The Chemistry & Biochemistry Department offers a senior-level class in Summer 2016 with a hands-on lab on the chemistry of brewing beer.
The course is taught by Dr. Michael Held, Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
CHEM 4501 The Principles of Brewing Science
Tier III Synthesis (3)
Class #1456, Lab #1469 | First Summer Session
Description: This course aims to demonstrate fundamental principles and concepts of biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, and plant biology through beer brewing. The practice and study of fermentation first defined the field of biochemistry and combines skills/concepts taken from microbiology (yeast cultivation; inhibition of bacterial growth by hops and ethanol; assay of bacterial contamination), biochemistry (an understanding of aerobic vs non-aerobic respiration and glucose metabolism, lipid oxidation, enzyme kinetics and assay as in starch degradation by amylases and protein degradation by proteases), physiology (the effects of alcohol on the body), and plant biology (barley and hops cultivation, harvesting and malt production; the contribution of plant tannins to beer flavor).
This course combines a series of lectures, labs and field trips to the Plant Biology Learning Gardens to demonstrate the concepts invoked in lecture. This course exploits a general public interest in alcohol and its production to demonstrate fundamental scientific concepts using a hands-on approach. As many students seem unaware of how alcohol interacts with the body, this course also informs students about metabolic and nutritional aspects related to alcohol consumption. As such this course outfits students with a wide range of key scientific concepts coupled with practical skills.
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