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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J u l y 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 17 YOUR EDUCATION YOUR WAY IN-PERSON | ONLINE | HYBRID Serving the Connecticut shoreline with customized and aordable fast-track training and workforce development programs that make your business work. Kristina Testa-Buzzee 203-330-6245 KTesta-Buzzee@commnet.edu F O C U S : C o l l e g e s & U n i v e r s i t i e s Vincent's College at SHU, was traveling in the Midwest when he found a brochure for a brewing science program. He brought it back to Connecticut, and Davidson agreed it was worth creating a similar program here. at idea was combined with the work of Stopper and Bartholomew to create the new program. Teaching from experience rough his industry connections, Stop- per arranged to collaborate with Two Roads; the company and SHU built a fermentation lab at the brewery's Area 2 facility. For the program's first cohort, the lab could accom- modate 24 students; they began with 18, and 13 graduated, Stopper said. For the second cohort that began in May, SHU acquired additional fermenters to allow the class to accommodate up to 30 students; 27 have enrolled. "It's clear the word is spreading about the program," Stopper said. In addition to Stopper, faculty includes Rehm; Dana Bourque of Firefly Hollow Brewing Co. in Bristol; Michael Teed of Black Pond Brews in Danielson; and Gor- don Whelpley of the Twelve Percent Beer Project in North Haven. Having instructors from the industry is a plus, Stopper said. "I can teach students the academics of it all day long, but you can't replace having teachers with practical experience," he said. Two scholarships are available for the pro- gram. One, established by the New England Brewing Co. (NEBCO) in Woodbridge, is the NEBCO African-American Brewing Scholarship. e other is the Athletic Brew- ing Co. Scholarship, provided by a Stratford company that produces non-alcoholic beer. e scholarships seek to help diversify the industry, Stopper said. "If you go into a brew house, it doesn't look like a representative cross-section of society," he said. "We can be a pipeline into the industry, and by putting people of color in prominent places it will make other mi- norities feel more comfortable to go there." n Phil Pappas is the executive director of the Connecticut Brewers Guild. Sacred Heart faculty and students use Two Roads Area Two facility to learn how to make craft beer. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | TRACY DEER-MIREK

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