Monday 7 December 2015

General Certificate of Brewing with the IBD - exam dates


For anybody who is thinking of undertaking the General Certificate of Brewing Course in April at Brew-School here are the examination dates from the Institute of Brewing & Distilling.

Don't forget about the early registration discount and that also at Brew-School we will be running a 1 day Revision bootcamp with Tim O'Rouke looking at previous examination papers and just sharpening your brewing examination knowledge ready for the big day.

The cost of attending the 1 day GCB revision day which runs from 10 - 2pm on the 30th April 2016 in Bakewell is £30 to include all refreshments and lunch.  For details : GCB@brew-school.com

Beer Brewing Courses

Sunday 25 October 2015

General Certificate of Brewing Course - Success

The first ever General Certificate of Brewing Course took place at Brew-School in Bakewell at the start of October.  The five day course with expert brewer Tim O'Rouke was a huge success with a bevie of 20 brewers from across the country and as far as Portugal looking to refine their brewing knowledge and also prepare themselves to take the exam with the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD).

The course which mixed brewing theory with brewery visits to Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell and Brampton Brewery in Chesterfield to see the different styles of brewing within a small and medium sized microbreweries.  It was a fascinating insight into how you can brew on a very small commercial scale with a 9 barrel plant purchase for £50,000 brewing only 3 time a weel but also with a regional scale brewery employing the latest brewing techniques including a centrifuge to filter the bottled and cask conditioned beer.



As well as covering an extensive syllabus required to sit the exam for the General Certificate of Brewing there was plenty of opportunities for people to explore all aspects of the brewing process.  There emerged very interesting differences in brewing practice from the brewers at St. Austell to some of the smaller brewers in the micros .  It was also interesting listening to some of the attendees looking at setting up their own microbrewery and how they viewed the process.  Over the 5 days our brewers looked at the following topics:

MONDAY
Beer Styles * Malting * Adjuncts * Mash Conversion * Milling * Mash separation

TUESDAY
Wort Boiling * Fermentation theory * Fermentation principles * Brewing yeast

WEDNESDAY
Beer maturation & Cold storage * Beer Prep Bright Beer * Beer Quality & process
Beer Flavour

THURSDAY
Microbiology * Quality Systems * Cleaning Detergents * CIP * Water & Effluent

FRIDAY
Process gases * Environment * Exam techniques

On top of the theory there was a lot of fun.  We had several evening events consisting of a beer matching and tasting event looking at beer styles and how they compliment different food types.

Thursday was rounded off with a Gala Dinner in Rileys in Bakewell.  Four courses of stunning locally inspired food all paired with beers from local brewing legend Thornbridge Brewery.




STARTERS

CREAM OF WHITE ONION SOUP
FRESHLY CHURNED BUTTER, TRUFFLE OIL, HOMEMADE BREAD

MAINS

SLOW ROAST NEW CLOSE FARM PORK BELLY
BLACK PUDDING CROQUETTE, FINE BEANS, WHOLE GRAIN MUSTARD SAUCE

DESSERTS

CHOCOLATE GARDEN
BROWNIE, MOUSSE, GANACHE, SOLI, FLOWERS

CHEESE

DOVE DALE BLUE
SERVED WITH TRADITIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS




 Following on from the success of Brew-Schools first General Certificate in Brewing we will be repeating the course next year so why not sign up to get the inside track on craft beer brewing.

Monday 6 July 2015

Premium craft beers contintue growth

 
Cask beer continues to buck the downward trend for the rest of the beer market by continuing to grow the amount sold in volume.  In particular it is the premium cask market (ales over 4.1% ABV) that is holding out the strongest both on sales and price.

Latest figures for the first quarter of 2015 show that premium cask had sales up by 1.7% in January, 5.1% in February and 1.8% in March.

This info graphic also shows that Premium craft beer is now the leader on price having over taken premium international beer as the most expensive beer product.  Interesting that craft keg leads craft cask for all those microbreweries out there looking to maximise their returns and profits.

The figures are all taken from the British Beer and Pub Association Barrelage Survey.

Setting Up A Microbrewery Course - taught by brewing experts

Saturday 21 February 2015

One of our recent microbrewery 'graduates'

One of the recent graduates from Brew-School setting up a microbrewery course reaping the benefits of their endeavours.


Thursday 19 February 2015

Monday 2 February 2015

Brew-School launches NEW courses in 2015

Brew-School based in Bakewell has just launched a range of new brewing courses for 2015 aimed at enhancing peoples understanding of the practical brewing process.  The 5 day practical brewing course is an internationally recognised qualification accredited through the Institute of Brewing & Distilling leading to the Certificate in Brewing.

Brew-School now offers a number of options for brewers looking to set up their own Mircrobrewery.  Courses are available for 2, 3 and 7 day courses depending on the amount of practical brewing that attendees have undertaken.  The new 7 day setting up a microbrewery course combines a practical understanding of brewing on a commercial scale with an examination of the commercial considerations any brewer needs to go through before setting up their own micro.

For microbrewers who are already brewing , there is a new one day course that looks at the importance of branding, social media, marketing and packaging in creating a winning beer brand.

All courses are practical, informal and participatory but taught by experts in the industry who want to share their experience and knowledge.

To have a look at a review of a beer brewing course at Brew-School.

Beer brewing courses - Bakewell - Peak District