Majoring In Beer Here In Central New York

Lots of kids "major" in beer during college. Now, you can literally major in beer. Morrisville State College is offering four-year degrees.

Yes, there will be plenty of tasting. But the majority of the work will be learning the brewing process from the ground up, hands-on at area restaurants and breweries.

The main teaching center at SUNY-Morrisville will be the Copper Turret Restaurant & Brewhouse, located right on Route 20, in the village of Morrisville. The college is partnering with the Turret and its full-scale brewery inside the restaurant.

Students will spend a semester at the Copper Turret's brewery, then be able to pick a brewery of their choice at which they'll serve an internship.

The restaurant's brewery is functioning and serving beer now, under master brewer Michael Coons, who'll be your 'beer professor" starting in 2018, when the program begins.

By the time students leave school, they'll have a degree in Food Technology, with an emphasis on the science of brewing. They'll also earn skills in the management of an establishment, so they can open their own businesses.

The field is getting crowded, though--according to an article in newyorkupstate.com, "in the last six years, the number of breweries in the state has grown from less than 100 to more than 350."

Morrisville will be one of seven institutions in New York state offering brewing degree programs. The others are in Schenectady, Rochester, Ithaca, Hyde Park, Oneonta, Williamsville, and Niagara Falls.

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