Brewing & Fermentation Science

Brewing & Fermentation Science Business, Arts & Sciences General Information

Brewing certificate begins Fall 2021 at Penn College

Starting in Fall 2021, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s associate-degree major in brewing and fermentation science will become a one-year certificate offering, reducing the time needed to complete the program, while maintaining the rigor and quality of the instruction.

Brewers are always tinkering, crafting new and better beers, and the same can be said for the innovative brewing education at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Starting in Fall 2021, the college’s brewing and fermentation science major is evolving from a two-year associate degree into a one-year certificate, narrowing the time it’ll take for students to move through the program, but maintaining the rigor and quality of the training. The certificate is designed for adults 21 and older who wish to work in the dynamic commercial brewing industry; ideal for either returning-to-education or recently graduated individuals.

Applications are now being accepted.

Brewing & Fermentation Science Business, Arts & Sciences Faculty & Staff

Brewing instructor offers insights at honors colloquium

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s brewing and fermentation science instructor shared his expertise at Susquehanna University earlier in the Spring 2020 semester as part of its yearlong Honors Sophomore Colloquium.

Timothy L. Yarrington presented “The Piracy of Brewing: How Brewers Exploit Natural Systems for Personal Pleasure and Financial Gain” at the colloquium, which has focused on the topic of alcohol as part of the centenary of Prohibition.

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Brewing instructor delivers talk at Master Brewers Conference

Timothy L. Yarrington, brewing and fermentation science instructor at Pennsylvania College of Technology, was joined by three academic colleagues in delivering a talk at the recent Master Brewers Conference, held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. From left are Yarrington, Katie Fromuth, fermentation science and technology lab manager, Colorado State University; Kaylyn Kirkpatrick, brewing extension associate, Cornell University; and Peter Johnston-Berresford, brewing instructor, Olds College.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s brewing and fermentation science instructor joined three other academic colleagues in delivering a talk at the three-day Master Brewers Conference, held recently in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Timothy L. Yarrington presented “Brewing Education and Industry: Evolving Together” along with Katie Fromuth, fermentation science and technology lab manager, Colorado State University; Kaylyn Kirkpatrick, brewing extension associate, Cornell University; and Peter Johnston-Berresford, brewing instructor, Olds College, Alberta.

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High-schoolers preview not-so-distant future at Career Day

Chef Craig A. Cian, associate professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, helps a student from the Lycoming Career & Technology Center to form pizza dough.

Career Day brought hundreds of ninth-12th graders to campus on Thursday to explore more than 30 activities offered by employees and students to help high-schoolers learn about the wide variety of career options available to them. The event is coordinated by the College Transitions and First Year Initiatives Office.

Brewing & Fermentation Science Faculty & Staff Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students

Brewing major profiled in Mountain Home magazine

Yarrington talks with students during a brewery visit.

Penn College’s 2-year-old brewing and fermentation major is featured in the October issue of Mountain Home, an award-winning monthly publication focused on Pennsylvania and New York’s Finger Lakes. “One thing about Penn College, among others, is that they’re really focused on industry trends,” instructor Timothy L. Yarrington says in the article by Melissa Farenish. “Consumers are starting to expect and demand consistent quality. So, brewers need education and the understanding of the science of brewing to maintain this quality. The curriculum is designed so that students not only get hands-on experience, but also the science education background that goes into understanding how to maintain quality in the brews.”

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Wide-ranging tour enlightens state Senate committee chairs

Haywood marvels at the breathing chest of a "patient" in the School of Nursing & Health Sciences, where Dean Sandra L. Richmond (left) explained the simulation aids available to nursing students.

A bipartisan group of state legislators, all present for President Davie Jane Gilmour’s budget request to the Senate Appropriations Committee in February, got a follow-up look at Penn College during a trip to main campus on Tuesday. Touring a number of instructional labs with Sen. Gene Yaw (chairman of the college’s board of directors), administrators, faculty and staff were Sen. Art Haywood (D-Cheltenham), minority chair of the Health and Human Services Committee; Sen. Thomas H. Killion (R-Middletown), who chairs the Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee; Sen. Daniel Laughlin (R-Erie), chair of the Game and Fisheries Committee; and Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), minority chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee. Along for the visit were H. Fred Walker, director of Erie County Technical School; Kendall Alexander, Haywood’s communications director; and three members of Street’s staff: policy assistant Micah Mahjoubian, legislative aide Angel Betancourt and special assistant Kenneth Carter. Some members of the Senate contingent, who collectively represent highly populated areas from Erie in the northwest to Philadelphia in the southeast corner of the commonwealth, also enjoyed lunch in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant.

