Science of brewing course featured in Mainebiz
Mainebiz published an article on a science of brewing course being offered by Jason Bolton of University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Brian Perkins of the School of Food and Agriculture. They developed FSN FSN 121 Brewing with Food Science three years ago. The undergraduate course is so popular that enrollment is capped at 80 students per semester, according to the article, and several students who have taken the class now work in Maine breweries. Beyond the course, Bolton, Perkins and graduate student Brian Martyniak are studying yeasts and innovative sour beers through collaborations with Maine breweries, including Allagash in Portland, Orono Brewing Co. and Black Bear Brewery, also in Orono, the article states. Perkins said most of the focus of the advanced research is on problem solving and R&D. For example, at UMaine’s Highmoor Farm in Monmouth, researchers are looking at the attributes of hops and the viability of hop varieties grown in Maine’s climate conditions. Perkins also is working to identify and count the individual acids produced by the hops, Mainebiz reported.