger football fans. You'll need it about 10pm CDT, October 11, after the New Pennsylvania Penn State Nittaly Lions have finished kicking your raggedy asses.

Hoosier Daddy said...

It's a fermentation and zymurgy class in the bacteriology department, with prerequisites in microbiology, biochemistry, and organic chemistry.

Ann could you do me a favor and ask them why my Sam Adams Oktoberfest clone is still fermenting after 3 weeks in the primary?

Its pissing me off because the longer it takes, the longer it will be before I can drink it.

Bissage said...

Hey Sarge!!! Don't forget to mention those Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards also produced this guy!!!!11!11!

Hoosier Daddy said...

Reverent said Chip, it is not at all difficult to make first-rate ale yourself. I encourage you to give the hobby a try. :)

Rev, you homebrew? We must chat sometime. I have a Sam Adams Oktoberfest clone and a Belgian Wit on deck right now. I'm counting on them being ready by Halloween.

Currently bottled is my personal favorite, Imperial Pale Ale. Needless to say it's an acquired taste with fortunately for me, I'm the only one in my family who acquired it. Also have some leftover Hefe from the summer but it won't last long.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Hey Sarge!!! Don't forget to mention those Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards also produced this guy!!!!11!11!


Nice Bissage! The Cannibal is definitely the greatest, no disrespect to Lance but Lance never won the Giro AND the Tour de France in the same year.

Belgium produces some great cyclists and damn fine beer. Beyond that, they bigger pussies than the French but I digress.

Susan said...

Oli,
I planted lots of elders with the idea of making jam and wine. Can you point me toward a good website to get info on making elderberry brandy?

UWS guy said...

Tooper York's mother is a Hamster and his father smells of Elderberries FWIW.

Peter V. Bella said...

Sometimes when I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, "It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."

Babe Ruth

Simon said...

I homebrew. It never struck me as something that required a university course to learn.

Anonymous said...

Yeah. Beer and the Law. We need another "Law and" course to annoy Scalia.

Right. How about Beer and the Sex? That was among my favorite classes.

Peter V. Bella said...

"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!"

George Bernard Shaw

Palladian said...

No, no, Michael_H, Beer and Homosexual Sodomy.

Anyone care for a Chimay?

Peter V. Bella said...

One night at Cheers, Cliff Calvin explained the" Buffalo Theory" to his buddy Norm:

"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members! In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine! That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

The Drill SGT said...

In Britain, there is the RAC, the Royal Agricultural College.

I've lectured at the Royal Military College, Swindon, does that count?

Hoosier Daddy said...

I homebrew. It never struck me as something that required a university course to learn.

Damn Simon...imagine how much better our homebrews would be if we got educated properly.

/sarcasm off

Have you made anything lately?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

A beer class.

What do I do for extra credit?

Unknown said...

Susan --

Better. This is an old colonial recipe for cherry brandy.

A crock, let's say five gallons.

Mash fruit, then layer fruit and powdered sugar in two inch layers. Use maybe two full bags of sugar.

Fill crock about 2/3, then pour pure white rum on until it reaches the top.

Close and don't peek for four months.

Decant and let set -- repeat carefully until clear.

The floating splooge can be used a second time, the bottom paste cannot. You will get a weaker brandy.

If you find your brandy doesn't have enough kick -- Everclear 90 proof it until it does. DO NOT, however, add more sugar or you'll get something tasting like cough syrup. Better tart than spoiled.

We just had a week of rain before I went picking and some of them were as large as currents. I kinna wait.

Peter V. Bella said...

BEER WARNING
Police are warning all men who frequent clubs, parties & local pubs to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink from any woman. Many females use a date rape drug on the market called "Beer."

The drug is found in liquid form and is available anywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, or from taps and in large "kegs". Beer is used by female sexual predators at parties and bars to persuade their male victims to go home and sleep with them. A woman needs only to get a guy to consume a few units of Beer and then simply ask him home for no strings attached sex.
Men are rendered helpless against this approach.

