Kalamazoo Valley Community College Tapped as Best Brewing School in the Country
Kalamazoo, Michigan (PRWEB) May 10, 2017 -- Less than two years old, Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s sustainable brewing program is already garnering national attention – recently winning the U.S. Open College Beer Championship, the only craft beer competition for beers exclusively brewed by college and university brewing and fermentation programs.
Kalamazoo Valley Community College won the Grand National Championship and was named the best college brewing program in North America. The college took home a gold for its 9009 Stout and bronze medals for its Babb’s Tradition Weizen and Falcon’s Puddin’ Strong Ale.
“We are thrilled to be recognized as the top brewing program in North America,” said Dean McCurdy, associate vice president for instruction and Bronson Healthy Living Campus. “It reflects the creativity, artisanship, and attention to detail that we've built into our award-winning curriculum. Competing successfully against the top colleges and universities throughout North America is a validation of the investments we've made in recruiting world-class brewers and scientists to teach in our program, the strong partnerships we've built with the local brewing community, and of the state-of-the-art brewery we opened at our Kalsec® Center for Sustainable Brewing Education.”
Held in Oxford, Ohio, the annual competition is open to colleges and universities that teach brewing courses to help determine the best future brewers in North America. This year’s competition had five categories: Belgian, Bavarian, Stout, IPA and Open. The “Open” category allowed students to enter any style of beer they wanted to brew.
Kalamazoo Valley students responsible for the schools championship performance include: David Cohoe, Dylon Davis, Joseph Garvin, Christopher Golobish, Jesse Franke-Rose, Dan King, Jake Kirkendall, Amy Pradna-Waugam, James Saddler, Daniel Smith, Colin Thompson, Lea Vanklompenberg, and Scott Vant Hul. Brewery Operations Manager Brian Lindberg was the submitting instructor.
Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Kalsec® Center for Sustainable Brewing Education teaches all aspects of brewing science. Students can earn a certificate or Associate of Applied Science degree in sustainable brewing. Additionally, thanks to a partnership with Western Michigan University, students can transfer after goal completion at Kalamazoo Valley and earn a Bachelor of Science degree. There are currently more than 100 students working toward a certificate or degree in sustainable brewing at Kalamazoo Valley.
Registration for brewing and other fall classes at Kalamazoo Valley is now open. To register, visit http://www.kvcc.edu/apply.
Media contact:
Dean McCurdy
Associate Vice President for Instruction and Bronson Healthy Living Campus
dmccurdy(at)kvcc(dot)edu or 269.488.4255
Erin Dominianni, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, http://www.kvcc.edu, +1 269.488.4445, [email protected]
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