Fermentation science program applications due March 7
Students will learn the art of brewing beer in the new fermentation science certificate program that will start in the fall of 2015.
The 16-credit hour course will combine lectures, hands-on laboratory analysis, working in local breweries and a 200-hour internship.
“I think having students actually being able to go into the breweries here is going to be a great opportunity,” said Central Michigan University director of fermentation science Cordell DeMattei.
The application review process will begin March 7. Email verification will be sent out to applicants a week later.
The program has a capacity of 24 students, but people can continue to apply and will be placed on a waiting list as the course fills up. The program has a capacity because of space limitations in the lab, and to provide students with a hands-on experience in the breweries, DeMattei said.
“I think everyone’s going to come into the program thinking ‘I’m going to be a brewer.' There really aren’t a huge number of brewing jobs, but there are a lot of jobs in the brewing industry as a whole,” said DeMattei.
Students will be encouraged to find internships at breweries or other business in the beer industry like malt houses or hops farms.
Hunter’s Ale House and Mountain Town Brewery in Mount Pleasant partnered with CMU for the program. Students will brew beer under their liquor licenses.
“In the first semester we’re going to have a lecture course that goes through all of the biochemistry and microbiology,” DeMattei said. “There will also be a lab course where we go through and do an analysis of ingredients, final products and the process all the way through.”
DeMattei explained that most small breweries do not have a lab where they analyze ingredients, and that adding that feature to breweries could improve quality and consistency.
“One semester of lab will get them introduced to the techniques. They won’t be experts in it, but it’ll get them enough that they can get in there and be able to do the work and hopefully establish a lab and get it going in smaller breweries who don’t have that resource,” DeMattei said.
The next semester of the program is a lecture that covers facilities of the operation of the breweries and how to use, clean and maintain equipment.
Head Brewer at Mountain Town Brewing Company Kim Kowalski views brewing beer as a privilege.
“Beer is really a necessity in our society. As brewers, we are privileged to provide beer,” said Kowalski. “We have the means to make not just beer, but good beer.”
Kowalski said the fermentation science certificate will set students apart because it will give them not only knowledge they get from the classroom, but also hands-on experience in a brewery.
“If you have a degree or certificate in fermentation science, it doesn’t really say anything unless you have experience in a brewery to go along with it,” Kowalski said.
The head brewer has never had any formal education in fermentation science himself but has worked in about seven breweries before Mountain Town.
“Pay attention to details,” Kowalski said, as he gave advice to anyone looking to pursue brewing as a career. “Everything has to be done perfectly. You have to know how to multi task, and you should keep up with the industry. Know your beers and how privileged you are to be a brewer.”
Sophomore Ryan Simon applied to the fermentation science program because he started home brewing with his brother and always wondered what it would be like to work in a brewery, he said.
“I believe that the training through CMU is a more successful path than an apprenticeship because it provides knowledge of the chemistry and microbiology behind brewing in addition to learning hands-on techniques within a lab setting as well as in actual breweries,” said Simon.
Right now there are 11 university fermentation science programs in the country and four professional brewing schools. Michigan has 131 craft breweries, ranking it the fifth most in the nation.
“Really few people make a lot of money in brewing,” DeMattei said. “You really have to be passionate about it and love it. It really offers its own awards—being in a brewery—but so we really want people who are dedicated. Because we are establishing a program, we want to try to change how things are done and we really want people who are planning on going into the industry and not looking at this as a hobby.”
The average salary for brewery jobs in Michigan is $40,000 according to simplyhired.com