After several beers, men will often succumb to the desires to sleep with horrific looking women whom they would never normally be attracted. After drinking beer, men often awaken with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that "something bad" occurred.

At other times these unfortunate men are swindled out of their life's savings, in a familiar scam known as "a relationship." In extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer term form of servitude and punishment referred to as "marriage." Men are much more susceptible to this scam after beer is administered and sex is offered by the predatory females.

Please! Forward this warning to every male you know. If you fall victim to this "Beer" scam and the women administering it, there are male support groups where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter with similarly victimized men. For the support group nearest you, just look up "Golf Courses" in the phone book.

vbspurs said...

OT:

Part 2 of the Sarah Palin interview with Sean Hannity, right now, 9 PM EST.

Cheers,
Victoria

CCMCornell said...

Didn't your son go to Cornell? He may have heard of the wines class offered by the hotel school that many undergraduates take as part of a tradition. I never took it, but I believe it's pass/fail only, has a lecture with about 2000 students held at the main auditorium in Bailey and has actual tests on facts about different wines, grapes, regions, etc. You can easily spot people who take the course from their little black carry cases that safely house 4 pieces of stemware for wine tasting.

Simon said...

Hoosier, alas time has escaped me recently. Keep meaning to brew another batch.

Ann Althouse said...
"Yeah. Beer and the Law. We need another 'Law and; course to annoy Scalia."

Feh. Scalia doesn't know jack about beer - how else to explain the report of him drinking Corona at some DC gathering a couple of years ago.

Besides, "beer and the law"? Isn't that already covered by "DUI"?

rosebud said...

This is at UW-Madison?

Wouldn't it be more appropriate at UW-Stout?

Triangle Man said...

New Pennsylvania Penn State Nittaly Lions

Dr. Kill,

This is a thread about beer, an ancient and important topic. How dare you sully it by dragging partisan politics into the comments?

vbspurs said...

OT:

Palin did great. It better, more on point than Part 1. Hannity asked her about Iraq, the rumours, her strengths and weaknesses, her religion, many things.

Hannity is calling her "authentic". My mum, who was watching with me, said she's just so genuine.

That she mentioned Reagan, Thatcher, Lincoln as her inspirations.

And she mentioned Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals book on Lincoln. Wonder what that LBJ flunky will say about that, when MSNBC ask her (no doubt tomorrow).

Sometimes you don't need nasty or hostile questioning to get to know things about a politician.

A lot can be revealed by just relaxing and being yourself. That's what Palin did in these interviews.

I challenge anyone to say they dislike her PERSONALLY. Her views, sure, but not personally.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

LOL. Poor Alan Colmes. He got ripped by Rove yesterday, and now Gingrich is openly chortling at him.

vbspurs said...

Last OT, promise:

Should I, or shouldn't I go to the Barack Obama event at the Univ of Miami on Friday?

Please give me your opinions over at my blog.

Your opinions mean a lot to me, that's why I ask. :)

TN Mimi said...

The UW-Madison chancellor is named Biddy?

chickelit said...

Beer and the Law.

What is the beer drinking law in Wisconsin these days. In my day it was 18 for everything. I've since lived in states (CO) where weak beer was allowed for under 21.

KCFleming said...

"It's the University of Wisconsin beer class with beer tastings!"

Avoid Anatomy 101, for the same reason. Dahmer and Gein country, y'know.

P_J said...

Great to know we have a number of homebrewers at Althouse!

I have a hefeweizen conditioning in the bottle right now (should be ready soon), and I'm planning a brew day this weekend for a holiday spice ale.

P_J said...

According to the labels, this post hits the sweet spot: "commerce, drinking, education, science, University of Wisconsin"

Things we can all appreciate!

Susan said...

Thanks Oligonicella!

Eli Blake said...

Might as well. It looks like those other Brewers from Wisconsin aren't going anywhere this year.

Here in Arizona, some people facing foreclosure on their mortgates have come up witn a way to sell off some homes

to a regular buyer.

James said...

