Craft Beer Production Course

Lesson 1 • Yeast Biology and Selection

Explains yeast cell structure, metabolism, and strain characteristics. Prepares students to choose appropriate strains before fermentation chapters begin.

Lesson 2 • Malted Barley and Adjuncts

Examines base malts, specialty malts, and non-barley adjuncts and their contributions to color, body, and flavor. Connects ingredient selection to target style outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Water Chemistry Basics

Introduces key ions and their effects on mash pH, bitterness perception, and mouthfeel. Establishes the water knowledge needed before mashing is introduced.

Lesson 4 • Hops: Varieties and Functions

Covers alpha acids, essential oils, and hop forms from pellets to whole cone. Links bitterness units and aroma compounds to style-appropriate hopping strategies.

Lesson 5 • Major Beer Style Families

Categorizes ales, lagers, and hybrid styles by fermentation type and flavor profile. Establishes the style vocabulary used in all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 1 • Color Calculation Methods

Introduces Malt Color Units and Standard Reference Method for predicting beer color. Connects grain bill choices to measurable color outcomes.

Lesson 2 • Bitterness and Hop Utilization

Covers International Bitterness Units and the variables affecting hop utilization. Enables accurate bitterness targeting for any recipe.

Lesson 3 • Water Chemistry Adjustments

Builds on foundational water knowledge to calculate ion additions and pH corrections. Students can formulate a water profile for any target style.

Lesson 4 • Gravity, Extract, and Efficiency

Defines original gravity, extract potential, and mash efficiency. These metrics underpin every recipe calculation introduced later in the chapter.

Lesson 1 • Wort Cooling and Transfer

Examines counterflow and immersion chilling methods and cold-side contamination risks. Prepares students for the sanitation and pitching steps in the next chapter.

Lesson 2 • Wort Boiling and Hop Additions

Details boil objectives including sterilization, protein coagulation, and hop isomerization. Ties hop addition timing to the IBU calculations from Chapter 2.

Lesson 3 • Lautering and Sparging Techniques

Covers vorlauf, batch sparging, and fly sparging to maximize extract recovery. Connects lautering efficiency directly to the gravity calculations from Chapter 2.

Lesson 4 • Mash Chemistry and Enzymes

Explains alpha- and beta-amylase activity, temperature optima, and pH effects on conversion. Provides the enzymatic foundation for all mash program decisions.

Lesson 1 • Quality Testing for Contamination

Introduces forced wort tests, ATP swab testing, and plating methods to verify sanitation effectiveness. Connects microbiology knowledge to measurable quality outcomes.

Lesson 2 • Cleaning Agents and Protocols

Distinguishes caustic, acid, and enzymatic cleaners and their appropriate applications. Cleaning effectiveness is the prerequisite for sanitizer performance.

Lesson 3 • Microbiology of Beer Spoilage

Identifies bacterial and wild yeast spoilage organisms and their flavor signatures. Provides the microbiological rationale for every sanitation practice in the chapter.

Lesson 4 • Brewery Hygiene Zones

Divides the brewery into hot-side and cold-side zones with distinct hygiene requirements. Zone-based thinking reduces cross-contamination risk systematically.

Lesson 1 • Fermentation Troubleshooting

Diagnoses stuck fermentation, off-flavors, and yeast stress using systematic root-cause analysis. Builds corrective-action skills applicable to all subsequent brewing chapters.

Lesson 2 • Fermentation Temperature Control

Links temperature to ester and fusel production and outlines control strategies for ales and lagers. Students design temperature profiles for target flavor outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Diacetyl Rest and Conditioning

Explains diacetyl formation, reabsorption, and the warm rest technique for clean finishes. Applies to both ale and lager conditioning protocols.

Lesson 4 • Yeast Pitching and Starter Preparation

Calculates pitch rates and demonstrates starter propagation to ensure healthy fermentation onset. Directly applies yeast biology from Chapter 1.

Lesson 1 • Malt-Forward and Dark Styles

Formulates stouts, porters, and amber ales emphasizing roast character and body. Applies specialty malt knowledge from Chapter 1 to complex grain bills.

Lesson 2 • Pale Ales and IPAs

Develops recipes for American pale ale, West Coast IPA, and New England IPA with distinct hopping strategies. Demonstrates how style divergence drives ingredient and process choices.

Lesson 3 • Lager and Hybrid Style Recipes

Addresses the precision required for pilsners, helles, and steam beers. Reinforces lager fermentation protocols from Chapter 4 within a recipe context.

Lesson 4 • Recipe Formulation Framework

Establishes a systematic process from style selection through ingredient scaling. Integrates gravity, color, and bitterness calculations from Chapter 2 into one workflow.

Lesson 1 • Kegging and Draft Systems

Details keg sanitation, purging, filling, and draft line setup for consistent pour quality. Introduces gas blending for style-appropriate carbonation and dispense.

Lesson 2 • Carbonation Principles and Methods

Explains CO2 solubility, volumes of carbonation, and the variables affecting it. Provides the scientific basis for both natural and forced carbonation methods.

Lesson 3 • Oxygen Control and Beer Stability

Identifies dissolved oxygen pickup points and mitigation strategies to extend shelf life. Directly impacts the flavor stability of recipes developed in Chapter 6.

Lesson 4 • Bottling Procedures and Priming

Covers priming sugar calculation, bottle sanitation, and filling technique to minimize oxygen pickup. Connects sanitation protocols from Chapter 5 to packaging practice.

Lesson 1 • Recipe Scaling Methodology

Applies scaling factors to grain bills, hop additions, and water volumes for any batch size. Addresses efficiency changes and equipment dead space at commercial scale.

Lesson 2 • Regulatory Compliance and Safety

Covers food safety standards, alcohol production permits, and workplace hazard management. Ensures students understand compliance obligations before entering commercial practice.

Lesson 3 • Commercial Brewing Equipment

Surveys mash tuns, brew kettles, fermenters, and bright tanks used at commercial scale. Establishes equipment vocabulary for all operational planning discussions.

Lesson 4 • Brewery Workflow and Scheduling

Designs production schedules that maximize tank utilization and minimize downtime. Introduces turnaround time, cellar management, and parallel batch planning.