By Marybeth O’Connor ’15
Photo by Steven Tringali ’13/ The Lafayette
Instead of brewing up some trouble this weekend, students who attended the seminar sponsored by Lafayette Activities Forum (LAF) and the Office of Student Life Programs learned about brewing beer. On Wednesday evening, students and faculty alike gathered in Hugelfor the home brewing lecture focusing on the history, chemistry, and business aspects of the craft.
According to Janice Pigga, Coordinator of Facility Management and Evening Events, her self-proclaimed goal has been to “collaborate more with faculty on events.”
“I have noticed that a lot of people are doing home brewing as well as the fact that it seems to be of interest to both students and faculty,” she said. And so a seminar titled “Let’s Brew! The History, Chemistry and Business of Brewing” was a perfect choice as proven by the attendance of almost a hundred students and faculty.
The brewing seminar was comprised of two parts. A general body lecture by several brewers of varying levels of expertise and backgrounds discussed home brewing. After the lecture, those ages 21 and up who registered for a free entrance ticket went to the Marquis Hall Faculty Dining Room to sample local brews and have one-on-one discussions with the crafters.
The event began with graduating seniors Jared Katz ‘12, Gus Henninger ‘12, and J.J. Houldin ‘12 sharing their first experiences with home brewing in off-campus housing this past year. Next, the English Department’s own Professor J. Christian Tatu discussed the history and culture behind home brewery dating back to the ancient Mesopotamians, as well as his experiences as a residential brewer.
Moving away from the humanities side of brewery, Chemistry Professor Joe Pigga of East Stroudsburg University informed the audience about the science behind hops, grains, and the chemistry that creates beer. Brewing beer is no light matter. Pigga even brought his own brew ingredients and supplies to show the audience the components of a brew.
Last, but not least, to wrap up the lecture portion of the seminar, Cosmic Cup Coffee Shop owner Troy Reynard brought the audience an insider look at what it takes to go from cafe maestro by day and home brewer by night. Reynardexplained that at first he wanted to open another coffee shop in Allentown but it seemed a bit too far. Besides,microbrewery is quite lucrative. Opening this July, on Sixth and Northampton Streets, is “Two Rivers Brewing Company.”
As a mass exodus of people left the question and answer session to sample beer at Marquis Hall, several stopped to reflect on what they had learned.
“We didn’t necessarily talk about the drinking; it was focused on the science, business, culture and history and I think a lot of people got something out of it even if they weren’t old enough for the taste testing portion,” Assistant Director of Student Life Programs Bob Dustin said.
Wayne Milford of Dogfish Head Brewing Company shared a different perspective. “Since I brew large scale, it was nice to get back to the grassroots of brewing,” he said. “I am interested in helping other people out who are interested in home brewing and I had the opportunity to at this event.”
There was positive input from students as well. LAF representative Jared Piette ‘12 said, “I thought it was interesting. I am thinking about maybe starting home brewing and didn’t know anything about the process so finding out about the business end was a great bit of knowledge for me.”
Scott Gordon ‘12 agreed, “I’ve liked beer since I have been old enough to drink it and I think it’s a great take on something I enjoy as a seminar.”
Indeed, brew became an interesting and unifying topic for faculty and students alike. Maybe one day students and professors will be drafting more than just papers up on College Hill.
~Stacey Goldberg contributed reporting to this article