“Ich bin kein Berliner.” by John Bryce

The End.

2008-07-06T17:15:00.000+02:00

It's been pretty, pretty hectic since I got back home, and certainly an adjustment. After all, I was in Berlin long enough for the neighborhood bakery to have my Mandel Plunder bagged and waiting for my 7:45 arrival, to occasionally give directions, to be a regular with predictable lunch orders, and to find myself criticizing tourists. There are people who I am going to miss quite a lot, but it is really great to be back home, and now I have lots of countries to visit. This is a little...

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Northern Germany Excursion

2008-06-14T21:39:00.005+02:00

Well, I made it back to VA, but I still owe you guys a couple of posts. Here's the run down on our final excursion: First, we arrived in Stralsund and toured the Stralsunder Brauerei. Perhaps the smallest production brewery I saw in Germany, Stralsunder is an innovative regional brewery specializing in dark beers and packing beer in special displays for brewing giants such as InBev. By the way, I say "special" a lot now. It's the German default word whenever they're unsure of which...

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Ich bin Braumeister!

2008-06-07T18:26:00.003+02:00

There's been a lot of celebrating in the last week. We had a great excursion in northern Germany (thanks to Ingo & Katrin for organizing it and Burghard for leading us!) and I received my diploma yesterday! I've got a lot of cool pictures and videos from the trip that I will put up soon, and I've still got an overall review of the program on deck, as well as recommendations for those of you who are enrolled in CBC 09.

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Even More Reviews

2008-06-01T22:54:00.005+02:00

Brewing technology was OK, but definitely fell short of my expectations. Too much plant equipment material, and not enough theory. Too much overview of processes, and not enough (quality) detail. The manuals provided (pictured) for just this one class are responsible for about half of the total weight that I am shipping home. There is some good info in there for sure (otherwise I wouldn't be shipping it home, right?) but many slides, graphs etc. don't state assumptions or paint the full...

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More Reviews: Raw Materials & More

2008-06-01T21:39:00.005+02:00

The raw materials classes from the first module were pretty solid. The barley class was a great intro to malting technology, a subject that was both completely new and fascinating for me. As I've mentioned in the past, I think that understanding barley and malting is crucial to understanding brewing, so thanks to Burghard Meyer for introducing me to the topic. Burghard was our main instructor and also taught hops, brewing technology, and brewery arithmetics. The latter was pretty, pretty...

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More Reviews: Microbiology & Sensory Analysis

2008-06-01T19:39:00.004+02:00

Microbiology: I never felt like I was learning a lot during this class, but now that it's over, I can see that I most certainly did. This course is held every week throughout all 3 modules and consists of a regular classroom lecture, followed by the practical work in the lab. It's difficult to breath in the lab with the lack of ventilation and all of those burners...burning, so I often found myself more focused on getting out of the room than learning, but I guess it all worked out in the...

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Done.

2008-05-30T16:25:00.003+02:00

We made it. I don't know if I passed biochemistry or not, but it doesn't matter. My other grades have been trickling in and are good enough to offset the possible failing grade, so (unless I get hit by a bus prior to the ceremony) I will be receiving a diploma next week! We (the whole class) leave for a whirlwind industry tour in northern Germany at 5am on Monday. Our stops are: Stralsunder Brauerei (Stralsund), Malteurop (Rostock), KRONES (Flensburg), Flensburger Brauerei (Flensburg),...

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Biodisappointemistry

2008-05-28T07:33:00.010+02:00

2 days/3 exams to go. We don't have any grades back yet, but with the exception of microbiology, I think all have gone well so far. I found my new favorite restaurant in Berlin (pictured). Too bad I didn't try it sooner. Amazing burritos. I might eat there everyday for the 8 days that I have left here in Berlin. In my links section, I've added a Google map with the best places in Berlin that my classmates and I have discovered (we weren't actually the first humans to go to them) during...

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4 more days

2008-05-24T10:55:00.005+02:00

Yesterday was a long one. We had the written Chemical Technical Analyses exam at 8am and then the CTA Practical exam from 9am to 5pm (Definitely the longest exam I've ever had). The class is divided into thirds for this one, so some people have it today or tomorrow instead. I'm lucky to have it over with, and the whole weekend to rest and focus on the last 4 days of exams. I can't believe this is all over with on Thursday. The practical exam was also divided into three parts: water...

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My Fragile Mind

2008-05-21T22:47:00.005+02:00

I’m not exactly sure when I went insane, but I guess that probably comes with the territory. I don’t think it was before this afternoon, but really, it’s hard to say for sure. I can’t seem to sleep for very long without waking up, and it’s not the good kind of waking up either. It’s the kind where you come to while in a free-fall, think your heart has stopped, become startled by a loud noise, or realize the alarm clock has died, and both the time and your 8am exam moved on without you. Of...

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Funny Signs

2008-05-20T13:59:00.002+02:00

It's Tuesday night, which means there's sword fighting on my hall. Perhaps it's more accurate to call it fencing...? Well, Fencing (or whatever it is that they do with the swords) is a big part of the German fraternity where I've been living for the last five months. They even have this whole big room for it just down the hall from my room. I thought it was a little strange when I first moved in, but I barely notice it anymore. Except on Tuesdays. That's when I usually find myself saying,...

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The Home Stretch

2008-05-16T23:58:00.005+02:00

The weather has continued with its nearly perfect streak, the hops have been growing like mad, and we're almost finished here. We just completed the last full week of classes and final exams begin next week. It's shaping up to be a pretty crazy sprint to the finish, with lots crammed in at the last minute and preparations for some of the more scary exams already in full force. I think we all have the most concern about passing microbiology. In addition to the theory exam, our practical...

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Wie heißt du?

