New brewing equipment to let UW students tap into beer making
Sconnies wanting to ferment their knowledge about how their favorite brewskies are made will actually get to earn credit for it next spring, thanks to the second-largest brewery in the country giving beer making gear to UW-Madison.
MillerCoors is donating $100,000 in brewing equipment to the UW College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the keystone for a new brewing and fermentation course to be offered for the first time in the spring semester.
The donation includes a complete set of pilot-scale brewing equipment featuring a stainless steel 10-gallon microbrewing system, so students can learn the most advanced brewing techniques, according to a release from the UW-Madison News Service.
The donation will be tapped on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the Microbial Sciences building, 1550 Linden Drive -- with no cover charge.
The new course is expected to be useful for students not only interested in beer making but in the fermentation process, used in a wide range of biotechnology and food companies, as well as being a key ingredient in the pharmaceutical industry.
Jon Roll, a faculty associate in the bacteriology department, and Brandy Day, a senior majoring in microbiology, were immersed in the study of beer making by spending the summer learning the craft at MillerCoors in Milwaukee. The two are in the process of developing and testing the new course.
The donation is called the beginning of what is hoped to be an ongoing relationship between the UW and the brewery.
"This is a unique collaboration and partnership that will incorporate best practices from our breweries into a program that will develop future brewing and fermentation experts and potential employees," said David Ryder, MillerCoors vice president of brewing and research.
Speakers at the unveiling of the brewing equipment include Ryder, UW Chancellor Biddy Martin and Molly Jahn, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
There was no mention if the microbrews from the microbial lab will be offered for sale to the public, a la the famous ice cream from the Babcock dairy plant on campus.
File photo
A donation of MillerCoors equipment will allow UW to offer a new brewing and fermentation course.
