Raise a glass to uni’s brewers

AFTER fifty years at the frothy forefront of education, Federation University’s brewing faculty is marking the anniversary of their beer course.

Launched in 1971 under the Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education with classes at Lydiard Street and Mount Helen campuses, it was the first Australian tertiary course of its kind.

FedUni remains the only university to offer postgraduate brewing studies, and senior lecturer in microbiology and fermentation technology Dr David Bean said the course is always growing, innovating and “leading from the front.”

“We’ve got this proud history of teaching the science behind making great beers, but trends in beer-drinking change, and so do the expectations of brewing students,” he said.

“It is important that our course remains contemporary and reflects evolving industry trends to carry on that pedigree to teach the next generation of brewers.

“We’ve been in consultation with industry partners to ensure the courses are what people in the field want. We have to ensure that the course is fit-for-purpose for generations of brewers.”

Dr Bean said the popularity of general bright lagers, or average everyday beers, is decreasing, while craft beer, low or no-alcohol beer sales grow.

Dr Peter Aldred was the course’s head brewer for 22 years until 2020. He started teaching at FedUni, then the University of Ballarat, just as craft beer was first sparking the market’s curiosity.

“Mountain Goat Brewery was already up and running, and there were a few smaller craft breweries at the time, but it went from 20 to 30 breweries in Australia during my first years, to somewhere between 600 to 700 breweries in 20 or so years,’ Dr Aldred said.

Some of the course’s well-known graduates include Macalister Brewing Co’s Rob Callin, Bright Tank Brewing Co’s Mathew Moore, Dainton Brewery’s Dan Dainton, and Biocon’s Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who’s one of India’s richest self-made female entrepreneurs.

Ballarat’s beer history dates back to the 1850s with the gold rush, and Dr Aldred said only briefly at the end of the 20th century was there not one brewery operational in the city.