Bachelors/Masters or course training... School Wise

[mikepaulus32]

what would a brewery be looking for more, someonoe who's attended a university for four to eight years and recived their degree in brewery sciences... ie uc davis or oregon state, or someone who has taken an extensive course/program that covers all aspect of running and working at a brewery in an eighteen to twentyeight week program... ie uc davis's masters program, siebel, or abg... any pinions would help... i am applying to colleges now, but want to know what would help my career best

[Mark Harvey]

I'm biased as Master Brewer's program graduate. That said, in hindsight it makes sense to get either a engineering degree of some sort or (bio)chemistry, chemical engineering degree and follow it up with some sort of intensive brewing education, at UCD or Siebel. Perhaps also while completing these years and years of education you could be cleaning tanks at your local brewpub/brewery. The practical experience combined with an education tailored to brewing will not only show your commitment but will also play off each other, as not only have I seen blank faces in the UCD Master Brewer's program due to lack of practical experience but also blank faces in the brewery when I start talking about esoteric theoretical brewing issues. Good luck, everyone has their own way of ending up in this industry, but it seems that passion is the unifying thread.

[crassbrauer]

The more you have, the better, not only to separate yourself from the pack, but also to increase your knowledge of engineering and science - two increasingly important subjects for American brewers. The US is the only country where brewers learn their craft by starting as home brewers and scaling up. (I'm not knocking it, because I did that, too.) A few don't go beyond that level of knowledge and, therefore, sometimes this is reflected in some US-brewers' methods, which could be more efficient / sanitary / cost-effective / chemically-technically sound / less back-asswards. However, it seems like the majority of US-brewers do have a passion for learning and a refreshing perspective on the art of brewing reflected in their high level of innovation and large spectrum of tasty beers, so it's a good environment to be in if you're wanting to increase your knowledge about different types of brewing practices.