yeast-congress-2018-posters-abstracts

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Archives of Industrial Biotechnology | Volume 2

May 14-15, 2018 | Montreal, Canada

World Yeast Congress

ndergraduate science is traditionally both taught and

learned through disciplinary lenses. Often, students

compartmentalize knowledge in courses and have difficulty

making connections between disciplines. As brewing

beer encompasses biology and chemistry, we (a physical

chemist and a microbiologist) developed and team-taught

an innovative and integrated undergraduate course on

the science of fermentation. The course was taught during

Transylvania University’s May term where students take

one intensive course for 5 weeks. The course explored the

scientific principles of fermentation and was structured

around students brewing standard 5-gallon batches of

beers from malt extract. The course also covered the major

characteristics of beer, the role of brewing ingredients/

processes and how they affect the final product, and

involved student measurements of various chemical

and microbiological aspects of beer in the laboratory

(e.g. microscopy, spectroscopy). Pre- and post-tests and

attitudinal survey data from the students suggest that

using this team-taught approach aided students to see the

interconnectedness of biology and chemistry as they apply

to brewing. At the end of the course students reported

greater confidence in their ability to brew beer, increased

understanding of beer and brewing in scientific terms,

and the ability to identify beer styles bsed on taste, smell,

and color. We can also report that the course affected two

students deeply; one now works as a quality control chemist

at a commercial brewery and one has become an avid home

brewer

Bridging the gaps: An innovative and integrated undergraduate fermentation science course

Paul M Duffin

Transylvania University, USA