Ballarat Graduate Certificate Of Brewing

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If you were going to start off on a small scale brewery as a project would it be necessary to do this course or is it only to get your foot in the door at a well established brewery?

It's actually quite geared to people who want to start their own brewery, and most people who start the course have that agenda.

A lot change their tune once they get start the course and realise they they may have to decide which 4 of the 7 days a week they can afford to eat :)

I'd say though that places like the IBD and Siebel are more geared towards getting into the industry, Ballarat is a lot more hands on which I think really helps with understanding the process. At the end of the day, the science is basically the same no matter where you end up working.

B.
 
I've been around a while and getting thru the work I have gotten alot personally and professionally out of the course. I would not do the course if I was a Beer-changer and had never not brewed before.

Getting into brewing as a job, I'd take Scotty's comments in good stock. Much of the time in small plants the work is hard physical labour and not pretty. Most of the folks get jobs by good luck and persistence, not a course.

At one plant I was at, we used to have folks come thru wanting to have a go. After the first day most never turned up again because of the 4 - 5 ton you would lift manually in a day. Only one guy kept coming back, and he is now pack manager at Brew Dog.

I will say it aint romantic, but the job satisfaction and pride in work is a premium.

Scotty
 
I've been around a while and getting thru the work I have gotten alot personally and professionally out of the course. I would not do the course if I was a Beer-changer and had never not brewed before.

Getting into brewing as a job, I'd take Scotty's comments in good stock. Much of the time in small plants the work is hard physical labour and not pretty. Most of the folks get jobs by good luck and persistence, not a course.

At one plant I was at, we used to have folks come thru wanting to have a go. After the first day most never turned up again because of the 4 - 5 ton you would lift manually in a day. Only one guy kept coming back, and he is now pack manager at Brew Dog.

I will say it aint romantic, but the job satisfaction and pride in work is a premium.

Scotty
 
Hi guys, I've spent the last couple of years in PNG to make money and as they say 'Chase This Dream'.

What brewing science text books do you mainly use at the Ballarat UNI for this course, I've done Chem1 and Chem2 at USQ and have read the wine making science texts, but want to jump into the brewing related ones, as thats where I want to head.
 
Hi guys, I've spent the last couple of years in PNG to make money and as they say 'Chase This Dream'.

What brewing science text books do you mainly use at the Ballarat UNI for this course, I've done Chem1 and Chem2 at USQ and have read the wine making science texts, but want to jump into the brewing related ones, as thats where I want to head.

Most of the essential readings are supplied as part of the course material come from the following 4 core books.

Lewis & Young is often used. I don't personally like it as I find it a disjointed read, but plenty of people do, and Michael certainly knows what he is on about. SOme of the readings come from this

THe Uni uses Kunze and Briggs quite a bit. Kunze is the only one I ever got as it's very easy to read for a technical book...the caveat being that a lot of the diagrams are in German. Briggs is excellent.

Stewart is the 4th option and a good read from a really well respected scientist and again it is easy to read.

Sometimes you want to drill down into more detail. George Fix is great from brewing Chem and Quain good for Yeast detail.


B>
 
Most of the essential readings are supplied as part of the course material come from the following 4 core books.

Lewis & Young is often used. I don't personally like it as I find it a disjointed read, but plenty of people do, and Michael certainly knows what he is on about. SOme of the readings come from this

THe Uni uses Kunze and Briggs quite a bit. Kunze is the only one I ever got as it's very easy to read for a technical book...the caveat being that a lot of the diagrams are in German. Briggs is excellent.

Stewart is the 4th option and a good read from a really well respected scientist and again it is easy to read.

Sometimes you want to drill down into more detail. George Fix is great from brewing Chem and Quain good for Yeast detail.


B>

Cheers Wasabi, so you've obviously done the course, are you saying you don't buy textbooks as you normally would, course material is supplied as part of the course fee.


Shaun...
 
I'm glad I spotted this post. I've applied for Sem 1 2013 intake.. Fingers crossed I get in.

Thanks for the info!
 
Cheers Wasabi, so you've obviously done the course, are you saying you don't buy textbooks as you normally would, course material is supplied as part of the course fee.


Shaun...


Shaunous,

Yes, the essential reading is supplied as part of the course. Also, as a student you get access to the online library so you can read books like Briggs online anyway. You don't need to buy any text books to do the course.

I did my Food Science degree at the Uni and did the Grad Cert as my elective stream. After I finished I got a job as the brewer at the campus brewery and helped Peter with the workshops, reading material distribution, etc.

Its a great course and very highly respected at an international level.

Cheers

Bradford
 
I finished at the end of last year, and now am a malster for Joe White here in Adelaide, and alot of what I've learned has come in very handy, and I keep teaching everyone more about beer cos they don't know much about it :)
 
Congratulations on the job :rolleyes:
I finished my last piece of assessment 2 days ago.
All I can say I am doing with my newfound knowledge is.. Er.. Designing a Braumeiser for home. B)

If anybody wants to know anything about the course feel free to write me a question in the thread or PM.



I finished at the end of last year, and now am a malster for Joe White here in Adelaide, and alot of what I've learned has come in very handy, and I keep teaching everyone more about beer cos they don't know much about it :)
 
Congratulations on the job :rolleyes:
I finished my last piece of assessment 2 days ago.
All I can say I am doing with my newfound knowledge is.. Er.. Designing a Braumeiser for home. B)

If anybody wants to know anything about the course feel free to write me a question in the thread or PM.


Was there lots of hot chicks in the course?
 
Congratulations on the job :rolleyes:
I finished my last piece of assessment 2 days ago.
All I can say I am doing with my newfound knowledge is.. Er.. Designing a Braumeister for home. B)

Thanks mate, and congratulations to you on finishing the course! Any new prospects on the horizon from it?
 
I would love to do this course... Now how will I get work to pay me and do this course at the same time.
 
Out of curiosity, how have graduates gone in securing employment in a brewery? In particular what specific positions within a brewery have people managed to get?
 
How long does the course run?


batz
 
Hey Chalky, how you going? Drop me a line, keen for a catchup next time when in Melb (March at the current going)

Batz, Grad Cert 2 years, extra year for the Diploma.

Hot chicks nah, but we did have a sh*t hot Karaoke singer within our ranks.

The qualification may not get you a job, but as someone looking to hire next year I wont be hiring folks without the qualification. With a bit of practical experience on my side, the course filled in a ton of gaps. The assessment is varied and testing, which unlike the IBD exams (which means you can pass a test and/or are good at rote learning and which I started and stopped this 3 years running) requires effort and lateral thought. On reflection the work is really comprehensive and I should have done it years ago.

Petes favourite line is 'might cost you $8k to do the course, but I could save your tens of thousands by figuring brewing is not for you'.

Scotty
 
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