Would You Pay For Ag Tutoring

[Effect]

But at the case swap Raven did have a sour on tap...

He soured it on purpose though...

 

[Effect]

In saying that, I never 'realised' I could all grain brew at home (even though I had previously been doing partial Grumpy brews for years, so was essentially 80% there) until I attended a mash brewing course with a mate at Tafe. We did get to bring home a heap of our first AG brews as a bonus, along with plenty of sampling, plus I learnt a heap of theory on brewing.

However if I knew about AHB and other brewing forums before I attended the Tafe course, I would not have needed to go on the course at all!

Did you get taught by someone from the brewing industry with qualifications etc? i.e. A professional brewer? Would you also say that this course would be worthwhile for an experienced homebrewer? Did you get a certificate of completion of the course that is recognised (by TAFE and other reputable educational providers).

I am assuming that the answer would be yes to all those questions...

 

[FNQ Bunyip]

I to remember a time when the JM was removed from this forum ....

I read his ad the other day ..

My thoughts were

1) What would you get for $150 .
2) What qualifications does he have to teach.
3) What, after doing the coarse do I qualify as ...???

My own adventure to AG was via BIAB way back in its early stages , As I was one of the only brewers up this way on AHB I could not go to a brewday or another members place to watch , However the help I got here and other sites got me going and the rest is history .

I've had 2 or 3 guys around to see how its done in the years since and been to a couple of brewdays and traveled to the QLD swap a few times,, great for expanding ones limited knowledge along the slippery ride of home brewing great beer ...

Personally and only from my own experience : I believe a 1 day coarse to get you started on AG brewing would do more damage than good , there is just too much to get your head around .

If its set out as a proper coarse covering everything from recipe formulation, milling ,mashing, sparging oh hang on we forgot protein rests ,boil , hop schedule/bittering ect ect whirlpool to yeast selection and ferm temps ,
I can only imagine how scrambled my mind would be come bed time that night and the endless questions that would follow through the night ...

So in answer to the OP NO ....

I have and still do read here and elsewhere as much as I can , there is still plenty to learn and fun to be had along the way .

cheers OBB

 

[Nick JD]

You can learn to do just about anything from the internet these days.

My cat's surgery went really well.

But seriously, for those who have a DIY bent, the internet is a freakin' amazing place.

If you know how to do something, and it's not on the internet - put it on. Best thing about cyberspace is the lack of door charge.

Youtube is a wicked resource for techniques. I've just finished watching a video of a guy winding guitar pickups ... with lego.

 

[Hatchy]

Did you get taught by someone from the brewing industry with qualifications etc? i.e. A professional brewer? Would you also say that this course would be worthwhile for an experienced homebrewer? Did you get a certificate of completion of the course that is recognised (by TAFE and other reputable educational providers).

I am assuming that the answer would be yes to all those questions...

I'm pretty sure Nels who was at brewboys runs that course. I believe he's got a brewing degree as well as a microbiology degree. I also vaguely remember him telling me that he's brewed in 18 different commercial breweries. I'm not 100% sure about any of this because I reckon I would've had a couple every time I've spoken to him.

I'm not sure what it costs to do the course.

 

[mattyra]

I think I will have to go to one of these brew days to better learn the process. I might have to bump into the LHBS and find out when he is putting his next brew down.

 

[Hatchy]

Put yr location in yr profile thingy & you'll probably find yourself at a brewday this weekend. I'm brewin on Sunday if yr in Adelaide.

 

[mje1980]

Phillip, why so interested in tafe qualifications etc, beer was made long long before tafe, uni, and commercial breweries. It isn't rocket science.

Some people are right into complex techniques and equipment, and that's fine, but making beer is essentially a few simple steps

 

[Effect]

Phillip, why so interested in tafe qualifications etc, beer was made long long before tafe, uni, and commercial breweries. It isn't rocket science.

Of course it isn't. Beer is very simple. Wet grain, take that wetness and boil it with flowers, wait for it to cool down and then add yeast...wait a week and then drink.

The way I learnt home brewing was to go and buy $300 worth of grain and hops, a few books, read threads on AHB, go see a brew day and then brew a batch of beer with the help of another brewer. I don't think anyone needs qualifications to brew homebrew. However, to teach someone to brew, and expect at least $300 in return (minimum 2 people at $150 each), is a bit rich. Especially as they don't get much more in return than what any other homebrewer could offer. Just have a watch of the videos in my signature. Watching that, reading how to brew (the free online version) and then going to a local brewers brewday will give you a very good step into homebrewing...the only thing that I think would be better would be a qualification in brewing beer where you get quite technical, e.g. the mash course that Raven was referring to. From what I understand it is roughly $600 or maybe a tad more, goes for more than one day (from what I understand it is one night a week for 4 or 8 weeks?) and you get taught by someone that has forgotten more about how to brew beer than what most homebrewers actually remember about how to brew beer.

