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Jackie O’s logo tower at the Taproom and Brewer on 25 Campbell St., Athens, Ohio, Mar. 27, 2023.

Jackie O’s hosts, celebrates Bobcat brewers

It’s a brisk Wednesday night in Athens as locals travel home from work and Ohio University classes have concluded for the day. Despite the day winding down for most, the loud, yet inviting sound of Bobcats partying could be heard from Jackie O’s Brew Pub on 22 W. Union St.

CAS 4413, The Art of Craft Brewing, is a course that “demonstrates a return to fermentation” and teaches students how to start a brewery. Bobcats are given the opportunity to brew in a class, and at the end of the semester, their creations are put to the test at Jackie O’s Brew Pub. 

Brewing begins with a combination of raw barley, wheat, oats or rye that has “germinated” in the “malt house,” states the Beer Connoisseur. The malt is sent through a “grist mill” and is then transferred to a “mash tun.” The mashing process combines the grist and water, or liquor, and then heats it. 

The lautering process separates the wort, liquid from the mashing process, from the “spent grain.” The wort is boiled, sterilized and fermented to create an ale or lager. The conditioning process “matures and smooths” the beer.

“We took a tour of Ciderhouse and learned how ciders are made,” said Haley Loveless, a senior studying music production and recording industry. “That was really interesting to me because cideries are under the same license as a winery … but it is literally water, apple, sugar … learning that process was really interesting to me.” 

The course is taught by Art Oestrike, an instructor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department. Oestrike is the owner and founder of Jackie O’s and introduced the course to give students hands-on brewing experience and a chance to develop their entrepreneurship, business and management skills. 

Although Oestrike was not at the event on Wednesday, his colleague, Liam McDonald, is a Jackie O’s brewer and said the brewery looks forward to hosting the students each year. 

“Community engagement is very important to us,” McDonald said. “It is always great having students in our facilities learning about the process (and) just being able to help in that regard as well.” 

The craft brewing industry is popular, as both independent and large craft breweries produced $28.9 billion in retail sales in 2023, according to the Brewers Association. McDonald said the course encourages students to explore activities outside their majors, with the hope of hiring new brewers. 

“It’s great gauging students' interest in brewing and coordinating events like this, it is all student coordinated (and) they planned everything, executed everything,” McDonald said. “Hopefully something comes of it in terms of employment.” 

As laughs were had, memories were made and groups of cheerful students tasted their creations, some couldn’t help but ask: which craft beer is the best? 

The class created three different drinks, all of which were sold for $6 each. The hazy IPA, Summer Daze, was brewed with lemon puree and conditioned on graham crackers and vanilla beans, whereas the nitro orange seltzer, Creamsicle Splash Pad, was made with fresh orange juice, orange zest and vanilla beans. 

The third drink, Swan Dive, is a craft seltzer made with blood orange, lemon and fresh ginger from the Blaney Family Farm in Albany. Carter Kallach, a senior studying mechanical engineering, said she “picked the brain” of her professor and expanded her interest in brewing.   

“This is a new world for me,” Kallach said. “I think it is very interesting to learn about party planning, launching a product, design and all these factors that go into it. I think it is just so different from what I am used to, so I feel like that was what was fun for me.” 

Kallach and other students participated in a wristband contest where they could wear a colored wristband coordinating with their favorite drink. The winning drink, Summer Daze, was on sale for $5 from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. Other games included a 50/50 raffle and guessing the number of Lemonheads in a jar. 

Students interested in taking the course will have the opportunity to dive into the world of craft brewing, develop their own beer and connect with classmates. As she enjoyed her Creamsicle Splash Pad, Loveless said the course was a great way to conclude her final semester as a Bobcat. 

“I honestly wanted a fun class where I could just hang out and drink beer,” Loveless said. “It is the last semester (of) senior year … this is that class, we are learning really valuable things. (We are) creating a product from start to finish, pushing it out, releasing it, marketing it, but at the end of the day, we all just get to hang out and have fun.” 

gn875322@ohio.edu 

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