Homebrewing Makes Me Better At My Job

In Ecology today, I was talking about sexual strategies of different organisms. I showed a slide of plants that have male and female organs in the same flower, plants that have male and female flowers, and plants that have male and female flowers in separately distinct individuals (dioecious).

A student interrupts: "Isn't pot like that?"
I stared at her
Student: "You know, like, marijuana - pot?"

I had to think for a second, during which I probably had some judgmental look on my face, becuase she squirmed a bit in her chair. I was pretty sure I knew she was right, and then it hit me. I know that Humulus lupus, the cousin's cousin, is dioecious. I told her I was pretty sure she was right, and then explained how my honest and legal activities as homebrewer helped me reason through the answer. (In retrospect, just because they are closely related doesn't necessarily have anything to do with their having similar sexual strategies, but it's a reasonable first guess.)

If I were a stoner, maybe I'd be an even better teacher? I might have been more sure of the answer, but maybe I would have more difficulty explaining it?

But seriously, I draw upon brewing knowledge a lot in my bio classes. Just since September I talked about all kinds of homebrew related stuff: Disaccharides (maltose), enzymes (malting and mashing, temperature and pH sensitivity), asexual reproduction (yeast). Of course, I don't relate everything to homebrewing in class, or my students my think I am obsessed with good beer. And that wouldn't leave me time to talk about sex.

 

Too obvious. Let's not go there.

 

I just arrived at the same conclusion regarding mirepoix (though I didn't know how to spell it and only vaguely knew that what I was preparing was more or less mirepoix) - I've been trying to make various casseolet-like dishes in my slow cooker and the most recent one had celery sitting in it too long. Almost overpowered the dish.

Are you serious about the immersion chiller? What are the circumstances when you would want to cool the stock or sauce quickly? Maybe just to prevent the prolonged extraction of bitterness, or did you have something else in mind?

Back to the slow cooker (and homebrewing), I've been doing a lot of meals with it (just set set it and forget it), and also used it this summer for homebrew. I used it to precook cereal grains - grits for an American Pils and spelt for a farmhouse bret beer.

 

And I forgot to mention the biggie - aerobic respiration vs. fermentation. Actually developed a test question that was actually based on experience of oxygenating wort vs. not oxygenating wort.

 

Yep. Pretty weird that I never lit up. There's a story in there that I don't need to get into, but I suppose you could say I had a prudish past; by the time I grew out of it, I accumulated a taste for beer and wine but not for smoke.

As for spending work time on homebrew stuff, I'm certainly guilty of a routine visit or two to the forums, and I've ditched office hours a couple times to get a homebrew started, but I think my employer gets its money's worth. Sometimes my wife accuses me of spending too much time with my "teaching hobby."