Next generation brewers set to ‘innovate’ the beer industry
A bioengineering course at the University of Oregon, that is encouraging students from across all disciplines to learn to brew, is set to bring fresh perspective to the sector. db reports.
In a bid to find the next generation of brewers, the Knight Campus’ bioengineering minor programme, which is eligible to anyone over the age of 18 has revealed it is “brewing innovation”.
Changing the future of brewing and innovating beer styles now falls into the hands of a 10-student cohort which dedicate their class time to recipe creation by manipulating ingredients, prototyping and assessing feedback while also attending five-hour brew days.
A broad mix of views
Describing how the course gathers a range of differing perspectives, strengths from students as well as fresh insight by not just tapping into beer lovers, Lindsey Rubottom, brewing innovation instructor and lab manager at the UO said: “Teams get people from management, biology, history, journalism and they all bring something different to the table.”
Rubottom explained that during the brewing days, students would learn everything from mashing, lautering, boiling, cooling and fermentation as well as the use of hops to “create a bitterness to the beer” and how learning these methods also gets everyone thinking about flavour creation.
Daela Montgomery, a biology student and graduate of the minor, who created a grilled pineapple beer for her final, explained how sometimes hops were muted in a recipe rather than offering amplification and yet noted all of this was a contributing learning curve for redesigning flavour trends for the future.
Learning about flavour
Montgomery revealed: “When we were brewing our beer, we picked one hop that was very neutral and it didn’t contribute much flavour wise.” But, she noted that in a preceding iteration, her group opted for a stronger hops with more “‘citrusy notes” and learned a lot as they grew in confidence.
Partner Content
Each of the beers are put into a fermenter for two to three weeks and, due to the short brewing time, new students benefitted from the added flexibility to adapt and overcome challenges before learning how to market their finished product to their target audience.
A hands-on approach to learning
Keila Barton, a sports business student on Montgomery’s team, revealed that she had cherished the hands-on nature of the class, unlike many lecture-based classes at UO and said: “The only thing I’ll ever physically create in sports business is a slide deck” and so recognised the appeal of learning to brew. Similarly, Montgomery admitted that she will miss the collaborative community found in her brewing cohort as well as the feeling of accomplishment in creating a “product that reflects all of us”.
Problem solving, marketing and storytelling
Both Montgomery and Barton have admitted that the course taught them problem-solving skills. For instance, Montgomery described how it showed her how to adapt to challenges in a lab setting. Plus, in marketing the beer to a Gen-Z audience, she pointed out that she also discovered “how to make a product a story”.
Beyond the brewing cohort, the university has revealed that students are now also welcomed into the greater brewing community.
At the end of the fourth course for the minor, following the design and refinement of each team’s beer, label design and final pitch to an audience, a public tasting event is held. Rubottom admitted being eager to have a public tasting event to mark the completion of the four-course sequence each year. But the UO has also noted that, for the cohort beginning in spring 2026, the last course will fall in spring 2027.
Skills for life
From an instructor perspective, Rubottom also observed that a favourite aspect of the class is always “seeing the growth in the students from the first term, not knowing what to expect and later being able to take skills into other areas”.
Related news
Constellation Brands beats forecasts as beer stabilises
