Friday, Stressful Friday

The past 5 Fridays have been very, very challenging. Not only have we completed some 32 hours of classroom time, but we also have our tests Friday morning. By the time 3pm rolls around most of the class has a beer at their desk. The real problem with Fridays, is that after the test we dive right in to information that will be on the next test. Well this last Friday something unique occurred. We technically had our last test at Siebel. So most of the lectures afterwards were not likely to be taken seriously. Well I was right, but I was also very wrong. We had a long lecture on automatic systems with wireless devices taking measurements and giving feedback with zero human interaction (Ok for bud or coors) however I wouldn't call either of those breweries very artistic. Although interesting, almost pointless for someone like me who wants to be there to turn the valves. After that, Randy Mosher Author of Radical Brewing presented beer and food pairing as well as treating us to 8 unique different pairings. My favorite was the Hefe with the mozzarella cheese. Below are a few pictures from the event. This was also our farewell to those students who will not be coming with us to Germany.

Yes, I said Lots of news

Yesterday, finally we were given our flight information! It was a bit stressful knowing I would be flying to Germany but uncertain of the exact date or time Friday10/29 night or Saturday10/30. Well that has all been sorted out.
We will be flying
Lufthansa Airlines Flight # 435 10/30 @9:45pm Arriving: Munich Germany 10/31 @12:30 pm

        Returning
Lufthansa Airlines Flight #434 12/4 @ 3:30pm Arriving: 12/4 @ 6:20pm (Same Day)

So what have I been up to? Well plenty of studying, in fact those days are close to being over. I just finished the first portion of the International Diploma Brewing Course called the associate Course.  The next week, I will partake in an in depth study. There are two parts to this, its basically is a crash course in business operations and problem solving. This week is all group work, it is a competition, with presentations on Friday.

All in all, this has been very educational, well worth it. Now for the fun part.

Lots of News

About a week ago (I know, I know) we were given the list of places that we would visit on the European Study Tour that takes place for 2 weeks after we finished our education at Doemens Academy. There is one location missing on Dec 3rd, because that is a still a surprise :).

Nov. 22

Hotel National

Luitpoldstraße 37

96052 Bamberg, Germany

 

Nov. 23

Hotel Brauerei Keller

Hauptstrasse 66

63897 Miltenberg, Germany

 

Nov. 24

Best Western Premier Park

Clevisscher Ring 121

51063 Cologne, Germany

 

Nov. 25

Hotel Ibis Tilburg

Hub van Doorneweg 105

5026 RB Tilburg, Netherlands

 

Nov. 26

Hotel Ibis Leuven Centrum

Brusselsestraat 52

B-3000 Leuven, Begium

 

Nov. 27-Dec.1

Royal National Hotel

38-51 Bedford Way

London

WC1H 0AP United Kingdom

 

December 2

Hotel Thon Residence Parnasse

Idaliestraat 8

1050 Brussels, Belgium

 

Local Oktoberfest

So...Last weekend, my friend Sam and I made our way to the local home brewers club (HOPS)Oktoberfest. I felt a bit left out missing my clubs fest, last year was one of the best fests I have been too. I was very surprised to find out that ASH my club is about 10 times the size of one in Chicago. A few pics from the fest.

Study.Study.Study

These binders each represents one week of school. The skinny narrow binder is filled with notes, the books to the side are of course additional readings. Thankfully I spend about 1.5 hours on the train a day. So studying doesn't impact my life too much. 

So, I know a lot of people were assuming that brewing school was going to be more about drinking and almost a second college experience than an educational experience. I can tell you this, I have spent more time reading and studying these past 3 weeks than I did in the first 3 semesters at NAU. I'm not suggesting that NAU was a walk in the park, but the pace is much more intense. I spend about 45 hours a week in school, and another 10-15 hours studying.

All in all, sorry for the lack of updates. I will post more often. While in Germany expect a lot of updates.