By: Nicholas Youngblood

Sometimes relationships turn sour, but that’s exactly the goal for the collaboration between the microbiology department and a local brewery.

The Department of Microbiology has teamed up with Wolf’s Ridge Brewing to bring brewing science workshops to the general public, beginning with Sour Symposium II in December 2019. The partners have big plans for the future of the collaboration, both in and out of the classroom, representing a larger effort by the department to connect with local industry to flesh out a proposed Center for Applied Microbiology on campus.

The inaugural workshop taught attendees about the processes and microorganisms that lead to sour beer. The first segment of the workshop was held at the microbiology labs at the university, and the second half — including tastings — took place at Wolf’s Ridge Brewing’s facilities, according to the event page.

Cathy Scott, director of education and quality for Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, said the event drew primarily homebrewers, with a few professionals. She said the brewery has seen a similarly mixed crowd at past workshops, such as the first Sour Symposium.

“Ohio has produced a lot of really good beers over the past 10 or so years, so we’re really getting ourselves known on the national level in terms of quality and consistency,” Scott said.

Jeff Jahnes, laboratory supervisor for the microbiology department and director of the Center for Applied Microbiology, said this is just the beginning of the center’s efforts to bring the science of brewing to Columbus, Ohio, residents.

“Through our partnership in general, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing has really helped us out, because they have such a great network and helped us connect more broadly with the brewing industry,” he said.

Jahnes said partnering with breweries was a natural first step when the search began for industry ties for the Center for Applied Microbiology. The program is still in its infancy, and Jahnes said its development will depend on the community’s needs, but brewing education is a clear extension of the university’s land-grant mission.

Jahnes said the department would love to have a fermentation science program, and a course has already been proposed for fall 2020.

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