So much of brewing is about balance. To produce good malt barley must be germinated, but not too much, and dried, but not too much, in order to balance modification (production of enzymes and release of starch) and malting loss (the amount of energy lost to plant growth).  A balance of temperature and pH is needed in order allow enzymes to do their work in the mash.  Beta amylase kicks in to action to convert starches to maltose (the main fermentable sugar) at an optimum temperature of 62 to 65 C, but it cannot work effectively before alpha amylase does its thing to chop down the larger starch compounds in to something the beta amylases can easily handle.  But the alpha amylases work best at 70 to 75 C, but once you reach that temperature the beta guys start to get deactivated and no longer work.  So you need to compromise and hit a temperature where both the beta and alpha amylases work but not at their optimum, typically between 65 and 70.  Not too cold, not too hot.  Balance.

Parallels can be made to this course and I suspect to working in the brewing industry as a whole.  There is no one skill set that will set you apart as a brewer. Sure you need to make good beer. But to do that you need to understand what is happening scientifically, while having the mechanical and physical ability to make it happen, and without endangering those around you.  And you don’t just need to know how to make good beer, you need to work well with people and be able to think and act on the fly.  You need to be creative but have an appreciation for recreatablility.

With regards to the course, and therefore my life at the moment, balance is key in order to get as much as I can from my time here.  To me the course is not just about passing the IBD exams (although that is one major goal). It’s obviously about getting as prepared as possible for a career in the industry.  It’s about developing relationships with peers, professors and professional brewers that are not only enjoyable but will be valuable for the years ahead.  It’s about taking advantage of opportunities to brew on the pilot system at Sudwerk as well as with the random guy I met playing foosball on Saturday night.  It’s also about taking time to exercise and spend time with my wife when she gets here (in less than a week!).

The course is getting busier, which I mentioned last time. But it is also getting more difficult. The engineering component of the class is getting tough and the only way to get good at it is to practice doing problems. I’ve worked with pumps and piping systems before but just looking at some past exam questions I would not know where to begin.  Some of the problems are taking up to an hour to solve something that we’ll only have a half hour to solve during the exam. I’m not overly concerned, I just know I need to put the time in to get better. I’ve been slacking a bit on the packaging portion of the course because to be honest it’s a little dry.  So I’ll need to find a way to focus on that more effectively.

We did our second batch on the pilot system this weekend and I’m pretty excited about it.  We split the wort to three 5 gallon fermenters and pitched one as a lager and two as ales.  Light in colour and moderately hopped.  We’ll do some different dry hopping on the two ales, keep the lager and one of the ales consistent in that regard.  We had another great brewing crew out. One of our guys works as a brewer at Rubicon in Sacramento and he had some really good practical input, including how to effectively control a boil over, which was damn near close to happening.  Fingers crossed but it’s looking like I’ll be able to get on to the pilot system fairly regularly.  I’m a bit surprised that more people aren’t jumping on the opportunity but if that means more brewing for me I’ll take it.  Brewing is a huge priority while I’m here and I intend to keep on top of it.

It’s late, sleep is important to balance as well. Good night.