Alumni Brewing & Fermentation Science Faculty & Staff Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications STEM Students

Inaugural graduating class of brewers ready to use skills

The first graduating class from Pennsylvania College of Technology’s brewing and fermentation science major all have jobs lined up in the industry. lab. From left are: William B. Ernst-Wingfield, of Picture Rocks; Mark R. Kitchen, of Danville; Christopher P. Good, of State College; Luke H. Brown, of Beaver; Sean J. Hamilton, of Buffalo, N.Y.; and Ryan J. Hampton, of Williamsport.

The first graduating class of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s brewing and fermentation science major is fully employed and ready to share its talents with employers and beer lovers.

The six graduates are among more than 800 students participating in Penn College’s commencement exercises May 17-18 at the Community Arts Center in downtown Williamsport.

“I am very proud of the hard work this group has put in over the past two years of rigorous study,” said Timothy L. Yarrington, instructor of brewing fermentation and science. “I am also happy to have them joining the community of educated professional brewers. I look forward to following their successes as their careers take shape.”

Brewing & Fermentation Science Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications STEM Students

Soon-to-be grads present capstone brews to discerning judges

An attentive audience fills the brewing lab in the Hager Lifelong Education Center. Brewing instructor Yarrington (at right) listens to Ryan J. Hampton offer enlightenment on the history of pale ales. Hampton, of Williamsport, also holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.

Examining the aroma and color of samples are (from left): John Callahan, brewing manager at D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc.; Justin M. Ingram, assistant professor of biology; and David S. Richards, professor of physics.

Discussing the style standards of American amber ales and his own “take” on the style is Mark R. Kitchen, of Danville.

Sean J. Hamilton, of Buffalo, N.Y., schools guests on the topic of “AMG” (amyloglucosidase enzymes).

Among the recent capstone presentations held across campus, graduating students in Penn College’s brewing and fermentation science degree presented their culminating brews to an audience that included natural sciences and hospitality faculty. Two presentations were conducted, with the soon-to-be-professional brewers offering small assessment samples of their two final brews. “The primary goals of these events were twofold: one benefit to the students was to add feedback and commentary on their capstone beers from a random group of consumers to the feedback they received from the professional panels I assembled earlier in the semester,” said Timothy L. Yarrington, instructor of brewing and fermentation science. “Another was to expose the students to the challenge of engaging consumers about their beers and explaining the history, processes and rationale that inform their characteristic color, flavor and aroma. Brewers rely on professional and consumer feedback to inform their choices. We are also continually in a position to increase the beer IQ of the consumer through educational dialogue.” Six students will graduate May 17 with Associate of Applied Science degrees in brewing and fermentation science.

Brewing & Fermentation Science Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students

Magazine features member of brewing major’s inaugural class

An article about the Happy Valley Brewery in State College – including a Q&A with Christopher P. Good, an employee who soon will be among the first graduates of Penn College’s brewing and fermentation science major – is featured in the latest issue of Provisions magazine. “Part of the program is required internships, so all of us are graduating with some hands-on experience in a production brewery,” Good says of the major. “Then we have our hands-on labs where we’re taking recipes through full production, through peer review and analysis, and then we’ve actually rebrewed them for our capstone work.” Provisions, published in State College, is dedicated to “stories from Pennsylvania’s food scene.”

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Papers to be published in Journal of Business Leadership

From left, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Chip Baumgardner, associate professor of business administration: management; Lisa Andrus, dean of business and hospitality; and Steven J. Moff, professor of business administration: management and marketing, presented papers at the annual conference of the Applied Business and Entrepreneurship Association International, earning “Best Paper of Session” honors. Andrus also chaired the conference. Timothy L. Yarrington (not pictured), instructor of brewing and fermentation science, co-wrote one of the papers.

Two papers presented by Pennsylvania College of Technology employees at the annual conference of the Applied Business and Entrepreneurship Association International were selected “Best Session Paper” and will be invited to be published in the Journal of Business Leadership.

Brewing & Fermentation Science Faculty & Staff Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications STEM Students

College’s brewing major blends pleasure, discipline

Penn College’s unique associate degree in brewing and fermentation science, one of the few programs recognized by the Master Brewers Association of America, prepares students for a variety of rewarding careers in the growing brewing industry. The hands-on program is led by master brewer Timothy L. Yarrington, who has more than 25 years of industry experience. “I want to have some influence on the next generation of brewers and make sure that we never lose that pleasure and that joy of the hard work of learning and the discipline of brewing,” Yarrington affirms in a video added to the college’s YouTube channel. “It’s special, for sure.” One member of that new generation is Eric J. Tuller, a brewing and fermentation student from Montoursville, who has high praise for his academic mentor: He’s “not a guy who’s just sat and learned everything from books without ever pursuing it,” Tuller says of Yarrington. “He’s actually out there in the field doing it. His knowledge has a lot more weight than someone who’s just reading up on it.”