 

[bevdawg]

I'm confused... what course are we talking about? Who is JW?

 

[mje1980]

Of course it isn't. Beer is very simple. Wet grain, take that wetness and boil it with flowers, wait for it to cool down and then add yeast...wait a week and then drink.

The way I learnt home brewing was to go and buy $300 worth of grain and hops, a few books, read threads on AHB, go see a brew day and then brew a batch of beer with the help of another brewer. I don't think anyone needs qualifications to brew homebrew. However, to teach someone to brew, and expect at least $300 in return (minimum 2 people at $150 each), is a bit rich. Especially as they don't get much more in return than what any other homebrewer could offer. Just have a watch of the videos in my signature. Watching that, reading how to brew (the free online version) and then going to a local brewers brewday will give you a very good step into homebrewing...the only thing that I think would be better would be a qualification in brewing beer where you get quite technical, e.g. the mash course that Raven was referring to. From what I understand it is roughly $600 or maybe a tad more, goes for more than one day (from what I understand it is one night a week for 4 or 8 weeks?) and you get taught by someone that has forgotten more about how to brew beer than what most homebrewers actually remember about how to brew beer.

Ok, I see the point you are making.

 

[Nick JD]

Move to All Grain for Thirty Bucks has had forty two thousand hits.

Paying for brewing info is like paying for sex ... it'd damn well better be something you can't get at home.

 

[bradsbrew]

Move to All Grain for Thirty Bucks has had forty two thousand hits.

Paying for brewing info is like paying for sex ... it'd damn well better be something you can't get at home.

People pay for sex? Where can you do that? I'd move to paying for sex for Thirty Bucks, but I've already got a big vessel sitting on my couch.

 

[stillscottish]

People pay for sex? Where can you do that? I'd move to paying for sex for Thirty Bucks, but I've already got a big vessel sitting on my couch.

Do the course and you'll have THREE vessels there quick smart

 

[Nick JD]

Do the course and you'll have THREE vessels there quick smart

Thirty bucks for a threesome?!! Better be the giggety-giggety one, not the "weirded out" one.

 

[bradsbrew]

Do the course and you'll have THREE vessels there quick smart

:lol:

 

[fergi]

well i think anyone has the right to offer a service of any description, however the buyer must look at what is offered and make his own mind up if it is a fair price for what is being offered,

i personally have only made about 6 AG brews and i think they have all turned out superb,

i didnt go to any classes but read everything on AHB, i gathered my bits and pieces,asked a lot of questions on here,planned my first ag by writing a step by step guide which i followed, i hit all my targets spot on and my first smurtos golden ale turned out fantastic.

but some people i am sure will need a visual instruction because they find it hard to visualise the final concept.

so there is a place for this type of service, only you know if it is worthwhile.

fergi

 

[peaky]

When I started out I brewed 3 kit beers and a partial while I was building my AG brew rig, then straight into all grain mashing. Watch a few youtube vids, read this forum, and scour the net for a bit of info and you're away. It's piss easy. I've never done an extract and I found the partial mash I did was more of a PITA than a full mash!

I wouldn't pay anyone to show me how to mash grain. But it would be worth doing a course if you were interested in the more technical side of brewing, like what is actually happening in the mash, starches being converted, etc etc. Mind you, if you want to know more about the technical side of things, just post a question on this forum, then you get a good discussion going between (hopefully) experienced brewers instead of getting just one wrong answer from an 'expert' brewing instructor.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Its a skewed audience here though. Almost by definition, the people reading this thread are the sort of people who are happy to go trawling through internet forums in order to get the information they need. I'm that sort of person, but i know a hell of a lot of people who aren't. I can think of plenty of people who, if faced with an internet forum of this type on any given topic like cooking, brewing, quilt making or whatever would throw their hands in the air and start looking for a class to go to.

Its also a lot about "trust" - look at this place and the amount of different opinions flying about on any subject. Some people dont want to have to filter all that out. They just want to find an expert, decide that their opinion is trustworthy and take their advice.

And some people just prefer to be taught. Having just finished study where there was no actual teaching component, i just had to learn, decide for myself when i had learned enough and whether i had learned it right... i can sympathise with the desire to just be taught. Its a hell of a lot less demanding.

Aside from the ballarat courses, there weren't really any options for being taught brewing when i started out - if there were there is a fair chance i would have cracked open the wallet and gone along for a primer.

Disclosure - I'm qualified as both a brewer and an adult educator... So the thought of offering something like this has crossed my mind and i might even do it one day. So i guess i have a pre-disposition to thinking that formal classes in this stuff might be a good idea.

 

[mattyra]

Put yr location in yr profile thingy & you'll probably find yourself at a brewday this weekend. I'm brewin on Sunday if yr in Adelaide.

Done, Now just to find an AG brewer around the region that is willing to show me how to brew some beer.

Anyone out there thats around, I will bring some beers and alcoholic kit syrup B) .