2008-05-06T17:11:00.006+02:00

Not much time for blogging this week...we've got some extra lectures and a big paper due Friday. Since there's nothing new to read here, perhaps you can help me out with something: (I have no idea how many of you are also subscribed to the BBC News Feed, so I apologize if this is duplicate info for you.) Anyway, I've got to hurry up and decide on a name for BBC's future flagship beer, and you can help right here. I'd especially love to hear from Blacksburgers and those with ties to...

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Holy Humulus Lupulus!

2008-05-01T18:46:00.002+02:00

The weather in Berlin has been amazing lately. So good that we've been checking on the hop garden between classes. Those suckers grow fast (up to 30cm in one day)! Check out this one. The ties on the wire represent only 24 hours. I have some good news that you probably won't care about. After a couple of weeks of struggle, I finally recovered the bulk of my files from Data Safe. It wasn't pretty and I definitely recommend uninstalling the program if you have it and think it is doing...

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Scotland: 3 birds, one stone

2008-04-28T18:57:00.009+02:00

I have some sort of strange affliction that frequently causes me to try to cram as many things as possible into a trip. It usually turns what could have been a fun and relaxing vacation into a hectic, stressful mess. This time was an exception and a refreshing change of pace. I left Berlin Saturday morning and landed in Glasgow in less than 2 hours. Bird #1: Supposedly, I am of Scottish descent, therefore Scotland was on my list of places to see before I die. Bird #2: A good friend of mine...

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Hair of the Dog

2008-04-20T16:18:00.005+02:00

I Learned something pretty interesting while talking to Mike (one of the staff members of our CTA lab) last Friday. I think most everyone has heard the expression "hair of the dog that bit you," but in the event that it's new to you it means treating a hangover by drinking more of what got you the hangover in the first place. I don't think I know of anyone who's ever actually done this intentionally, and it definitely never happened to me or anyone I know during either the 2006 or 2007 VT...

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Did I mention that I hate computers?

2008-04-19T13:57:00.008+02:00

I'd post some pictures, but I don't have any. In fact, I don't have any files anymore. I bought a Dell Inspiron 1501 with Vista Home Basic before I departed for Germany. It will be the last Dell (and Microsoft) product that I buy. I've had a lot of operating system issues with the machine and on Monday my user profile became corrupt for the second time. The first time it was fixed by a Dell rep who connected to my machine remotely, found my files and fixed the problem. Pretty cool. This...

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Die Sonne scheint heute

2008-04-12T16:56:00.008+02:00

There was this strange ball of light in the sky today that made everything really bright and dried up most of the puddles. No rain, snow, or hail fell from the sky, which was also unusual. According to people who talk about the weather, April 2007 was the warmest month in Berlin. An average of something like 27 C. I'd guess that so far the April '08 average is more like 7 C. Today was so nice, I just walked around my neighborhood until my feet hurt. I know what you're thinking...Oh great,...

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Eat While You Can.

2008-04-10T17:56:00.005+02:00

It's taken months, but I've finally got most of the Germans in my house (and some not in my house) saying "hey." Up until recently, they used to always say "hello" (pronounced ha-lo), but I'm changing them - one at a time. Sure, I've made an impact, but it's not like the mark John Lane has left. He's added an entire new word to the dictionary. Don't believe me? It's true, look here. Felipe's got some great ones too, but nothing in the dictionary just yet. Last weekend he took a few of us...

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I go New York!

2008-04-05T14:14:00.003+02:00

The following is an account of my actual experience obtaining a visa/residence permit to stay in Germany until June 9th. My 90 days were just about up, but after hearing horror stories of the time commitment and process from many of my classmates, I waited until the absolute last possible day to get my visa. My Canadian housemate, Erica, had done the same so we left the house early Monday morning and arrived at the Abteilung Auslaenderangelegenheiten (no, I am not making up that word) at...

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Comments On

2008-04-04T23:14:00.003+02:00

At the request of my classmates and some yahoos back home (who I really hope keep it clean) I have finally enabled comments.

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So you're telling me there's a chance?

2008-04-04T09:53:00.007+02:00

Another long week. There seems to be less and less free time each week, and we're getting ready to start the final module which means even more special lectures and longer days in class. Two exams next week, brewing during the weekend, another big paper due shortly afterwards, and then another brewing weekend. I'm trying to fit in work for the Roanoke brewery in the gaps. It's been pretty stressful lately, but it's going to pay off in the end. We just started our Sensory Analysis class and...

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McBirthday

2008-03-31T02:23:00.003+02:00

Felipe had a birthday last week. I'm not sure if he turned 25 or 5, but since he has a ridiculous obsession with McDonald's, we decided to take him there for his birthday party. He was lovin' it. We asked the cashier for birthday hats, but apparently they don't do that in Berlin. After they said no, John Lane asked if we could just have one of the paper hats that the guy flipping burgers had on. No again! (Stupid birthday nazis.) But it was alright, we drank Bitburger out of paper cups,...

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I hate computers

2008-03-28T19:04:00.005+01:00

It's been a long week. We had a big research paper due today, and I've been fighting with my computer. Many Microsoft Office crashes later, it's finally done. Until about 2 or 3 days ago, I thought that our assignment, which was to discuss the results of the malt analysis on the winter barley that we malted in the VLB pilot plant as well as other research on winter malting barley, was kind of stupid. My complaint was that we didn't have a control sample of spring barley to malt as a...

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Innovations in Personal Hygiene

2008-03-22T00:46:00.007+01:00

My friend, John Smith, has been hoping for years that someone would create a product that would dispense some sort of multi-purpose hygienic gel. This all-in-one wonder substance could be used as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and shaving cream. (I may have left something out.) Well, Smith, I just wanted to let you know that the Germans are working on it. They're only up to hair, hand, and body so far, but something tells me the rest is coming any day now.

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