Clearly, I'm in the second week. I thought I could write everyday, but I can't. Things have started to get crazy busy and I'm drowning. Only in that, "I'm drowning but I know I'm going to make it" way. Suffice it to say this was the week of overload. I truly think my brain could not take in any more information. I don't know who thinks they know what beer is really about. But if you haven't taken this class, or if you aren't a brewer, you don't. I've learned about more enzymes and proteins than you can imagine. I won't bore you with their names. I spent 4 hours today, yes, 4 hours, on one engineering problem, only to discover I did it wrong. I will spend my Saturday finding the mistake and correcting it. And this was a problem from an old exam that will have to be done in 30 minutes or less if it pops up on this years' exam. It was about volumetric flow rate from one reservoir to another tank using Bernoulli's equation (3 times, I might add).On a high note, who knew that Sensory Science was so sexy? Seriously. I've never examined the word supple so closely. And, after you've started to practice your sensory science skills, you can never smell anything or taste anything again without thinking about the chemicals that are in it. Kind of ruined food and drink. But at least I sound smart about it.
I will spend the rest of my life trying to do for beer what wine has done for itself so nicely. Beer is complex, scientific, elegant, intellectual, and incredibly sensitive. How the beer community has missed out on marketing it as such, I will never know. I'll do it. We're going to turn this around. Whenever you drink a beer, you should feel way classier than you probably do. There was an unbelievable amount of work that went into making that beer, seriously, like thousands of years of experience and knowledge. Even if it's Coors Light or Budweiser. Actually, especially if it is. Not that I drink them. But we should all bend over and kiss the ground and thank the brewing Gods for AB and Coors for paving the way for all the rest of us to brew anything. More to say about this later.
Delirium is setting in. I need to sleep or study. There is nothing else.
(I just reread this after a night's sleep and realize this sounds pretty negative or aggressive, but it's reflective of how tired I was. I want to make it clear, I LOVE what I'm learning. It's just that it is more information from all the disciplines of science than I would have thought was possible to combine at one time.)
You didn't sound negative or aggressive at all. It sounds like you're enjoying yourself but it's a lot of work. Anything worthwhile is going to require some blood, sweat and tears. That's what makes it worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. And I'm glad I didn't sound too negative. There's been blood, sweat, tears and beer, so it must be worth it!
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