I've Been Accepted...

To a Certified Brewmaster Program...

...

In Germany.

So umm... wow. I got accepted by VLB ("Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin") for their 6-month program starting January 2012. I'm really excited but a bit nervous and intimidated too.

Now I've got to put together all the logistics. I've got to scrape together funds to cover everything, which will most likely mean selling the race car and van. Apparently I get to jump through a few extra hoops getting student visa to stay for more than 3 months (which I'd only need a tourist visa for). It's also time to start brushing up on my organic chemistry and learning German.

Still, I'm relatively young, have no family, and am recently unemployed. This is a big dream for me and I'm guessing this is one of those life chances where the stars align and I just need to dive in and take a chance. Just a month ago I made up my mind that by the end of the year I would either be working in a brewery or enrolled and on my way to brewing school. Time to make that happen

In other brewing news, I've been approached by a local microbrewery that called my beer "outstanding" and has asked me to guest brew a couple batches for them. More details on that once I know when they'll be put on tap. I'm also eagerly anticipating how my beers are received at the CA State Fair homebrew competition.

your a braver man than i.... good luck!

In reply to Salanis:

http://german.about.com/library/anfang/blanfang_inhalt.htm
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2547,00.html
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=german+language+lesson+1&aq=5&oq=german+language

Will the VLB be impressed if your recipe wins the State Fair? (again, where the hell is the "thumbs up" icon?!?!)

EDIT: fixed the formatting.

Congratulations! That sounds like a very exclusive/highly regarded course.

As such, it's also rather bloody expensive , but you can always buy another race car! Good luck.

friedgreencorrado wrote: Will the VLB be impressed if your recipe *wins* the State Fair? (again, where the hell is the "thumbs up" icon?!?!)

I dunno. The beer I've made might make a German scratch their heads. I think the Belgians would appreciate it more than Germans would.

I've got really good feelings about my New Zealand Amber (dubbed "5-Nation Army" after the White Stripes Song of similar name, and 5 countries ingredients originated from). This beer is a potential killer app. It is not weird or experimental. It's an amber ale, just under 6% abv, and is moderately hopped (comparable to Sierra Nevada but with more malt to balance). But most every beer aficionado agrees that they've never had anything like it before. It's completely unique without being radical.

Luke wrote: Congratulations! That sounds like a very exclusive/highly regarded course. As such, it's also rather bloody expensive , but you can always buy another race car! Good luck.

Yep, second most expensive I've seen. I'm kind of wondering what they're doing accepting me.

It's actually one of the better values considering that most other programs typically run for 3 months, as opposed to 6 with this one, and cost 3/4 the price. It's also the first one to get back to me. Pretty much every comparable course in the U.S. has at least a year waiting list.

I'm figuring selling cars, scraping funds, getting help from family, and probably still getting a loan. However, I figure it's an investment and I'm taking on less debt than what most people go into for a car. I have no debt now. So I'm okay.

Outstanding! By all means: BEG, BORROW, SELL , AND MOOCH, but make it happen. Life has few defining moments, here is a hint.....this is one.

Congrats! I'm considering getting a home brew kit for next year, any tips/pointers/suggestions?

What race car are you selling?

Joshua wrote: Congrats! I'm considering getting a home brew kit for next year, any tips/pointers/suggestions? What race car are you selling?

Easy answer: race car is a Porsche 944Spec - '89 924s.

Longer answer: homebrew kits!

You should look for a starter kit something like this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/starter-kits/better-basic-starter-kit.html

The two things I highly recommend are to get an auto-siphon (starts the process with a few quick pumps), and get a 6-gal carboy, not 5-gal. That will allow you to have enough headspace to easily do single stage fermentation for 5-gallon batches.

Best thing to do is to find a local home brew supply shop and get them to hook you up. Most will have a starter equipment kit with pretty similar stuff, and probably pre-measured recipe kits. Many will also have an introductory day where they do a demo batch and show you the process.

Oh, and start saving brown glass pop-top bottles. Rinse them thoroughly and store them upside down.

The most important thing in brewing beer is to sanitize, sanitize, sanitize.

I can go into all kinds of more details, but I won't bore people.

Congrats and I hope this all works out better than you could have wished.

Congrats!

Now hows about sending a case of that "5 Nation Army" to the middle of the country for a review!

How about those of us who can do a whip around and raise a few $ for you, if that works out next time you come to the challenge bring some samples.

Would this interest you?

Steve

Wow! I will celebrate your accomplishment by drinking a beer!

aussiesmg wrote: How about those of us who can do a whip around and raise a few $ for you, if that works out next time you come to the challenge bring some samples. Would this interest you? Steve

What he said. Do you have a PayPal account or something?

4eyes wrote: Outstanding! By all means: BEG, BORROW, SELL , AND MOOCH, but make it happen. Life has few defining moments, here is a hint.....this is one.

"you either define the moment, or the moment defines you"

Glückwünsche. Das ist ehrfürchtig! (congratulations - that's awesome). Let us know how we can help.

4eyes wrote: Outstanding! By all means: BEG, BORROW, SELL , AND MOOCH, but make it happen. Life has few defining moments, here is a hint.....this is one.

true. GET SOME!

Maybe we can convince you to send some goodies back to the states.

Congratulations!! I am not beer drinker, but it is thrilling to see to see you pursuing your passion.

Congrats - best of luck with this opportunity!

Congrats!

Definitely post details on the Porsche and the van. I'm in the Bay area and have a few friends looking for track cars right now.

If nothing else, it sounds like you're doing what you can to follow your dream, come hell or high water. I'm jealous of the opportunity, and I don't even drink!

Congrats!!! Sounds like an awesome adventure. Its always best to follow your dreams instead of just letting them die. Me and a buddy were just talking about that and how we always wanted to open a shop but we never followed through figuring to much competition and no money. Now we live in opposite ends of the country and are talking about that remember when idea.

Congrats! Sounds like an awesome opportunity.

Congrats! School is expensive, but when you want it; really want it, you won't regret the expense.