Lakewood taps next generation of brewing talent with UTA

Image credits: Lakewood Brewing Co., The University of Texas at Arlington.

Expanding on its educational efforts, Lakewood Brewing Co. of Garland is working with another local university to help bring up the next generation of brewing talent.

Lakewood's latest collaboration is with The University of Texas at Arlington, an institution offering a new Brewing and Fermentation Science Certificate. Dylan Parks, Ph.D., biology assistant professor of instruction and former Lakewood lab technician, is head of the four-course certificate program, and the brewery is helping provide hands-on experience for participants (students, hobbyists, or those simply curious).

Designed to teach concepts from the ground up, Dr. Parks has developed a curriculum including the following courses:

• The Science of Brewing
• Fermentation Science
• Brewing Lab
• Sensory Evaluation, QA/QC, and Product Design
  
  

There will also be a requirement for a 16-hour internship at a local fermentation or brewing facility, for which Lakewood is one of the first to participate.

“Hands-on experience is critical to anyone that is going to go on and work in a production facility, whether it be a winery, brewery, cidery, or distillery,” says Wim Bens, founder and president of Lakewood. “It’s important to have an educated workforce, or to even power someone’s future hobby – that’s how I started, and I’m stoked to help others go that path.”

Bens is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, a school he also worked with following the launch of Pony Pils, a beer Lakewood made for Mustang fans. After a successful debut this summer, SMU added Pony Pils to its concession offerings at home football and basketball games. The beer also has an associated scholarship, with $1 from every case sold going to the LBC Future Brewer STEM Scholarship.