I used to homebrew in Madison quite a lot - in the nasty basement of my apartment, until there was an "uncontrolled fermentation incident" that got everywhere. Landlord put an end to that little hobby. If I had known I could take classes in it, maybe that could have been avoided. But then again, I would have never been able to see how long it would be before my downstairs neighbor's cat stopped smelling like porter.

Also, I learned the hard way that jalapeno beer is neither good in theory, nor practice. That lesson is free. Fun to watch ferment though. It never stopped for a month, and when we bottled it, the jalapeno slices were completely translucent. All the oily goodness out of the peppers and in to the beer. Which sadly, made it stop being goodness.

Revenant said...

Rev, you homebrew? We must chat sometime.

I used to. I've been meaning to get back into the hobby now that I have a permanent residence. I'm afraid I'm too rusty to provide any helpful information. ;)

AllenS said...

I once went on a tour of the Leinenkugel brewery in Chippewa Falls, WI. That's all the education I need. I still have the Leinies refrigerator magnets to prove it.

former law student said...

Wonder if the Sorbonne has viticulture classes?

In Britain, there is the RAC, the Royal Agricultural College. They don't study fermentation, though. They just drink it.


First, I don't know why anglophones tend to think that the Sorbonne is the pinnacle of French education, when it is a gritty urban school resembling Wayne State University (but much less attractive) more than anything else. Very little room there to practice the cultivation of the grape. The closest place to Paris would be the Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardennes.

The place to learn oenology in France is the ENS Agronomique in Montpellier (yes it's spelt correctly) www.supagro.fr
The original university in Montpellier was founded in 1289 by papal bull, issued by Nicholas IV (Quia Sapientia)

Second, the place to learn brewing in the UK is Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

Third, the places to learn brewing in Germany are TU Muenchen, and TU Berlin. TU Muenchen is home to the millenium-old Weihenstephan brewery. That campus is located out of town, and also produces tasty dairy products including yogurt.

Finally, the places to learn winemaking in the US are U.C. Davis, Fresno State, and Cornell. Fresno produces its own wine and dairy products, but not Davis.

The Drill SGT said...

Fresno produces its own wine and dairy products, but not Davis.

I assume you mean they produce wine and diary for sale.

Davis clearly produces wine and dairy for research. when I was at Davis 39 years ago I lived next to the University dairy. Here is what UC says today.

The U.C. Davis Dairy Teaching and Research Facility is located on the main campus at the University of California at Davis. The milking herd of 100 cows, excluding dry cows, is milked two times per day in a modern single six herringbone parlor with automatic takeoffs and cow identification. The system also has computerized production recording and motion monitoring for estrus detection. The rolling herd average is well above 25,000 pounds of milk per cow annually. Milk from the dairy is sold to Hilmar Cheese Company , Hilmar, CA. Along with the milk cows, 120 replacement heifers are raised from birth to calving at this facility. One hundred percent of the herd is registered with the Holstein Association USA.

The U.C. Dairy is used extensively for teaching, research, and outreach.


as for wine, Davis has a vineyard in the Napa valley at Oakville as well as Davis based yineyards. They produce wine at the Davis Winery using normal commercial practices. Here is what happened last week that demonstrates the size of their crush and production:

Friday, Sept. 12, was the long-anticipated big day! The new equipment arrived at UC Davis. Chik Brenneman, our Winery Manager, and his crew, along with Dr Roger Boulton, were all on hand to help unload the Bucher shipment. It included a brand new 22hL Bucher XPF membrane press (see photo), Delta E2 destemmer, and Delta hopper and elevator. The press is capable of handling 2.5 tons of whole-cluster fruit or 4 tons of destemmed grapes. It will certainly give our winery a much-needed boost in both efficiency and quality of handling. The Delta TR3000 elevator is designed to convey grapes to either the destemmer or the press. The destemmer is the newest in the Delta E-series and will process about 1-5 of fruit tons per hour. After dumping into the hopper, the grapes are gently conveyed to the destemmer according to a pre-set processing speed. Everyone is very excited about how this new equipment will positively impact production for teaching and research at the winery.

Go aggies!!