{"id":38069,"date":"2015-08-03T13:59:41","date_gmt":"2015-08-03T20:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=38069"},"modified":"2015-08-03T13:59:41","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T20:59:41","slug":"campus-club-taps-into-thriving-craft-beer-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/campus-club-taps-into-thriving-craft-beer-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus club taps into thriving craft beer culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

These college students are serious about their beer, but not in the way you might be thinking.<\/p>\n

For members of the Northern Arizona University Craft Beer Association, a friendly \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d quickly yields to an ardent discussion of the art form that is their passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first I thought, \u2018Students and drinking beer, oh boy,\u2019 ” said Mark Molinaro<\/strong>, executive chef in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at NAU. \u201cBut what I appreciate about the club is how they are so mature and engaged in the business aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business, as well as also chemistry, engineering and organic gardening\u2014the complexity of producing craft beer comes as a surprise to the uninitiated and invites students from a variety of disciplines to immerse themselves in a distinct, welcoming culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Take a sip or pour yourself into it <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

For students interested in learning more about brewing craft beer, or who would simply like to know the ideal style and flavor to pair with a meal, the Northern Arizona University Craft Beer Association is the place to start.<\/p>\n

Educational meetings and site visits offer a little something for everyone at all levels of knowledge and interest. And the social benefits are pretty good, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very inviting and open,\u201d said Blake Walter<\/strong>, president of the club. \u201cYou have a chance to work with some really cool people in town. It helps that a lot of people in Flagstaff are NAU grads, so you can learn a ton not only about brewing itself but also about the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

To find out more about the club and its plans for upcoming educational meetings, check its Facebook page<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Molinaro arrived in Flagstaff from Vermont with a sincere appreciation for that culture and a \u201cnerdy science\u201d enthusiasm for home brewing. Early in 2015, he launched the NAU club<\/a>, which has quickly attracted enthusiasts, aficionados and casual followers. Some are merely curious, while others envision a life\u2019s pursuit, but all of them share a singular belief: a beer is not just a beer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to change the attitude of how people approach beer,\u201d Molinaro said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a thing you consume\u2014it\u2019s a thing you enjoy and appreciate.\u201d<\/p>\n

And craft beer is not simply a passing fad. According to a study<\/a> produced in 2012 by NAU\u2019s Arizona Hospitality Research and Resource Center, the total impact of craft brewing in Arizona was $278 million, with the volume of craft-brewed beers showing double-digit growth nationally at a time of overall decline in beer sales. Those numbers signal opportunity as craft beer captures a larger share of the market.<\/p>\n

Such trends aren\u2019t lost on club members, some of whom have already launched their careers at local breweries. Matt Julien<\/strong>, vice president of the club, works at Grand Canyon Brewing Company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very into gardening, and I\u2019m passionate about the organic farm-to-table movement,\u201d Julien said. \u201cWhen I open my own brewery in the future, I want to grow my own hops and grow my own food for the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julien and the other club members are gaining first-hand experience from the rhizomes up. Their hop garden on campus, with vines of seven varieties climbing a trellis designed and built by club members, will produce its first cones in the fall. Chiles and herbs have sprouted alongside. In the plans are a hot pepper ale, herbed saison, and a peppermint\/cinnamon basil spiced winter ale.<\/p>\n

The club does not brew on campus. Instead, they crush, mash, sparge, boil and cool the wort that is then combined with yeast at a local brewery. One such collaboration with Mother Road Brewing Company produced a fast-selling IPA.<\/p>\n

But behind the success lies a long, difficult process rife with variables that requires intense focus. From battling aphids in the hop garden, to gathering the right ingredients, to controlling temperature and pH, brewing is not a casual exercise.<\/p>\n

According to Molinaro, \u201cSourcing quality ingredients, sanitation, knowing the warning signs and key marks to hit along the process\u2014it\u2019s kind of like a black box process. You\u2019ll read a lot that brewers don\u2019t make the beer, they make the conditions that are really good for yeast to make the beer. With all the variables, it\u2019s very difficult to repeat ideal conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even students who aren\u2019t interested in tackling the tricky brewing process\u2014or perhaps aren\u2019t even old enough to drink\u2014can play a role in the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople bring their gifts and talents,\u201d Molinaro said. \u201cThey find they can tap into the brewing business and find a fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club hopes to expand, in part through the Cicerone<\/a> program, which offers numerous levels of certification. Julien said club meetings may focus discussion on a particular variety of beer or involve a site visit to a brewery, and everyone gets excited about producing the wort that could result in a few kegs of the next craft beer sensation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe craft beer culture is the biggest draw to me,\u201d Julien said. \u201cIt\u2019s friendly and open, and everyone has a smile on their face. There\u2019s a beer for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These college students are serious about their beer, but not in the way you might be thinking. For members of the Northern Arizona University Craft Beer Association, a friendly \u201cHow\u2019s it going?\u201d quickly yields to an ardent discussion of the art form that is their passion. \u201cAt first I thought, \u2018Students and drinking beer, oh…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":38070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1008,1010,1006,1009,1011,38,24,1007],"class_list":["post-38069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-academics","tag-craft-beer","tag-grand-canyon-brewing-company","tag-mark-molinaro","tag-matt-julien","tag-mother-road-brewing-company","tag-nau","tag-northern-arizona-university","tag-school-of-hotel-and-restaurant-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}