Science for Brewers and Distillers - Blog
Beer and spirits are often marketed as crafted with passion and flair, and we hear that some brewers and distillers elevate brewing and distilling to an art form. This idea is great for selling drinks but an approach to brewing or distilling based on instinct, intuition and flair, in all probability will result in failure. A scientific approach to producing beverages has brought us to where we are today. Without science, we would still be struggling along with primitive equipment and unsuitable ingredients producing drinks that are occasionally pleasant and sometimes dangerous to consume!
The use of science in the production of alcoholic drinks has a long and fruitful history and has given the world important scientific knowledge and tools. The pH scale, used to quantify the acidity and alkalinity of substances was developed by Søren Peter Lauritz Sørensen working in the Carlsberg laboratories. William Sealy Gosset, working for Guinness, developed Student’s t-test which is used to evaluate the statistical significance of differences between results. James Prescott Joule, known for the first law of thermodynamics and the SI unit of energy (the joule) developed his ideas while managing a brewery. Last, but by no means least, Louis Pasteur (Monsieur Pasteurisation) paved the way to our current understanding of microbiology in his book Études Sur la Bière.
The great thing about science is that for something to be proven scientifically it must make sense. This means that no matter how complex a concept is, it can be explained with facts and evidence rather than ideas and opinions. This makes it easier to master than more nebulous topics. Learning science is hardest when you don’t know the principles and that is a problem faced by many people developing their brewing and distilling skills who did not study science at school. Our new short course Science for Brewers and Distillers is designed to solve this problem! It provides the science foundation on which to develop a practical understanding of brewing and distilling science through onward studies. It is tailored specifically to what brewers and distillers need to know, meaning they can learn in weeks what might have taken years at school or college.
Science may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Apparently, science and engineering do not appeal to some in younger generations and the numbers of people studying or pursuing a career in science and engineering is in decline. Science to some is perhaps not as interesting or exciting as art, media or the written word. However, everything is interesting and exciting when it relates to something you love so there is no reason why science shouldn’t be interesting and exciting to brewers and distillers. Hopefully everyone completing Science for Brewers and Distillers will agree that indeed it is!
Science is sometimes misused. Claims are made based on scientific principles that really don’t support them. A smattering of science is used to make a product sound impressive or someone on social media sound clever. Obviously, everyone involved in brewing, distilling and associated industries is above such behaviour but having a sound understanding of science means brewers and distillers can more readily tell science fiction from science fact.
As well as the principles of science, the course provides an understanding of the scientific approach of formulating a hypothesis before proving or disproving it through experimentation and the analysis of data. While adopting this approach to brewing and distilling doesn’t guarantee success, failing to use it to identify the source of problems or opportunities to improve, typically guarantees a lack of it!
Written by Stuart Howe, Technical Development Manager.