It looks like a laboratory, as you witness the four-step process through all the equipment, including the mash, lauter, hot liquor tank, kettle and fermenter. Only the finest ingredients are selected to be ground into malt, with hops and yeast, and added water to create the fermenting process.
The product is beer, and the place is a brewing laboratory. The art of beer making is an exact science, and at the College of Culinary Arts in Providence, Rhode Island, they have made a college student's dream come true by offering a class in the art of brewing beer. The class is entitled: Principles of Beverage Service: Topic - Beer.
On October 10, 1996, Johnson & Wales University installed a state-of-art brewing laboratory, the first of its kind on any college campus in the United States, at a dedication ceremony during the Oktoberfest gala. The lab's existence became possible because of an alliance between the Coors Brewing Company and Johnson & Wales.
The current American beer renaissance, according to a spokesperson for the Coors Brewing Company, has bred a consumer who is much more knowledgeable about beer.
Coors is the first beer company to identify a market demand for brewing experts and form a partnership with a university to educate students in an accredited course.
"These students are going to be in touch with my beer-drinking consumers very soon," said W. Leo Kiely III, president and CEO of Coors Brewing Company, in an Associated Press interview. "The dream is that someday we will develop a beer right here in this laboratory."
The Johnson & Wales/Coors Brewing Laboratory program of study will teach the art of brewing from its foundations, including the history of its ingredients, to tapping from kegs to bottled beer service.
The course is a definite hands-on learning experience because the students will be brewing their own beer as part of the program. They will acquire different methods and recipes of making various beer such as lagers and ales, along with the knowledge of how to serve beer responsibly. It is a distinct advantage for the students as they move into careers in the food and beverage industry.
"Fifty percent of our students pursue bachelors degrees in management or culinary arts, and become the managers of prominent beverage outlets. We think this is a unique opportunity to have microbrewing capabilities as part of our beverage labs. Everyone here at Johnson & Wales -- especially the students -- looks forward to this partnership between the beverage industry and education," stated Thomas L. Wright, vice president of culinary education at Johnson & Wales, in a press release.
The craze of microbreweries currently sweeping cross the nation has brought about 600 breweries in business throughout the country, according to recent reports.
"That number is only going to climb, so if our students want to stay on the cutting edge, they need to learn their beers. It is important that they understand how beer is properly served and can be used in the cooking process," said Edward Korry, professor of brewery at Johnson & Wales, in a Boston Globe article.
The class lasts nine days. It will be team taught. Korry, J&W brewmasters at Coors Brewing Lab and accredited faculty members of J&W started instructing the class starting in the fall semester of 1996. The class lasts for only two weeks, bringing a new class of 20 culinary students to rotate halfway through each month.
All students enrolled in the J&W College of Culinary Arts will take the microbrewing class as a requirement during their freshman year. Plans are also underway to use the brewing laboratory for evening classes at the school. The course will be able to accommodate 350 students throughout the year.
Christopher Zeller, a freshman from Mount Vernon, N.Y., told the Boston Globe, "I didn't know how complicated making beer was, and I come from a German family where beer is big, now I'm thinking about starting to brew my own beer."
The Coors Brewing Laboratory is a 2,400-square-foot classroom which is similar to an upscale brewpub with hardwood floors. The room includes 10 linen-topped tables to accommodate the 20 students in the class, an oak bar which occupies one section of the room and large copper-clad tanks included within the laboratory behind the glass French doors.
All undergraduate students under the age of 21 are allowed to taste beverages in the classroom as part of the curriculum. Such educational exceptions are provided under Rhode Island law. The law states that provisions of the chapter dealing with drinking by underage persons shall not apply to a student under 21 as long as the alcoholic beverage is delivered in a curriculum at an accredited college.
But Johnson & Whales has stressed the point that this laboratory is for educational purposes only, and not to be used as a campus bar. Each student will only be allowed a one-ounce sample of the beer that is made, and the rest must be poured down the drain. None of the beer brewed at the laboratory will be used for sales. It is for instructional purposes in the classroom only.
"Our campus is a dry campus. One of the things we do here is preach the message of moderation. We'll be brewing beer, but we make the distinction between drinking and sensory evaluation," said Korry to the Rocky Mountain News.
Both Johnson & Wales and Coors are very pleased with the alliance. But perhaps the most enthusiastic group would be the students at the university.
This excitement is best captured by Sean Price, a Johnson & Wales student from Nutley, N.J., who told the Boston Globe, "It is every kid's dream to make beer. When I told my friends I had to take a course in microbrewing, they were like, You're so lucky."
Copyright 1997 Karen Ferko. All Rights Reserved.