I noticed that both John Laffler from GI and Nick Floyd from FFF both went to siebel and it got me thinking. What do you think the best school for making great brewers is? or do you think that no education for it is required and that just trial and error is the best method?
Just "trial and error" is the least effective method of learning almost anything. Guided trial and error is a useful method of learning the unknown but its hard to know where to start without some learning. Reading books written by people who know what they are doing is a workable method of learning how to guide trial and error. Attending hands-on classes conducted by knowledgable instructors is probably the best method of learning the known before starting to explore the unknown. But it also requires someone who is willing to push the limits of what they have learned. As for the "best" school I think it would be an interesting study to collect data on the success of brewing graduates from the various schools and determine which school had the best record. I look forward to seeing someone take the time and spend the money to do that.
I don't have any proof of the "best," but UC Davis' program is very highly regarded in the industry and you get to work with Sierra Nevada and other great breweries. I think the appeal of Siebel is that you get to focus on just brewing science and the microbiology/chemistry stuff you learn is specifically geared in that direction. I'm seriously considering going to the UC Davis program but we'll see where life leads...
Master Brewer's Program http://extension.ucdavis.edu/unit/b.../?type=A&unit=BR&SectionID=164401&prglist=MBP I'm on the waiting list for 2014 so I decided to go the on-line route with Siebel, which I'm taking right now.
Good question, I didn't know exactly but this turned up on Google: http://extension.ucdavis.edu/unit/brewing/ Looks like it's an extension so it's probably not on the campus proper.
read this article if you're seriously considering going to brew school (schools and appox tution rates listed at end)... http://byo.com/component/resource/article/2475-brew-u-getting-a-serious-brewing-education
I wonder if your final project would be a "show and tell" from your best homebrew... I can only imagine how many student's thesis papers were on "Starting your own Brewery" If I had a Ph.D from those universities, I wouldn't mind being called "Dr. Beer"
