McPhee: Students will gain
‘practical, firsthand experience’ in labs
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —
Middle Tennessee State University officials joined those from Steel Barrel Brewery to celebrate
corporate leader Life Is Brewing LLC’s
groundbreaking for a business that will be in partnership with the new MTSU fermentation science program.
Attended by university President Sidney A. McPhee and featuring alumnus and state Sen. Bill Ketron, the June 15 event
showcased the ceremonial shoveling of dirt for facilities that will be home to
a fermentation lab for the program that starts this fall.
The planned two-hour event was held at Hop Springs, being billed as an agritourism destination by the
company, just off John Bragg Highway.
McPhee shared how Derrick
Morse, Steel Barrel Brewery co-founder and brew master, attended MTSU’s
late February announcement of the fermentation science program guided by Tony Johnston, a professor in the
School of Agribusiness and Agriscience.
Craft brewing’s growth in recent years has spawned a need
for workers with higher levels of education — and future MTSU fermentation
science students and graduates will meet the requirement.
“He (Morse) said
he couldn’t wait for this day today, when work began on this 82-acre site here
in Hop Springs,” McPhee said. “We can’t wait, either.”
“Steel Barrel
will offer space for a working laboratory in this craft brewery, which will
allow Dr. Johnston’s students to get practical, firsthand experience in this
field,” McPhee added. “I am thrilled to return the favor and to be a part of
Steel Barrel’s ceremony for this ambitious project.”
Ketron helped
pass legislation in 2016 to allow MTSU students to perform laboratory work at
the brewery to help measure product quality.
Mark Jones, Steel Barrel Brewing co-founder, is an
MTSU alumnus.
“Our collaboration with the
university will broaden job opportunities and placement for graduates,” Jones
said. “As an added benefit, our staff and MTSU faculty will be
working on new ideas in agricultural products, marketing analysis (in the
sensory lab) and new fermentation and brewing processes.”
“We are looking forward to a
fruitful future with the community as well as the university,” he added.
Life Is Brewing
LLC, established in 2017, is the team behind Mantra Artisan Ales and newly
launched Steel Barrel Brewery.
Facilities in the company’s first phase also will include a
2,000-seat amphitheater, 10-acre hop field, wet and dry dog parks, scenic
hiking and biking trails and golf course.
Among those joining the celebration were Brian Hercules, senior vice president
of economic development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce; Mark Byrnes, MTSU provost; Paula Mansfield, director of strategic
partnerships; and Chris Massaro,
athletics director.
To learn more about MTSU’s fermentation science program,
visit http://www.mtsu.edu/programs/fermentation/index.php
or call Johnston at 615-898-2421. The
School of Agribusiness and Agriscience is part of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences.
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