Brewing & Fermentation Science Faculty & Staff Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications STEM

Brewing major capital-izes on state’s blossoming beer industry

Cooley, Ingram and Richards (from left) stand outside Gov. Tom Wolf's residence ... — Cooley, Ingram and Richards (from left) stand outside Gov. Tom Wolf’s residence …

... and mingle with proponents of the prosperous brewing industry in The Keystone State. — … and mingle with proponents of the prosperous brewing industry in The Keystone State.

The numbers speak for themselves: "From grain to glass," the economic impact is enormous. — The numbers speak for themselves: “From grain to glass,” the economic impact is enormous.

Penn College and its brewing and fermentation science major were well-represented Tuesday in Harrisburg, where faculty and an administrator attended a “Tapping Into Pennsylvania’s Beer Industry” event at the Governor’s Mansion. Among those on hand were several employees instrumental in development of the two-year degree, including D. Robert Cooley, associate professor of anthropology/environmental science; Justin M. Ingram, assistant professor of biology; and David R. Richards, professor of physics. “The experience provided us the opportunity to collaborate with industry leaders, share insight about our program and discuss internship opportunities,” said Michael J. Reed, dean of sciences, humanities and visual communications, who accompanied faculty members and provided the photos. The group watched the “Poured in PA” documentary, which outlines the opportunities and challenges associated with the multibillion-dollar craft beer industry. The film includes a pre-Penn College segment about Timothy L. Yarrington, a professional brewmaster, highlighting the importance of education and high standards within the field. (Yarrington, an instructor of brewing and fermentation science at the college, was unable to attend the event.)

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Where It Reigns, They Pour

Uniformly expressing an oft-heard Saturday sentiment is an entourage that includes Ashley R. Hilfiger (second from right), a 2010 technology management alum.

Penn College’s brewing and fermentation science major was again featured at Saturday’s Billtown Brewfest in Pine Square, organized by the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau and the Brickyard Restaurant & Ale House in celebration of craft beers. The second annual event offered two three-hour tastings from among an impressive range of regional brewers, and included musical entertainment on the stage outside Trade & Transit Centre II.

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College Represented in Craft Beer Film to Be Shown Locally

“Poured in Pennsylvania,” a documentary that explores the commonwealth’s thriving craft beer industry, will be screened Friday, July 27 – the eve of The Billtown Brewfest in downtown Williamsport. The film features Timothy L. Yarrington, instructor of brewing and fermentation science at Penn College, and is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. in the Michael Ross Center at Trade & Transit Centre II (144 W. Third St.). From America’s oldest brewery to taprooms popping up in small towns, GK Visual’s film follows Pennsylvania’s storied beer past, delves into recent growth and aims to capture the full tale of the beer industry in The Keystone State. Filmed throughout 2017 from Philadelphia to Erie, “Poured in Pennsylvania” visits breweries old and new, large and small … and a few that are still on the path to opening. Sponsored by the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau, Penn College and Straub Brewery, the free showing is limited to the first 240 people who register online. Penn College will staff a table at the Pine Square event from noon-7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, greeting alumni and sharing information about the college and its brewing and fermentation science major. Using the “PCTBrewfest” code when registering will reduce the ticket to $30 ($10 off).

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Master Brewers Association Recognizes Penn College Brewing Major

A brewing and fermentation science student works with the stainless steel brewing tanks in the industry-standard instructional space at Penn College.

The Master Brewers Association of the Americas has recognized Pennsylvania College of Technology’s brewing and fermentation science degree as one of only 12 approved programs – and the only approved program in the U.S. Northeast.

Established in 1887, MBAA is a nonprofit, professional, scientific organization dedicated to advancing brewing, fermentation and related industries. A globally recognized authority on brewing, the international association has more than 4,000 members in over 50 countries.

“The Master Brewers Association of the Americas is the standard bearer for the ‘success through knowledge’ foundation on which we have built Penn College’s brewing and fermentation science program,” said Timothy L. Yarrington, instructor of brewing and fermentation science. “It is extremely gratifying to have our efforts validated by such a venerable and esteemed association of professional brewers and brewing scientists. As we continue to grow and develop this program, I look forward to helping ensure that our work aligns with the MBAA’s high standards.”

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