Students at Virginia Tech have something that most college students only dream about: a brewery.
Located within the food science and technology department, students can use it to prepare for careers beyond malting and brewing sciences, according to WDBJ7.
The skills developed can be used in careers involving food production and processing, drug manufacturing, and other sorts of chemical production.
Brewing the alcohol isn’t a lark, nor is it cheap; the university invested $250,000 for the equipment. Herbert Bruce, associate director for university studies and an adjunct professor for food science and technology, expects the department to expand its brewery offerings. A minor in fermentation might be developed for students interested in pursuing it as a career.
Virginia Tech isn’t the only campus to invest in a brewery. The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York has partnered with Brooklyn Brewery to bring a brewery on campus. In Colorado, a state at the center of the microbrewery growth in America, the University of Northern Colorado offers a brewing laboratory science certificate. The six-month program is completed “mostly online,” but students also learn on-site at the campus brewery.
For Colorado students, they must be at least 21 years old.
