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Impact of Temperature on SCOBY Growth.
Hello, my name is Molly Spurrell and I am a Craft Brewing minor student here at Central Washington University. I was curious about how different temperatures affected the growth and microbiological aspects of a SCOBY for kombucha. SCOBY is an acronym that stands for “Symbiotic Culture Of Yeast and Bacteria,” and is made up of acetic acid bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast. The SCOBY is what ferments tea into Kombucha by converting sugar to acetic acid and alcohol. For this project, I grew three…
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Gluten-Free Beer!!
Hello, my name is Cody Barthels and I am a senior at Central Washington majoring in Craft Brewing. The idea of this project was to create a 100% gluten free beer for my wife, who has Celiac, to be able to try and drink. For this gluten free beer I decided to use sorghum for the grain, but in the form of extract. I read through many forums and blogs people have written about gluten free beers and recipes and found that many people had…
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The American Iteration of a Lichtenhainer.
Hello, My name is Austin Haase and I am currently a senior here at Central Washington University. I will be graduating with a Bachelors of Science of Biology with a Specialization in Biomedical Sciences, a Chemistry Minor, and a Craft Brewing Certificate. For my spring practicum to obtain my certificate, I wanted to start with the basics and do my first ever home brew. Being German myself, I wanted to do a German style beer. However, being a STEM major also involves maybe being a…
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Ale Yeast Fermentation Trials on Barley Wort.
Hello, my name is Jonathan Hughes and I am a senior at CWU and I am majoring in Craft Brewing. For this Spring practicum, I wanted to experiment with a variety of different ale yeasts to understand the different characteristics each yeast can contribute. On April 26, 2023 I brewed a large batch of all-barley wort and divided it between five different 1-gallon fermenters. I then pitched five different ale yeast strains. They are currently fermenting right now at 68 degrees F and I plan…
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Determining Ideal Saison Fermentation Temperatures Based on Sensory Analysis.
Hello, my name is Ken Tinseth and I am a craft brewing certificate student at CWU. I first became interested in brewing beer while spending several months in Hagerstown, MD on business. I had recently become very interested in craft beers and being raised in the NW enjoyed many beers from classic craft brewers such as those from the Widmer Brothers, Deschutes and Portland brewing (now closed). When I was in MD I enjoyed many beers from Dogfish, Ommegang and Flying Dog which further peaked my…
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Creating a Recipe For Brew Kits to Sell.
My name is Eve Rice and I am a Junior, almost Senior, here at Central Washington University. My major is Craft Brewing with a minor in business entrepreneurship and Wine Trade and tourism of the World. For this quarter Dr. Graham, our head of the department, and I decided it was time we came up with ideas and ways to help the program grow, and we decided that we should create a kit as a project that we could potentially sell. The crazy thing about…
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The Correlation Between Brewers’ Intentions and Students’ Perceptions of Beer Flavors.
Hi there! My name is Ashley Brookey and I am a senior at CWU studying for my Craft Brewing minor. While my bachelor’s degree is in Biomedicine, I have a passion for understanding how different sciences interact with each other. Currently, I am completing my Craft Brewing Practicum and I have chosen to overlap my project with my job at Ellensburg Brewing Co. & Tilted Tree Cidery where I work as a waitress. My goal is to ensure that customers are satisfied with the products…
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My First Home Brew.
STUDENT PRACTICUM / CODY BARTHELS My name is Cody Barthels and I am a senior at Central Washington, and I am studying to get my Major in Craft Brewing. I am very excited to go through and show how my process went for my first home brew! My home brew was based off of a kit I received from my wife a year ago. I never made the time to actually start this project, and since this was my first practicum I thought this would…
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Taking Over Brewery Operations at a Microbrewery.
My First Three Brews as Head Brewer. I am currently in my senior year at CWU studying Craft Brewing. I have my AA in Biology and relocated to the Central Washington area about two years ago. While studying at CWU, I took on a taproom position at Mule and Elk Brewery in Cle Elum. Over the course of my time there, I worked my way up to Assistant Brewer, then eventually Head Brewer in December 2022. This new position was overwhelming to say the least.…
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Kimchi! Make it at Home.
