FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — In a classroom full of natural light filled with cooking stations inside Northern Arizona University’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Devon Randall is leading a tasting.
“We never drink beer in class, we always taste beer in class,” Randall said, holding a small glass of beer.
Randall goes through a series of slides, teaching about beer, what impacts taste, and how to properly taste a beer.
Randall is an assistant professor of practice for the new Brewing Science Certificate at NAU. Randall is a certified beer judge and a former brewmaster in Los Angeles.
“When I started brewing, there were not a lot of programs for educating yourself around brewing as a career,” Randall said.
Now, Randall is helping build that at NAU. The certificate, which merges both the science and hotel and restaurant management colleges, has two tracks: Management and Quality Assurance.
“So management would be more front of house, and that's more through the hospitality school. The science track is going to be looking at using lab equipment, running some of those statistical analyses, and also doing some of the math behind it,” Randall said.
Students take about 25 units to earn the certificate and that includes units for internship or research.
“I like to think that we’re giving people a good vision of what the brewing world entails and really get them ready to go out there and get a job in the brewing world,” Randall said.
In downtown Flagstaff, that brewing world is familiar to Larami Sandlin, owner of Dark Sky Brewing.
Sandlin and her husband decided to open Dark Sky Brewing at its spot on Beaver St. nearly a decade ago.
“We decided to be super creative and brew 100 different beers in our first year,” Sandlin said.
But before that, Sandlin worked in construction, having gone to NAU for school herself.
“I needed scholarships to be able to go to school,” she said.
Sandlin formed a non-profit arm of Dark Sky Brewing called Dark Sky Community, intending to give back to Arizona organizations.
“I always knew I wanted to give back in the form of scholarships - somehow, someway,” Sandlin proclaimed.
Dark Sky Community partnered with NAU Brew Science to offer the first scholarship: $1,000 for one student for the upcoming semester.
Out of the students who applied, Trent Hedman was selected.
“Honestly, before I went and took these classes, all I knew about beer was how to drink it,” Headman said with a laugh. “I feel like my tastes of beer have changed a lot just in taking these few classes already. I've kind of grown to appreciate certain aspects of it that I hadn't even considered before.”
Hedman recalls getting an email from NAU about the new brew science program, thinking it’d be a perfect opportunity to make a career change.
Hedman applied prerequisites earned from a bachelor’s degree in microbiology to learn about the science of beer. Hedman’s goal after graduation is to work at a microbrewery.
“The fermentation aspect is the most important aspect of it - and the aspect that I find the coolest probably,” Hedman said.
Sandlin said Dark Sky Community is also planning to continue supporting the program and wants to expand what they can help with.
“To get at least two recipients per semester at $1,000 each - at least - and keep this going for as long as the NAU Brewing Science Program is flourishing,” Sandlin said.
The certificate is the first step of the program, but Randall said there are already talks about expanding it further.
“The idea is that if this program continues to be popular that it could one day be a major,” Randall said.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
12News on YouTube
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.