VLB-School of Brewing and Fermentation Sciences

Yesterday we attended Spandau Brauhaus which was an awesome tour.  I finally have some pictures from this tour that I will post with this blog.

We were also able to visit the Jewish Museum yesterday evening which was an interesting experience.  The museum itself is very unique because it is specifically designed to disorient the people viewing the exhibits.  The architecture was very modern and the actual path that we followed throughout the museum zig zagged back and forth throughout various exhibits.  Overall, the museum was informative and interactive.  It also force you to think about the individual experiences of the Jewish people throughout German history.  I found the museum to be very moving.

Yet again, today has been a busy day with many exciting adventures and new memories.  We were able to visit the VLB which is the Berlin school of Brewing and Fermentation Sciences.  This is a school dedicated to beverage sciences including brewing, wine production and other beverages.  It was the first day of classes for the international brewing classes which was very interesting because there was a wide array of individuals at the institute.  We were able to tour the school including three separate labs that were dedicated to research in the various fields associated with beverages and brewing including the pilot brewing lab, the packaging and bottling lab and the general lab that tested various characteristics of beer.

The pilot brewing lab was different than any of the other breweries that we have toured because it had state of the art equipment.  This brewing setup was in sharp contrast with the copper set-ups we have seen in the previous breweries we have toured.  The brewing institute primarily focused on lager brewing as well which was interesting.  This is somewhat different than what we have seen as well because it includes bottom fermentation which occurs at much cooler temperatures.

The packaging and bottling lab focused on the storage and sales of beverages.  This was an extremely interesting portion of the tour because I did not realize that so much research went into understanding packaging and bottling processes.  The goal of this laboratory was to find flaws in any current bottling systems as well as develop new technology.  All of the the aspects that they test including seals, properties of materials and labels etc is important in the sales and consumption of these products.  I did not realize how much research is done in this field.

We also visited the general laboratory that studied the general characteristics of beer including color, bitterness units and composition.  This was very interesting because it demonstrated how much chemistry actually goes into brewing beer successfully.  The school had us participate in a sensory panel which was very informative.  We learned what "off" flavors and smells were like and how to characterize these elements while tasting beers.  We were also able to meet with various administrators of the school and sat in on a panel of brewing big wigs (including a guy from Guinness).  We learned that brewing at any level is a mixture of education and the understanding of the chemical processes of brewing and passion.  Without one or the other you will be an unsuccessful brewer.  I cannot wait to put my new knowledge to the test.

Today was great fun and a learning experience that I will never forget.  I cannot wait to visit Leipzig tomorrow to learn more about this rich brewing tradition!


Prost :)