BREWLAB MCC’s fermentation program has successful first semester WRITER: MATT HUGHES After seeing the growing popularity of microbreweries across the U.S. and the Commonwealth, Madisonville Community College has launched an Associates in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree program in Fermentation Science. Mike Deal, the Fermentation Science Program Coordinator, stated it is the only two-year program of its kind in the state of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville both have similar programs, but those programs target the distillation (liquor) and enology (wine) industries. “We are trying to get ahead of the curve by providing an educated workforce that can go to work for the growing number of microbreweries moving into our region,” he said. The college worked closely with several regional breweries to develop the program, including Hopkinsville Brewing Company, Henderson Brewing Company, Dry Ground Brewing Company in Paducah, and Dam Brewhaus in Benton as members of the program steering committee. Hopkinsville Brewing Company co-owner, Joey Medeiros, said they fleshed out everything from the expected workload, classes, to the knowledge students will need to work in a brewery. Medeiros stated, “The students will be exposed to types of things you will get in a brewery environment that you would not necessarily get in a book environment.” The program is also a member of the Kentucky Guild of Brewers which boasts more than 100 microbreweries in the state of Kentucky. The guild has provided marketing opportunities as well as new partnerships for the program since becoming a member. Classes are delivered online with hands-on labs as part of the curriculum. Students living in close proximity to the college can perform their required skills on MCC’s main campus,
but those who may be closer to Hopkinsville, Benton, or any other part of the state can meet their lab requirement at partner breweries. Deal went on to say, “We have partnerships set up with breweries throughout the state that are willing to open their doors for students to perform lab work in their breweries under the guidance of a professional brewer. The overwhelming support from breweries in Kentucky has be phenomenal. They need workers in this unique market and graduates come with greater experience and a better understanding of the processes which in turn helps the breweries.” Currently, two of the students live in the Ashland, Kentucky region while another student lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. These students perform their lab work at a partner brewery near Pikeville, Kentucky and report their work done there. Additionally, students are required to rotate into the breweries to learn other aspects of beer production such as proper pouring, customer engagement, and tap line cleaning to name a few. The program encompasses everything from grain milling, brewhouse operation, yeast management, fermentation, to packaging. It goes beyond brewing to teach about equipment maintenance, power requirements, and Madisonville - Hopkins County
sanitation. Jeff Swatzell, owner of Dam Brewhaus, said he is glad the college program will go beyond just brewing to hit on the other areas needed to run a brewery. He said he has a background in mechanics while another employee has a background in chemistry, and together they manage the brewery. “You can learn all of that here (MCC) instead of learning at the school of hard knocks,” said Swatzell. Deal said there are even some business classes added to the programming to encourage students to start their own brewing business. “One of the desires is that students will go to work for these guys for five, six, seven years and then decide to open their own brewery,” he said. Swatzell added that like everyone else, breweries are also short-staffed, so this will also provide trained employees who can be productive as soon as they are hired. The program also offers four stackable certificates students can acquire throughout the two years. Each certificate is a more advanced until they cover all of the technical core classes and competencies. Medeiros and Swatzell said they were glad to be a part of creating the program because it means there will be school-trained brewers instead of homebrewers. “In the end, it just creates better beer,” said Medeiros. 7
