Certified Brewmaster Course 2021: Despite hybrid learning: The group felt as “one” from day one on

 CERTIFIED BREWMASTER COURSE 2021

Despite hybrid learning: The group felt as "one" from day one on

This year's Certified Brewmaster Course of VLB Berlin started on 11 January 2021 with 29 participants from four continents and 16 nations. The students will complete their certified Brewmaster training end of July. Premiere this year is the hybrid format of the course: Due to the pandemic situation, the theory lectures from January until May took place online and offline. Mid-May the practical part will begin. Therefore, the brewers have to travel to Berlin and study on-site.

(ew) Heike Flohr, coordinator of the Certified Brewmaster Course, and Burghard Meyer, head of the international brewing courses, welcomed the 29-member group on the morning of the first day in the Singha room of the VLB Training Center. In her speech, Flohr made it clear that a successful completion of the course is not a matter of course and that cohesion is an essential element for success. “You all can only do this if we pull together,” Flohr stressed. And that's all the more important, because the course started this year in a very different way. “But I am convinced that from today on you will feel like 'one' as the LMS platform and Zoom will make it possible to create a real teaching atmosphere.” At the end, VLB Managing Director Dr. Josef Fontaine addressed the group in a video message and wished everyone a successful time. In 2021, 29 students want to become a VLB Certified Brewmaster. Of these 29, two attended the course on-site in Berlin from day one, five followed in due course, the remaining brewers listened to the lectures online and travelled to Berlin in May for the practical part of the training.

Hybrid as a new format

Due to the pandemic situation, the Certified Brewmaster Course takes place as a hybrid event for the first time. Students were able to decide whether they would complete the theoretical part of the training on-site at the VLB in Berlin or whether they would like to switch to the lectures online. In May, all aspiring brewers had to travel to Berlin, in order to follow the practical instructios in person. Also in May, most participants of last year's course, who had to go back to their home countries due to COVID-19 in March 2020, returned to VLB.

Practical education

More than 20 teachers from the individual VLB research institutes teach students in all areas relevant to the brewery – from raw material science to malt production and brewhouse technology to quality assurance, packaging and logistics. In the study brewery and in the laboratories, the budding brewmasters practically deepen their theoretically acquired knowledge. Burghard Meyer, who together with the VLB team designed the hybrid curricula and made every effort to make the course a success despite the circumstances, is responsible for teaching, both theoretically and practically. “Every year, it is something special for me to have you with us for the course and to meet new people from different countries and cultures,” Meyer said on day one. The last day will be 23 July. The students will receive their certificates after a number of theoretical and practical exams. No matter, if a farewell party will take place or not, the students may at least be able to drink their own-brewed beer. Cheers!

Photos: ew

Burghard Meyer (l.) and Heike Flohr welcomed the students of the Certified Brewmaster Course 2021

From January to May, five participants followed the theory lectures onsite at VLB Berlin; the other students learned online and travelled to Berlin midMay in order to attend the practical part of the Certified Brewmaster Course in Berlin