Brewmaster Blog: A Not-So-Typical Day at the Brewery...

Every semester, I get to take an afternoon off from the best job in the world here at the Fort Collins brewery to give a lecture on Brewing Quality for Colorado State University's Brewing Science and Technology class. What a great way to spend an afternoon! The Anheuser-Busch Fort Collins brewery has been partnering with CSU since the inception of the class back in 2005. I have had the privilege of participating since the fall of 2011, and it's something I look forward to every time I see evidence of students returning to CSU's campus in Fort Collins.

The class is a great opportunity for a small group of students (usually no more than 22) to gain a huge amount of exposure to the art and science of brewing, and the brewing industry in Northern Colorado. Students brew their own beers on a small batch system as part of their labs, and they visit several breweries in the area, including spending the very last day of the semester with us at A-B the day after my presentation. Guest lecturers are a key part of the class, and my role presenting at the end of the semester is to wrap up everything they've learned from their professor and other industry professionals into a presentation summarizing how every ingredient and step in the process can impact the quality of the finished beer.

The students are always very interactive—must be the subject matter—so both the visit to the classroom and the brewery tour are always a lot of fun for me. Talking about brewing and everything that needs to happen to make a consistent, great-tasting beer with a group of enthusiastic, aspiring brewers reminds me of why I love my job.

This spring semester (the 15^th for the class) was no different—this class was a great group, and they asked a lot of really good questions that underscored how much brewing knowledge they have gained throughout the course. Questions this year ranged from our relationship with the City of Fort Collins when it comes to our water supply to how we figure out our hop bills each year to why we still beechwood age Budweiser and Bud Light. The lecture is supposed to last for an hour and 50 minutes, but the class always keeps me talking until well after the class end time—over 30 minutes longer this time around. That definitely never happened when I was in school!

The brewery tour the following day is often the last college course session for many of the graduating seniors in the class. This year, about half of the class was in that situation. After a taste-as-we-walked tour, including tapping a Bud Light Fermentor, a Michelob Light lager tank and a Budweiser bright beer tank, we raised a glass to those seniors in our taste room at the top of our Finishing Cellars. It was a very fitting end to the semester for everybody in the class—the sun was nice enough to be shining on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, so everybody had a great vantage point for one of the best views from any taste room in the world.

This is always time very well spent for me—I see it as an investment in brewers of the future and it reaffirms my personal commitment, as well as that of Anheuser-Busch, to education and the future of our industry. Who knows, one of the students in this semester's class could fill my shoes some day as the Brewmaster here at the Fort Collins brewery. Now that would be really cool!

Katie Rippel

Sr. Brewmaster, Fort Collins Brewery