The Principles of Brewing Science

Catalog description

Aims to demonstrate fundamental principles and concepts of biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, and plant biology through beer brewing. The practice and study of fermentation first defined the field of biochemistry and combines skills/concepts taken from microbiology (yeast cultivation; inhibition of bacterial growth by hops and ethanol; assay of bacterial contamination), biochemistry (an understanding of aerobic vs non-aerobic respiration and glucose metabolism, lipid oxidation, enzyme kinetics and assay as in starch degradation by amylases and protein degradation by proteases), physiology (the effects of alcohol on the body), and plant biology (barley and hops cultivation, harvesting and malt production; the contribution of plant tannins to beer flavor). This course combines a series of lectures, labs and field trips to the Plant Biology Gardens to demonstrate the concepts invoked in lecture. This course exploits a general public interest in alcohol and its production to demonstrate fundamental scientific concepts using a hands on approach. As many students seem unaware of how alcohol interacts with the body in the long term, this course also informs students about the devastating effects of alcohol abuse on the body and society. As such this course outfits students with a wide range of key scientific concepts coupled with practical skills.