Slappy will be in heaven in brewing academy's education

Wait until Slappy reads this - he will be in beer heaven---BBB

Academy to brew some lifelong learning
Donald MacLeod
Wednesday February 18, 2004 - The Guardian UK

If this doesn't help the government meet its education targets, nothing will. The Beer Academy, set up by brewing companies with a view to lifelong learning among consumers as well as people in the trade, is to be launched in May.

Last year it trialled its first courses - which attracted a lot of interest among journalists - and this year various breweries will be hosting courses, ranging from a two-and-a-half-hour introduction to a three-day advanced course.

This week, the academy's first boss was announced - George Philliskirk, former head of the technical department of Carlsberg Tetley and chairman of the board of examiners of the Institute and Guild of Brewing. Dr Philliskirk is an external examiner of Heriot Watt University, which is known as the "Oxford of the brewing world". He has a budget of £240,000 donated by Britain's brewers and industry organisations.

The initiative, modelled on the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, which educates people about wine, is aimed at staff in breweries and pubs, but is also reaching out to supermarket and off trade buyers, off licence managers and staff, bartenders, publicans, restaurateurs, journalists and consumers.

The academy classes will be organised in breweries and pubs - blind tastings, of course, feature in the educational material - and lecturers will be drawn initially from current and recently retired brewers.

The academy's website, beeracademy.org, contains plenty of comforting facts for drinkers, assuring us that it is packed with many of the nutrients the body needs for a healthy diet. "Unlike other alcoholic drinks it is chock full of vitamins and minerals. A litre of beer will supply 10% of your daily protein needs, wine has none. It has absolutely no cholesterol or fat and has useful quantities of soluble fibre. It has no more calories than a serving of wine, and a lot less than milk or apple juice. Alcohol itself has been shown to benefit our heart and circulation systems. Polyphenols in beer are as effective at scavenging harmful cancer inducing free radicals as those in red wine.

"In moderation, beer does not make you fat and its constituents are proven to help make a balanced diet. This message echoes the 1930's campaign with the strapline 'Beer is good for you'" it adds.