ENGR 1933: Science, Technology, and Culture of Craft Brewing

Course Description

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This course will introduce students to the science of brewing and technology needed to design and operate a craft brewery. Students will learn and apply biology, chemistry, and foundational engineering concepts and equipment needed to convert grain, water, yeast, and hops into craft beer. Students will also develop product analysis and product design skills to justify brewing choices based upon brewing science, technology, economic, and cultural considerations. Judging craft beer quality is a sensory experience that draws upon technical, cultural, and geographic aspects of each beer style; different styles will be highlighted throughout the course. Student must be 21 years of age with government-issued photo ID by their first day of class in the term taken.

Course History

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The spring ENGR 1933 course was launched in 2017 for Engineers only (“Engineering a Craft Brewery”), and remains the largest-enrolled first-offering elective in SSoE history.  ENGR 1933 was expanded to have campus-wide registration in 2022 (“Science, Technology, and Culture of Craft Brewing”), and the enrollment for Spring 2023 was 120 students. We have completed 4 study abroad trips (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023) over spring break or in early May (2022).  To launch this course, we worked closely with University Counsel and Pitt’s Environmental Health and Safety office.  To date, we have 0 alcohol incidents since 2017 either in the class or study abroad.

Course Details

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Course Deliverables:  Homework, Sensory Quizzes, Course Project, Final Exam, and Class Participation

Sensory Quizzes are scored sampling days, where students will have the opportunity to experience different beer styles and their underlying culture and history. Students will be expected to construct a BJCP (beer judge certification program)-style review of each beer sampled on a sensory day. For students who do not wish to sample beer, short papers about the history of the style sampled and the brewery that made the specific beer used in the sensory, can be substituted for the sample analyses.

Course Calendar (from Spring 2023)

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*Sensory days will require ID

**are days off