CWU craft brewing program featured on national blog

Central Washington University's craft brewing program was among those featured in a recent story on the Brew Your Own home-brewing website.

Writer Kristen Kuchar said her goal with the piece-which appears in the July-August 2023 edition of Brew Your Own magazine-was "to get a better understanding of some of the options available to prospective students, the work that goes into a formal brewing education, and the benefits of completing a program."

CWU offers the only four-year craft-brewing bachelor's degree program in the Northwest, and is among only a handful of four-year craft-brewing programs in the country.

Director Eric Graham, who was interviewed for the story, says students are often surprised to find the courses are science-based and rigorous. Aside from the math and chemistry prerequisites required for a Bachelor of Science degree, there are many other basic requirements: brewing microbiology, brewing process and biochemistry, sensory analysis for brewing, and brewing process technology, which focuses on the "hardware" side of a brewery.

He also pointed to a farm-to-glass course that explores the agriculture side of brewing with tours and input from local hop farmers or cider producers. The Strategy for the Craft Brewing Industry course covers the marketing and branding aspect of the business.

"We believe that exposure to the academic and research side of brewing better prepares our students for life both within and beyond the brewery," Graham said in the article. "Our academic and real-world classes better prepare our students for troubleshooting brewery issues, understanding the bigger picture of fermentation as it relates to the brewing industry, and opens up avenues for advancement within the beverage industry."

CWU's program requires hands-on industry experience and practicum projects, such as making non-alcoholic beverages, experimenting with different sugars to make seltzers, comparing fermentation temperatures for lagers, and reproducing historical brews.

Cooperative education internships allow students to gain experience in breweries, hop laboratories, and within the food industry.

Graham goes on to say that one thing people should keep in mind when it comes to choosing a program is the time commitment, which can be challenging for those who are working at the same time.

The CWU program, for example, is mainly focused on students who are able to commit to a four-year degree (though they also offer a craft brewing minor for science-based students and a certificate program for non-science majors).