Objectively beer and science don’t seem to be compatible – especially on a college campus. However, the two are more closely related than some may realize.

Variations of fermentation science have begun sprouting up on campuses across the nation providing students the opportunity to delve into the science behind the processes governing products such as cheese, yogurt and, of course, beer.

“I’m a beer drinker, and I enjoy gourmet beer,” Kevin Shaughnessy, head of The University of Alabama chemistry department, said. “I’m sure that [the major] would be popular with students here from a career standpoint as well as from a general interest in the subject.”

Though Shaughnessy knew little of the major specifically, he said he’d had experience reading about brewing, had friends who brewed and was familiar on the generalities of the science.

He said the biggest difficulty in the University hosting such a program would be finding faculty with experience in the field. He outlined a pathway of developing student interest, finding a space within the faculty, seeking funding and, chiefly, research to add to the University and college’s academic growth.

However, he noted the college’s current research focus lies heavily around the medical field, energy solutions, public health and sustainability. He did suggest the study might find a home in micro-biology studies and chemical engineering.

According to their website, the fermentation science option at Oregon State University, hosting one of the premier programs in the United States, runs their program out of their college of agricultural sciences in the department of food sciences and technology.

Tied to a university brewhouse, winery, cheesemaking plant and baking lab, their program features courses specifically addressing the biological, chemical and physical principles, and practical and public health considerations to the fermentation process. UC-Davis and Appalachian State host two similarly sized programs.

Andrew Bernard, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering at The University of Alabama, said many students likely don’t understand what differentiates or what goes into making different beers, but wasn’t sure if fermentation sciences would be a major students would be interested in.

“I think people would be interested in [brewing] as a hobby,” Bernard said. “But maybe not a major.”

Greg Ward, a freshman majoring in journalism, agreed most students knew little of the science behind beer, noting the extent of most people’s knowledge came from Sam Adams ads shot inside one of their breweries.

However, Ward said he thinks the right amount of interest could produce a successful program for the University and prospective students.

“I think it’d be a great program to bring to campus,” Ward said. “There’s a lot of money to be made in alcohol, especially in the United States.”

A long time beer drinker and Tuscaloosa native Elliot Roberts purchased his first beer making kit – a tiny keg – on a whim off the Internet. Soon after he attended a beer school program in town where he met fellow beer enthusiast, and his eventual co-founder of Druid City Beer Company, Bo Hicks.

Together Roberts and Hicks found a number of investors in interested friends and gathered the equipment and materials necessary to brew their first official batch this November as a local brewery.

“There’s lots of stuff that happens in chemistry, but in my mind this is the coolest,” Roberts said. “When I could first visually see the process in action I thought, ‘that is pretty damn cool.’”

Though a graduate from The University of Alabama with a political science degree who admittedly recalled his last science course to be his high school’s AP Biology, Roberts and his partner dove into the technique behind the endeavor with great enthusiasm.

Their modest space on 14th Street has effectively been modified with the chrome kettles and machinery needed to meet their goal of producing a “tasty and local” brew, but Roberts admitted a program like the fermentation science at the University could pay dividends for their company through the creation of local educated brewers, the industry as a whole and for job-seeking college students.

“I would love for the University to have one,” Roberts said. “And hell, I might go back if they offered it.”