(Begin upbeat music) Joe Callahan: It's an
interesting job.
I mean who doesn't love beer?
Say the word "beer" and everyone smiles!
Tim Yarrington: If there is a professional
brewer who doesn't like what they are doing,
I haven't met him yet.
Charles Imbro: If you want to brew beer, it's
one of the best programs around.
William Ernst-Wingfield: Learning where everything
comes from and how everything is done is just
amazing to me.
Tim Yarrington: The way the program is written
and the way the program is instructed is from
the perspective of a professional brewer with
more than 25 years of experience.
(New upbeat music) William Ernst-Wingfield:
I looked at a degree in Chicago.
I looked at a degree in California and I ended
up very much zoning in on this degree because
I did a lot of researching on Tim and I really
liked his background in the industry.
Eric Tuller: It's not a guy who just sat and
learned everything from books without ever
pursuing it.
He's actually out there in the field doing
it.
His knowledge has a lot more weight than some
guy who just is reading up on this.
Mike LaRosa: I would trust anyone that Tim
would recommend to me.
I think he did a great job setting up the
structure of the classes, the flow in which
the classes happen.
Tim Yarrington: Brewing draws on a lot of
areas.
It's very scientific so love of science first
and foremost.
John Callahan: I've been here over 38 years,
a little over five years as Pennsylvania brewing
manager.
You need brewers who understand the science
of the malt, the enzymes, the yeast, the hops.
William Ernst-Wingfield: Most of this degree
is a science degree.
It's a lot of work.
I mean most of us are here an hour before
classes every day studying and working on
everything beforehand.
Eric Tuller: We had a small handful of students
who came in and they were like, "We're going
to make beer and this is going to be awesome."
And then they were like, "Oh, this is the
reality.
Never mind."
Mike LaRosa: So you have to have a solid science
background but it's sort of a bit like being
a chef.
You need a chef's intuition.
Tim Yarrington: The idea is exploring the
intellectual concepts of the science in a
real learning facility.
Practical application is a very powerful way
to teach.
Eric Tuller: This is one lab during the week
that I look forward to because I get to throw
myself into this.
This is a venue where mistakes are allowed
to be made.
Great learning lessons come out of it.
William Ernst-Wingfield: I want to do this.
I want to go to work every day and do this.
I want to come to class to learn this stuff.
(New upbeat music)
Tim Yarrington: The Master Brewers Association
of America investigates the program.
They have what they call a recognition.
That puts us in a small pool of other programs
in the country.
We are one of the few associate degree programs.
Charles Imbro: This field is dying for brewers.
Good educated brewers.
Not just brewers but people who actually know
what they are doing.
Tim Yarrington: There are plenty of jobs out
there.
It's a matter of finding the one that fits
you.
The jobs vary with the breweries.
That's the variety of job opportunities that
you might find.
Mike LaRosa: There's plenty of room for growth
and there is certainly only upward mobility
going to happen in this industry.
Joe Callahan: You have to earn your stripes.
Work your way up.
You're going to scrub beer tanks and clean.
Mike LaRosa: You have to be able to get on
your knees and fix a pump.
You have to be mechanically inclined.
You have to be able to troubleshoot.
Charles Imbro: If you enjoy beer and enjoy
the art of making beer and different styles
of beer which are so vast, it's a great place
to be, enjoying what you do every day.
John Callahan: Everyone here enjoys what they
do.
I enjoy coming to work.
Mike LaRosa: I'm gratified seeing people drink
my beer.
Bringing enjoyment to people's lives, that
gives me self-value.
Tim Yarrington: 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.
It's special.
For sure.
(Music fades)
