VLB

Today we visited VLB--Versuchs und Lehranstalt fur Brauerei in Berlin. I originally thought it would just be a school where people learned to brew, but it was so much more than that. They offer classes in engineering, packaging, event management, microbiology, public relations, and a whole lot more-- pretty much anything that could possibly have to do with brewing and beverages. We took a tour of the facilities, starting with the main brewery. We then went to a lab that focused on packaging-- the labels, bottles, crates, everything. They tried different glues, tested temperature and pressures that the bottles could withstand, tested how much force the crates could take-- all sorts of things you wouldn't think about. They had beer bottles from America to Singapore and everywhere in between. It wasn't just a school, but also a research institute. They also had chemistry labs and such, which a lot of the equipment went over my head-- my primary science background is in physics, if anything. We then were able to do a sensory panel which started with water cups A,B,C, and D. Each one had sweet, salty, sour, or bitter added to it and it was our job to figure out which was which. I was easily able to pick out the salty and sour, but the bitter and sweet were harder for me. We then had beer spiked with off-flavors and I could easily pick out which three were spiked and which one was normal, but the specific flavors were more difficult. One obviously smelled buttery which was the diacetyl but the other two were harder to place. One turned out to be DMS which should smell/taste like cooked vegetables, and the other one tasted stale/aged.

We then had a quick lunch, and later sat down for the orientation which included many prominent members of the beer community. It was quite long but mostly pretty interesting to hear about the different people and their link to brewing (one was even born in a brewery), but my take-away point was that you need both passion and education--one without the other could only take you so far. Obviously they were talking about what makes good beer/brewing, but it is extremely applicable to other areas. Anyway, I am about to look up someplace good to have dinner, and I think the plan is to go to the Irish Pub later for karaoke. Tomorrow we have a day trip to Leipzig. until then!