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Goal: Weihenstephan

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  • Goal: Weihenstephan

    I am interested in going to Weihenstephan for either their Brewing and Beverage technology Diplom-ingenieur or Master brewer Diplombraumeister programs.

    My question for you is simply for any advice you can give so I can move forward with this.

    At this time I am finishing a BA in Philosophy (not much help there) with a minor concentration in Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics...I have taken a couple Microbiology courses... I will likely try to earn an MBA or MSc in Brewing and Distilling from Herriot Watt University before I enter to strengthen my credentials. Also, I intend on taking several courses offered by Seibel.

    Any help that can be offered would be great.

    Thanks!
    Last edited by Ubermann; 02-03-2006, 10:17 PM. Reason: spelling

  • #2
    Learn Deutschlander. Don't be married or attached. Don't believe everything you hear or read.

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    • #3
      No wooden nickles?

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      • #4
        What do you mean by "don't believe everything you hear or read"?

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        • #5
          Ubermann!

          I think you solicited "any advice" so Brian was just injecting a little humor into the dialogue and giving you a great piece of advice regarding this crazy world we live in: "don't believe everything you hear or read".....

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          • #6
            Thanks, Beersmith..........yes Uberman.........no disrespect intended.

            "Don't believe everything to hear or read."
            An old timer consultant and a somehwat local eccentric Brewer both went to Weihenstephan at the same time back in the late 60's or early 70's. Both were pretty kooky in a gentle sort of way and thougth they were very knowledgeable, they were infused with some "can't be done that way" attitudes because of the training.
            When I mentioned we were going to brew an IPA at 40 IBU (in 1993, BTW), one of them said, "Holy Cow! No one will buy it! Back in Weihenstaphan.....". I think you get the drift. Nice guys, just a little skewed in their training.
            Remember: Like nearly all things in this world, there are no absolutes. Whether that's in people, life, or brewing, there's a lot of diversity and good beers are being made from less than ideal conditions.

            "Learn Deutschlander."
            One of the 2 old timers was born in Deutschland. The other in Wisconson. The one from Wisconson had to learn the language and could still read his old textbooks.

            Don't be married or attached.
            The old timer form Wisconson met his wife there while going to school. Good cook, she is.

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            • #7
              Thank you very much. That is sound advice for any subject.

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              • #8
                Any brewer educated in the 1960s would've looked askance at 40 IBUs because beers weren’t normally brewed to that strength back in those days. At that time there were few if any IPAs in the UK. Back in the 1960s to German brewers even Hoegaarden was a kooky beer because they used spices to flavor their beer. Especially with older brewers, kooky beers beget kooky looks. The brewing world has changed a lot since then. If he said “Holy Cow! No one will buy it”, then perhaps the fault lay with him and not Weihenstephan.

                Weihenstephaners love drink the northern German Flensburger (41 IBUs) and Düsseldorfer Altbier (some of it has 50 IBUs), which have been around for quite a while. In fact recently, students in a laboratory course at Weihenstephan experimented with mint to flavor a Pils, Chili to flavor a Doppelbock and brewed a 14,5 degree IPA with 50 IBUs and dry-hopped it, too. So I think you could fairly say that experimentation with crazy ingredients or brewing crazy beers isn’t something frowned upon here.

                Regarding the advice of “don’t be married or attached”:
                My wife and I have already completed the Diplom Braumeister at Weihenstephan and are finishing the Engineering degree (MS) now, so if your girlfriend or wife’s interested in brewing, then it’s actually more fun, in my opinion, because you can do it together. Eric Warner was attached when he came here. His girlfriend, now wife, loved it in Freising. I know several others from various countries who’ve come here attached and found the stability and support at home helped them to hunker down and study the challenging material we’re presented with here. I wouldn’t break up with my girl just to come over and study brewing, but if you don’t want her hanging around anymore, then it might be a good excuse.

                Having said that, the most efficient way to learn German is to live with a German partner. I know several who’ve come over, met and moved in with someone and their German ability improved seemingly overnight, because they’re always practicing it and always being corrected (which might get a bit old after a while, but certainly is effective). Remaining single and hanging out with German students or working at a job where you only speak German, is also pretty effective. Of course, many here don’t speak German, they speak Bavarian, so when you come here, it's kind of like learning two languages at once...
                Last edited by crassbrauer; 03-08-2006, 03:51 AM.

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