On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Discuss the role of the major raw ingredients in beer composition and its sensory properties.

2. Explain the processes by which the raw ingredients are transformed during the brewing process.

3. Identify the tastes, flavours and aromas associated with the key international beer styles in modern production.

4. Identify the major faults in beers, and describe the practices for minimisation of microbial and oxidative spoilage.

5. Plan and implement the production of beer according to a selected style.

6. Work in a group to prepare and critique written and oral presentations.

Lectures (2 x 1h per week) will be used to introduce key principles while practical classes (4h per week) will illustrate the application of theoretical knowledge introduced in the lectures.

A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).

Lectures will introduce the key principles of brewing technology and beer production, including detailed introduction to the principle raw ingredients (fermentables, malt, adjuncts, flavourings, hops), brewhouse operations, milling technologies, the processing stages (malting, milling, mashing and wort filtration, clarification, fermentation and conditioning/blending) and the packaging and marketing of the end product.

Practical classes will introduce students to the major industrial applications of brewing technology and beer production, including barley breeding, malting, and brewing at large and microbrewery scales. Sensory evaluation classes will introduce students to beer tastes, flavours and aromas, and will also provide an in-depth introduction to the styles of beer presently in commercial production. Three practical brewing exercises will develop the students’ skills in brewing, from a simple malt-extract based example, through a small-scale full-mash brew, to participation in a commercial-scale microbrewery exercise. These practical exercises will illustrate the application of the theoretical knowledge introduced in the lectures.

There will be planned field trips during a number of the practical sessions. Students will visit commercial maltings and breweries.

Assessment Task	Task Type	Percentage of total assessment	Hurdle Yes/No	Learning Outcome	Approximate timing of assessment
1. Beer styles report	Formative & Summative	5%	No	1,3	Week 3
2. Beer flavours and faults sensory test	Formative & Summative	5%	No	3,4	Week 4
3. Beer production proposal (Group assessment)	Formative & Summative	10%	No	1,2,5,6	Week 7
4. Beer styles sensory test	Formative & Summative	5%	No	3,4	Week 8
5. Beer production presentation and oral presentation (Group assessment)	Formative & Summative	15%	No	1,2,6	Week 12
6. Beer production written report	Formative & Summative	20%	No	1,2,6
7. Final examination	Summative	40%	No	1,2	Exam period

1. Beer Styles Report:
The beer styles report will assess students’ knowledge of a range of styles of beer commercially available. A 1,200-word report will be presented, in which a self-selected set of four contrasting beers, representing at least three of the major beer styles, are described. Details of ingredients, production and sensory attributes, and a brief history of the style, are to be provided. 

2. Beer Flavours and Faults Sensory Test:
An in-class sensory test will be conducted at the end of the second beer sensory evaluation class (around week 4), in which basic beer flavours and faults will have been introduced using the standard vocabulary adopted by the brewing industry worldwide. Students will be required to identify and describe key sensory attributes in beer (colour, clarity, bubbles, foam etc), tastes, aromas and flavours, plus a range of common faults including spoilage, oxidation and storage outcomes. The assessment will ensure that students have achieved a basic level of understanding of beer sensory parameters, and are able to describe good and bad beer using an appropriate vocabulary. 

3. Beer Production Proposal:
Students will work in groups of two or three to design, plan and produce a beer that will be presented to the class in week 12. A written proposal including a detailed list of ingredients and a flow chart showing the production steps proposed for the beer, is to be submitted by each group. The proposal will have a maximum word limit of 500, and will include details of the intended style and the approach proposed to achieve its production. Each group will anonymously critique one proposal presented by another group; up to 5% of the total of 10% will be available for this; up to 5% will be awarded following assessment by an academic staff member.

4. Beer styles sensory test:
An in-class sensory test will be conducted at the end of the third beer sensory evaluation class (around week 8), in which beers representing the major styles (pilseners, ales, stouts, wheat beers etc) will have been introduced and their particular sensory attributes described using the standard vocabulary adopted by the brewing industry worldwide. Students will be assessed on their ability to identify and apply the common vocabulary to the description of these beers and their sensory properties.

5. Beer production oral presentation:
In addition to participating fully in all aspects of the brewing operations, students will prepare and deliver a 15-minute presentation to the class in week 12. Each group member must participate in all activities, and will be assessed by all other group members for their contribution to the brewing and presentation activities. This will be worth up to 5% of the 15% total for this assessment. In addition, up to 5% will be awarded following class-wide peer assessment of each oral presentation and up to 5% by the academic staff in attendance for the presentations.

6. Beer production written report:
A detailed written report, including an annotated flow chart describing the required production process for the chosen beer style is to be presented by each student. The report will be a maximum of 2,000 words in length, and must contain, in addition to full production information, a detailed evaluation of how closely the targeted beer style was matched, giving reasons why 

Feedback will be provided for Assessment items 1 to 6.
 
7. Final examination:
A final examination will be held during the end-of-semester examination period that will assess students’ knowledge of all aspects of brewing technology and beer production covered in the lectures.

If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment