FIU class chooses beer over term paper
By KATHLEEN McGRORY
Let's see, now. . . . Write a term paper or brew some beer?
That's the vexing question Florida International University graduate student John Egan faced with the end of the semester fast approaching. Either would suffice for the final grade in his for-credit, beer-brewing class.
Guess which one he chose?
''I didn't even think of writing the paper,'' said Egan, 22, who is pursuing a masters in tourism management at FIU's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Egan spent an afternoon last week in the classroom -- a small teaching kitchen -- siphoning his brew from a five-gallon fermenting tank into 45 small beer bottles. His classmates carefully fitted each with a copper-colored bottle cap.
For the occasion, Egan wore a Kelly-green Guinness T-shirt.
The beer-brewing class at FIU has grown increasingly popular since it was first offered three years ago. Its professor, analytical chemist and wine expert Barry Gump, says the class helps round out his students' knowledge of the food and beverage industry.
`NEW HOBBY'
''I want my students to understand what goes into craft brewing and craft beer,'' Gump said. ``There's nothing wrong with common commercial beer, but craft beer is more flavorful and has more texture.''
He added: ``Plus, they'll have a new hobby. It's something that will always be a conversation piece.''
The ground rules are few. All students must be 21 or older. Each must agree to be serious about beer brewing and tasting.
There's one other rule, but it's unofficial: At the beginning of class, grab a glass and fill it up with the brew du jour. Thursday, it was a clovey German weizen, or wheat beer.
This semester, 17 students are taking part, including Hailey Burke-Morgan. She enrolled hoping to broaden her professional horizons; the 21-year-old hopes to work for a major wine or liquor distributor.
''We usually only study wine and spirits,'' Burke-Morgan said. ``This class is strictly beer -- how you make it, where it's from.''
`I LOVE BEER'
Paul Chin's reason for signing up was different.
''I love beer,'' said Chin, laughing.
The class is part lecture and part science lab. Over the course of the semester, students experience the entire brewing process at least once. They learn the history of beer, and talk about things like clarity, aroma and bouquet.
The entire brewing process takes about three weeks, Gump said. It starts with the students steeping grain in hot water, turning the grain's starches into sugars. Hops, sugars and spices are added for flavoring and aroma.
The students cook it up, cool it down and pour it into a fermenter with some yeast.
''When you see the bubbles, you know it's brewing,'' Gump said.
One week later, the students use siphons to put their beer in old bottles and add artificial carbonation. They let the bottled brew sit for another week. They create labels, too.
Then, they taste.
This semester, Chin created a new flavor of beer: jalapeño, ginger and blueberry honey. He hadn't sampled the fruit of his labor yet; it was still fermenting.
''It should be interesting,'' he said. ``I like to add my own flavor to things.''
Egan chose a pumpkin ale to remind him of fall in his upstate New York hometown. ''It's very difficult to find a pumpkin in South Florida in the springtime,'' he said. ``I pretty much drove all around Dade County looking for a pumpkin at a market.''
Egan didn't find a fresh pumpkin. He made do with canned pumpkins and pumpkin-pie spices.
`TASTE ... ESCALATED'
For Burke-Morgan, the class has brought about a change in her drinking habits.
''I've put down my Budweiser and picked up a Guinness,'' she said after class this week. ``My taste has escalated beyond belief.''
Chin said the class had opened his eyes. He now hopes to open a microbrewery when he returns to his native Jamaica.
''I never knew how to make beer before this,'' Chin said. ``It's actually kind of simple. And I really enjoy it.''