Why Kimchi? Hey there, I’m Angelina Fletcher and for my Craft Brewing Practicum, I really wanted to do something I can use in my house. Although I am doing a minor in the program and think craft brewing is very interesting, my interest in it peaked in the very interactive class about fermentation. As someone who is half-Japanese and lived in Japan, there are many foods that I grew up eating that I didn’t even realize were fermented. My fiancé also lived in Korea for…
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First Brew: German Golden Pilsner.
My name is Cam Nelson and I am a senior in the craft brewing major, so I decided to focus my practicum on the brew process. I went with a German Golden Pilsner recipe for my first brew. My goal for this practicum is to get hands on and learn how to make a beer on the Anvil system. Process The recipe I went with yields for 5 gallons. Requiring 10 pounds of milled pilsner malt, and 4.5 oz of Hallertau hops. I brewed using…
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The Activities of an Intern at a Hop Farm.
My name is Levi Cruz and I am a Senior Craft Brewing Major at CWU. My major is in Craft Brewing, which I do in my free time, but through my internship I have grown interested in the hops side of the industry. Currently I am receiving practicum credits working at a local hop farm, Virgil Gamache Farms. I work in the lab portion of the company called ‘Hoptechnic’. When working in the lab of a hop farm it is not easy to stick to…
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Lager Fermentation Temperature.
The traditional process of creating lager beer has been unchanged for hundreds of years. This technique involves fermenting at cooler than ale temperatures (50 degrees F instead of 68 degrees F) and storing the beer cold for months before consuming. While this process may take more patience, it produces an outstanding product, and that is why brewers today still follow this tradition when making lagers. In current commercial brewing, time is money. Many people cannot afford to wait 8-12 weeks to sell their product. In…
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Farm to Glass: Brewing with Homemade Malt.
I am a first-year student in the Craft brewing certificate program but have been a home brewer for three years now. I have always loved the germination and fermentation process as I also make homemade sauerkraut and dry-aged meats and am an avid gardener. I am proposing to brew a beer beginning from the malting process, to fermentation, and to final beer product. In this process I will document all steps involved in the process: January 16th, 2023 – Ordering Malt I ordered 25lbs of…
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Operation: Intelligent Fermenting.
Hello CWU Craft Brewing community! If you don’t know me, my name is Alexander Cleary and I am a 5th year senior (been too long i know, I just love it here so much) undergraduate student here at Central Washington University. My major is Biology, but I am completing double minor in Chemistry and craft brewing like everyone should do naturally if presented the opportunity. Currently I am taking practicum credits and setting up a Real-Time yeast fermentation apparatus/machine. The apparatus runs through a raspberry…
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Veteran’s Day Brew at Ellensburg Brewing Company.
CWU Veteran’s Center + Ellensburg Brewing Comany. As brewing students, and members of the local brewing community, we occasionally get opportunities to participate in events like Ellensburg Brewing Company’s Veterans Day Brew. Led by CWU Veterans Center Director Ruben Cardenas and Former CWU Brewing Program instructor and current Head Brewer at Ellensburg Brewing Company Eric Foss, students, veterans, and members of the local community came together to share the process of brewing beer, and get a peek behind the curtain of large scale brewing. Dough-in…
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Visiting Wheel Line Cider and Haas.
Part 1: Wheel Line Cider. If you navigate the winding, rolling roads stretched across the shark’s-tooth wedge of fertile soil spanning the southern edge of Kittitas county, you’ll eventually find, tucked deep in Badger Pocket, Wheel Line Cider. Housed in a retrofitted barn bursting with fermentation essentials and overlooking sleepy farmland striped with the titular wheel line equipment, the humble cidery thrives on the fruits of the local Eastern Washington community. Head Cidermaker Nate Lambert, facing a throng of students, gestures in all directions at…
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