European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                William Siebel of the Siebel Institute in Chicago where the Art and Craft of brewing is cultivated. Learning to brew better by de White associated press Oist a Frothy Stein to Siebel Institute of technology brewmaster u. Where All the students strive for better Beer. I would Call it the Harvard of the brewmaster schools says recent graduate James Whilt Timper of Belleville Iii. Since 1901, excluding prohibition of course the Siebel Institute has been turning out Many of the world s brewmaster who create the Beer that s quaffed at the Corner tap. The people at Siebel s have my highest admiration. It s unique in the country says Michael Lewis a professor of brewing science at the University of California Davis. And the graduation pictures that hang on the second floor carry some of the biggest names in suds John w. Stroh jr., class of 59 August a. Busch Iii class of 61 August Pabst class of 67. Siebel Institute is an Arm of . Siebel sons co., Erma Bombeck whose roots Date to 1868 when the City of Chicago s chief chemist a husky German immigrant with a flowing Beard started a Small Laboratory to introduce european brewing techniques to the United states. The North Side lab a few feet from the screeching wheels of elevated commuter trains moved downtown after world War ii and then to its current site among Large Homes and Small industries of Chicago s far Northwest Side in the 1950s. In the basement staff scientists have their own Micro brewery which produces 22 liners of Beer a few times a month for research purposes. The two Story Brick building modestly bears the name Siebel Over the Entrance giving no hint to passersby that the great grandsons of . Siebel or. Are now at the Helm of a company that trains brewmaster and acts As a consultant to breweries big and Small from Guatemala to Detroit Canada to India. Each fall Siebel Institute accepts 25 to 30 students for an 11-week course in brewing  most Are employees of breweries around the world sent to Chicago for classroom and Laboratory training and then promoted to brewmaster or assistant brewmaster when they return. All expenses tuition hotel and food Are normally paid by the student s brewery. The $5,650 course is divided into eight subjects raw materials brewhouse theory fermentation storage packaging Quality control Laboratory and taste. While there Are Many brewing academies in Europe especially West Germany the Siebel Institute has few Peers in the United states. The University of California Davis offers undergraduate degrees in food science with an emphasis on brewing but the Chicago school says it s the Only one that takes people from inside the Industry and turns them into brewmaster. The school accepts few students who do not have a brewing background though some with a fair amount of self study and High degree of determination can get through the door says executive vice president William r. Siebel. What they re taught Here is the theory and the science behind malt beverages from the various raw materials to their ultimate use in the brewhouse says Siebel who can t recall anyone who did t pass the course. We re not teaching any specific formulas to make certain Beers. At their breweries they use their own formulas. The Art is Learned on the  to the armchair Drinker a Beer occasionally might taste bad. But at Siebel Institute students Are taught to determine if a Beer tastes fruity Skunk Burnt or Grainy. It s not All work. During lunch or after classes students Are usually found in the second floor Bie stube where they quiz each other about the Day s lessons or play Pool while eating snacks and Downing mugs of free Beer compliments of big name Beer companies. When you get a student from tasmanian says Siebel referring to an australian brewery and a Novice from California they re going to pick up All kinds of insights. They re talking Beer All the  Cynthia l. Bauer has worked at a Stroh brewery Plant in Van Guys calif., for four years and was recently promoted to assistant brewmaster. Beer she says is a language everyone understands. You can talk about Beer to anybody i m not talking about High tech lasers she says. On the other hand it s very scientific. There Are 1,000 different ways to skin a cat and 1,000 different ways to make Beer. That s Why we re  Bauer 28, was one of two women who graduated in the most recent class. Does she feel like a Pioneer in an Industry dominated by men what s your image of a brewmaster she replies. An old Guy with a bit of a belly. Well these Guys Are retiring moving on. Granted there Are not too Many women but Well make  unlike most of his classmates Timper 31, is unemployed and simply wants to get his foot Back into the business. He was a production worker at Stag brewery in Southern Illinois but it closed a few months ago and Timper was not transferred. He had to borrow Money for the Siebel tuition. I had a Choice stand in a Long unruly unemployment line or be a student Timper says. Siebel is considered a very Good stepping Stone to further a career or Start one. It has the Market cornered. This whole thing is a Gamble i needed to  i have just had the flu and been snatched from the jaws of death. Before you Yawn and turn the Page hear me out because i be Learned some important lessons. Never get the flu in  i mean it. If you were on fire no one would spit on you. If you were tagging your jewelry for distribution among your survivors people would say yeah everybody s got what you be  people Are devoid of compassion. You get the feeling that if Mary the Mother of god collared them and said guess what i m expecting a Savior these people would say everybody s expecting one Honey it s an  your doctor tells you How he can t break his own fever. Your postman coughs for you. And a meter Reader you be never seen before goes into great detail about How he threw up Spanish Rice until he thought he would die. The next time i come Down with a virus it will be in Page 16 the stars and stripes August when i can command a Little respect and a Little attention. Insist on Low fat medications. Trust me on this. I Haven t eaten for 2va weeks. A few crackers a Little cola is All i could Force Down. Yet i climb out of my Bathrobe and i can t get into anything that does t have an elastic Waistband. Wake up and smell the Vaporizer people. That can Only mean that cough syrup is a junk food and antibiotics have More calories than potato chips. I have made a pact with myself. I will buy no lozenges that Aren t Lite and no Seltzer tablets without a stalk of wheat on them. The claim that cold and flu germs Are spread by shaking hands is a Crock. I work out of my Home in a solitary room As if i am doing time for a major crime. I never see anyone. I never shake hands. My theory is that the virus is spread by All of those people who do cold commercials on television. There must be 20 or 30 of them a night clutching their bathrobes and talking about their sniffling sneezing rasping gasping monday february 20,1989 sleepless nights i think the germs come right through the Cable. Daytime television will make you sicker. Having rarely watched slime time television i had no idea of the misery of the world. Throughout the Days i watched an endless Parade of wretchedness March across the screen. Serial killers with eating disorders parents kidnapped by their children clerics who did t want to be married sex education classes for pandas. It was All there the bizarre the shocking the sick and Here s the kicker All of these pathetic people looked better than me. Don t get out of bed and get dressed until the family threatens to set fire to it. The words associated with clothes Are Cook scrub Market hit the ground running. There you have been warned. That s it. I m not milking this. I just did t want to come so close to leaving and not have my life mean something. C 1989ermabombeck