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V O L . X X I I N O. X M AY 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 22 T wo University of Maine, Orono, professors who wanted to attract more students to science-based classes recently tapped into the trend among Maine brewers to apply research to maintain the quality and consistent taste of their beers. Food science and human nutri- tion professors Jason Bolton and Brian Perkins developed a course, FSN 121 Brewing with Food Science, and taught it over the past three years. eir idea caught on fast. e undergraduate course is so popular that enrollment is capped at 80 students per semester. And several students who have taken the class now work in Maine breweries. "More science is creeping into the art or craft of brewing," says Heather Muzzy, who sat in on the class three days a week during her senior year while working at Allagash Brewing Co. the other two days. She also had an internship at Shipyard Brewing Co. the year before taking the class. "In that class I got a solid founda- tion of what was happening during the entire brewing process, so I could match the taste of beer to a problem with it," says Muzzy, who is now a quality control specialist at Allagash. "In quality control, I do a lot of problem solving on the fl y." She says the art of brewing is typi- cally learned like an apprenticeship, but more classes are needed. ere are several in the United States, including at the University of California Davis, the Culinary Institute of America, Paul Smith's College and the Siebel Institute in Chicago, to name a few. Online courses and certifi cations are off ered by Cicerone.org. e FSN 121 class at UMaine is pri- marily lectures with some guest speakers from breweries. It includes topics like the history of beer, carbohydrate funda- mentals, beer styles, the brewing process, malts and malting, fermentation, cider and sake, as well as the fi nal topic for the semester, the ethics of alcohol abuse. Guest speakers have included Martin Stokes talking about English breweries wort, Tim Gallon of Black Bear Brewery and Luke Davidson of Maine Craft Distilling. Brian Martyniak, left, a graduate student at UMaine, with professors Jason Bolton and Brian Perkins. They are studying strains of old yeast that might be used in sour beers. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A I N E Beer: From frat house to class UMaine says 'cheers' to trend for more science in craft brewing B y L o r i V a l i g r a F O C U S . . . A N D A H AW K E Y E O N YO U R DATA . To manage and secure your vital IT systems, trust the team that's C E L E B R AT I N G 2 0 Y E A R S ! "Thanks to all our valued clients for a remarkable two decades of growth!" I T S N E . C O M • 8 8 8 - 2 6 4 - 7 8 5 2 A F T E R 2 0 Y E A R S , W E ' V E S T I L L G O T O U R H E A D S I N T H E C LO U D … A F T E R 2 0 Y E A R S , W E ' V E S T I L L G O T O U R H E A D S

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