Published: Monday, July 8, 2013 at 15:12 PM.
Capitalizing on a swiftly growing craft beverage industry in Western North Carolina, Blue Ridge Community College is poised to launch a new two-year degree program this fall aimed at training workers for a variety of jobs in the field.
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College officials expect final state approval of an Associate in Applied Science Degree program in Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation by July 19. It will be part of an overall collaborative program of the North Carolina Community College System ? one of the few of its kind in the country ? with BRCC joining Asheville-Buncombe Technical College and Rockingham Community College as the only three schools seeking final approval in the first year.
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Chris English, the college?s dean for applied technology who is spearheading the new program, said the surging interest and excitement surrounding WNC?s beer and wine production is reminiscent of California?s Napa Valley in the 1970s as it began transitioning to an agricultural-based tourist destination.
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?I see a re-branding of ourselves in Henderson and Transylvania counties being something a little bit different,? English said, ?because forever we?ve been known for our apples and we?ll continue to be known for our apples ? that?s a huge product in our area ? but I also think now we have something else to offer. And I think it?s a way to attract new industry to the area. We have the capability, especially with Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blues being here.?
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College officials also are aware that on a national level, the consumer push toward hand-crafted, fuller flavored beer shows no signs of slowing down. According to the Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo.-based trade group representing craft breweries, craft beer is a $10 billion-plus industry whose dollar share of the overall beer market reached beyond 10 percent in 2012.
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Last year, more than 400 new breweries opened in the U.S. ? the biggest surge since the period just after Prohibition ended ? bringing the total number of breweries nationwide to more than 2,400.
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?I think it?s a great idea for a school to start this kind of program,? said Andy Cubbin, co-owner and head brewer at Southern Appalachian Brewery in Hendersonville. ?(Craft beer) is certainly a huge segment ? I think it?s growing about 15 or 16 percent a year and it?s something like (1,250) breweries in the (planning stages) ? so it?s certainly a segment that they should be interested in.?
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The program
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BRCC?s impending degree program follows the launch this winter of the Craft Beer Academy, a series of courses - from the fundamentals and business side of the industry to the Oskar Blues Brew School - offered through the college?s Continuing Education department.
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?That?s the way we launch a lot of what we do here at the college? we start out with continuing ed, short-term, non-credit-type courses, and that?s what we did with what we now call the Craft Beer Academy,? said Lee Anna Haney, BRCC?s director of public relations. ?And so this has been another natural process where we?re getting ready to launch what we call curriculum, or degree, programs in an area that is related to the local job market and where workforce development is needed.?
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English said Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation is a dual-faceted program, linking the fundamentals and science of brewing with hands-on manufacturing skills tied to the college?s new mechatronics program that could also prepare students for careers outside the beverage industry.
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This distinguishes BRCC from how AB Tech ? which is focusing on the sales and service side of the business ? will implement the program, college officials say.
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?We are taking those concepts that we developed with the continuing education program where you?re learning how to brew a product, understanding the fermentation side of it, and we?re combining it with the mechatronics program, which is understanding the materials that it takes to brew that product and to package it and get it out the door,? English said.
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?So everything that deals with flow/fluid dynamics, pumps, sanitation, sanitation welding, the cleanliness of (the process), running an assembly line, operating that manufacturing plant ? So they?re coming out of the program with two sets of job skills: understanding the brewing side that allows them to work in brew house, and the mechatronics side where they can be qualified to work for other manufacturers like Continental or Eaton or Borg Warner or whoever it may be. So there?s a lot of opportunities out of this program.?
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Students can also pursue specific areas of study, with individual certificates available in brewing, wine-making and distillation. In addition, BRCC will be guaranteed one spot in Appalachian State University?s four-year, research-based fermentation science program for a qualified student as part of BRCC?s Two-Plus-Two Transfer Agreement with ASU.
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Cubbin, whose distribution has expanded this year to several downtown Hendersonville accounts, said he expects the business he runs with his wife, Kelly, to require more qualified help down the road as it grows, and he anticipates giving students produced by the program serious consideration.
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?As far as our brewery is concerned, it?s great to have a pool of potential employees and interns; having somebody come in that knows a little bit about what they?re doing is certainly helpful ? not having to train someone from the ground up,? Cubbin said.
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?It saves us a lot of money, and in this industry you go through a lot of employees ? it?s just the nature of the work. And (for the student), a brewery like mine, especially, can be a stepping stone to bigger and better things.?
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BRCC also is currently seeking state funding to purchase a brew house for the college that would enable students to eventually brew beer on an actual commercial system, leading, perhaps, to the opening of a tasting room like the one at ASU that would give students the chance to learn that side of the business as well.
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?That?s the best way to go,? Cubbin said, ?because you can?t get enough hands-on time in a brewery. That?s one thing you cannot teach (in a classroom), so the fact that they have all these programs for people is great. Being self-taught, there are definitely things I wish I?d learned before we opened.?
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Gary Glancy writes for The Hendersonville Times-News.
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Getting started
Blue Ridge Community College will hold information sessions for prospective students interested in the proposed Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation program, which is slated to begin this fall pending approval by the State Board of Community Colleges.?
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Students can earn an associate degree, diploma or certificate.
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Information sessions will be held Monday on the Henderson County campus in Flat Rock at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Spearman Building, room 128. Sessions will also be held at the Transylvania County campus in Brevard at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, July 15. Reservations are not required and sessions will last about an hour.
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BRCC plans to begin the admissions and financial aid application processes for the program on July 23.
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For more information call 828-694-1800 or 883-2520, or visit www.blueridge.edu.
Source: http://www.gastongazette.com/news/local/nc-college-offering-degree-in-beer-1.169258
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