We are nearing the end of the first session of the MBP which comprises 11 weeks of intensive class-oriented sessions broken up in to three modules: i) raw materials to wort, ii) yeast, fermentation and beer quality, and iii) packaging and engineering. On top of this there was a significant sensory portion as well as several brewery tours and guest speakers. This will wrap up by next Friday. Also, there are a few people in the class that are enrolled in the Master Brewers Certificate Program and this will be the end of the road for them. It’s going to be a bit sad when this session ends and some people head off, but I think most of us are looking forward to a bit of a change of pace and a chance to let everything we’ve learned sink in.

Like I mentioned before the next session of the course, session 2, is a lot less formal with some people choosing to do an internship and those that stick around in Davis getting to take part in laboratory exercises with Jim Brown and Charlie Bamforth. There will also be a few more guest speakers, I think another brewery tour or two, and it will be a good time for people to study and ask questions to professors. I will be doing internships during this time so it is back to Canada for me for about a month.

The third and final session starts in mid-May about four weeks before the IBD exams and will comprise of more lectures and a little bit more focused toward the exams. The IBD exams – Institute of Brewing and Distilling – are written by 200 to 300 people every year from around the globe and are broken up in to three exams that are the same as the three modules outlined above. The IBD is a separate entity from the Master Brewers Program and UC Davis but one of the main goals is to prepare students for these exams. The other main goal being to prepare students as best as possible for a career in brewing.

So at this point I think it would be good to give my impressions of the course. The first general impression is that I have learned an absolutely incredible amount about beer, brewing science and the brewing industry in a very short amount of time. I have found the information we’ve been taught to be very relevant (I’ll get a bit more accurate reading on that when I do my internships) to brewing as a career. Even though we have been learning primarily in a classroom, we are taught very practical things that people with even a little bit of brewing experience can use to improve their skills. My impression is that I am already much more prepared for a career in brewing than I was before this program.

I have really appreciated the industry insight we’ve obtained via guest speakers. We’ve heard from lawyers, head brewers and brewmasters, brewery owners, purchasers, distributors, sales reps, suppliers and vendors. All of these people have been really forthcoming with information and have not been afraid to tell us some inside stories of things they’ve had to deal with. Some examples (without giving too much information) include a brewmaster who formerly worked at a large macrobrewery that was bought out by a massive global conglomerate gave us his insights on the company take over and why he felt he needed to move on. A supplier told us a story of working for a former company that tried to rip off an idea for a filter aid from another company and tried to get him to lie about it. A sales rep that had such a terrible experience with a distributor that it cost his company several hundred thousand dollars just to get rid of them. Also a lot of less significant but very insightful experiences were shared with us over beers. All of these speakers also gave us their contact information and I feel genuinely welcome to shoot them an email if I ever have any questions, or if I’m ever in the same area as them.

My impression is also that the MBP is a very well known program and candidates are very sought after, at least in the US and let’s face it, this is where the leading edge of brewing today is taking place. We’ve had recruiters from Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, Deschutes, Hanger 24, Anchor Steam and even from Brew Dog in Scotland come to visit us and interview those in the class that are interested. Unfortunately it would be difficult for me to work down here in the US due to visa issues and I am actually really excited about returning to BC to work because I see a ton of parallels with what is going on down here, and the scene back home is exploding.

The last thing I want to talk about in terms of my impressions do not actually have to do with the course but the IBD exams that we are preparing for. We were provided a 2100 page set of revision notes from the IBD about a month and a half ago, along with a booklet of old exam questions from the last ten years or so. My impression of the exam at this point is that it is very intimidating, is full of vague questions and has a very low pass rate (especially in recent years).  My impression at this point is that a candidate could know a great deal about all aspects of brewing from raw materials to packaged product and still have a very real chance of failing the exams. In fact we’ve heard from some prominent people familiar with the exams about issues with examiners marking incredibly difficult, to the point that the person who last year won the J S Ford award (given to the person with the best overall grade on all the exams) protested by not showing up to accept the award because he didn’t believe his marks could be so low. Looking at past examiners comments, some years ago the overall pass rate was up around 65 to 70%, but has gradually and steadily declined down to a 40% pass rate in 2014.  This has some people a bit worried that they could walk away without the Diploma in Brewing certificate even though they put the effort in to it and have the knowledge required. I have to admit that this thought has crossed my mind as well. But all I can do is keep my head down and keep learning. At the end of the day, this information is to make me a better brewer, it’s not for the letters after my name. One thing is for sure, I know that these exams will be far more difficult than any exam I’ve written in undergrad or my Master’s degree programs (OK, except for quantum chemistry, that shit was ridiculous).

In terms of how well the course prepares students for the exams, we’ll have to wait and see. But for sure it takes a lot of private study on top of just attending the lectures. We’ve been told to read widely and gather different opinions on all topics. The course is simply not long enough to be able to teach you everything you need to know for the exams, but it does provide a very good base of knowledge from which to shoot out from and learn on your own.

So to recap, at this point the course has been amazing, I’ve met incredible people and learned more than I could have imagined. I am feeling very ready for work in a brewery, and very confident in my knowledge base. I am a bit intimidated by the upcoming exams, but this will keep me motivated to keep learning. Time has gone by quickly and I know when I look back on this time it will feel like a blip, but I will never forget my time here as it’s been one of the best experiences of my life. Here is a photo of our class taken at Lagunitas, lots of great brewers in here!