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We went to VLB and found out that THIS is the place to learn about brewing. The VLB invited brewers from all over the world (USA, Chine, Russia) to come and expand their brewing knowledge at the institute for either a month segment or a six-month segment. In addition to the tour and open panel discussion, there was also the sensory training and tasting. In the first part of this activity, the scientists spiked the water with four different substances that fell under the categories sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Fortunately, I was able to distinguish the flavors. It was interesting to find out that one detects different flavors at different times. For example, one can detect salty and sweetness almost initially, yet the detection of sour and then bitterness is delayed. The second part of the tasting consisted of three spiked beers and one normal pilsner beer. The other three spiked beers tasted like, cardboard, creamed corn, and butter. Although the off flavors of cardboard and creamed corn are never acceptable in beer, the butter flavor(do to diacetyl) can be acceptable in malty dark beers. After the VLB, I enjoyed a porter with ice cream.