Thomas Heim and Yannic Prangnitz, two course participants of the “TUM Brauer Cursus Weihenstephan” at the Weihenstephan campus, report with kind permission of the magazine Bier & Brauhaus, issue 57 spring 1-2023, page 38-39. More about the magazine Bier & Brauhaus at www.bier-und-brauhaus.de.
Thomas Heim und Yannic Prangnitz
Thomas Heim, small-scale brewer from Switzerland:
Is brewing beer always a beer idea? Yes and no. The origin of HEIMBRÄU was not an evening get together with friends, but rather a dry one in a bookshop. After studying and getting the right ingredients, brewing the beer was not so difficult. Boil the wort together with water, cool it down, put in the yeast, wait, bottle it, mature it, drink it. The beer was really good. At the second attempt, I wasn’t quite as careful. This then manifested itself in an unintentionally sour beer.
I wanted more! So I enrolled in my first beer brewing course. I came back from there with a new knowledge about brewing and a car full of brewing equipment. Brewing kettles, fermenting barrels, cooling equipment and much more found space in my car. I still brew with this equipment today.
With more and more experience and knowledge, the beer got better and better. The beer was well received by friends and acquaintances. Little by little, people outside my circle of friends began to like HEIMBRÄU.
In order to be able to meet the increasing demand and to have more space, I wanted to move the fermentation cellar and also the brewery to a larger place. I finally found what I was looking for in the Aumühle in Frauenfeld and was able to set up a small brewery there. A perfect location with the best spring water, which is ideal for the beers I brew. Among other things, a Cream Ale, an IPA and a Brown Porter are constantly available now. In addition, I am currently working on a non-alcoholic beer. I brew “Raspberry Wheat”, “Belgian Witbier” (with coriander & orange) and a Doppelbock mostly seasonally for summer or Christmas.
The small yeast lab is now in the second mini kitchen in my own house, the rest is in the brewery. I also bought a new plate cooler and a CO2 alarm system. By the way, the Brewer Cursus Weihenstephan is to blame for the new cooler and the CO2 alarm (better hygiene and safety). The Brewer Cursus has massively accelerated the decision.
What I also like to drink is the “Fahrer” (engl.: driver): non-alcoholic and hardly recognisable as such. I have customers who travel 90 kilometres to get it. Yet there are various other breweries in their place of residence and on the way to me. Distribution is mainly through sales from the brewery, to restaurants and to two smaller shops in the area.
My main challenge is the lack of space. With my micro-brewery of 60 m2 I cannot always buy everything in the quantities I want. The next steps are to expand to even more professionalism – thanks to the Brewer Cursus Weihenstephan!
I wanted to do the Brewer Cursus so that I could get first-hand knowledge from real professionals and not half-knowledge from pseudo-professionals from the internet or some forums.
The Brewer Cursus was a success for me. The lecturers are highly motivated and work with enormous passion on the topics. The organization was perfect. The topics were all very interesting. As I already had brewing experience, the brewing process itself was clear. But I was still able to take away many valuable tips and hints. Particularly valuable for me were the topics “water” (I’m finally doing something with it now), fermentation (CCTs – cylindro-conical fermentation tanks), dispensing systems (CO2 alarm system), sensor technology and microbiology. What I also appreciated very much was the individual approach to questions and concerns.
Equally valuable was the exchange with the other colleagues: small brewery, micro-brewery, pub brewery and large brewery. I was also able to pick up tips, tricks and also get the final “push” that I sometimes need.
I can recommend the Brewers’ Cursus to anyone who wants to understand brewing and get the information from real professionals.
www.heimbräu.ch
Yannic Prangnitz
Yannic Prangnitz,
chef in a Bavarian brewery pub
über sein Motiv, als „Nicht-Brauer“ am Brauer Cursus teilzunehmen:
About his motive for taking part in the Brewer’ Cursus as a “non-brewer”:
First of all, I was motivated by my own desire for knowledge and education. For me as a chef, it is important to learn as much as possible about products and their production. Since I have always been interested in the subject of beer, I wanted to know everything that is involved in this subject.
I would advise any hobby brewer out there, or indeed anyone interested in how beer is made and what is involved, to attend this course as it is very informative and teaches the basics in a short amount of time that would otherwise take a very long time to learn.
Bier & Brauhaus: On which topic did you take away something “special” from the Brewers’ Cursus?
For me, the most interesting lecture was the one by Dr. Martin Zarnkow on the history of beer, because it was about the history of beer and its production, e.g. that the origin of beer production was with women and that it was only much later that men took over.
For me, the lecture by Dr Martin Zarnkow was actually the most interesting, as it was about the history of beer and its production, that, for example, the origin in the production of beer lay with women and only much later did men take over.
Also our excursion to the different companies on the two practical weekends were very exciting, e.g. the visits to the malt processing plant, or the hop production co-op, and the many great conversations with the other course participants at eye level were very helpful and a great added value in this course.
Interested?
Whether you work in areas of the brewing industry, e.g. production, sales or marketing or are a hobby brewer who would like to expand your knowledge in a scientifically sound manner, feel free to learn more about our certificate program Brauer Cursus Weihenstephan.
