VIDEO: CIA, Brooklyn Brewery tap into craft beer

Geoffrey Wilson | Poughkeepsie Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption The Culinary Institute of America opens its brewery The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York officially opened its brewery on Friday.

HYDE PARK - One of the stainless steel behemoths growled as the faint aroma of hops and malt lingered in the air.

The elaborate machinery which filled the room existed for one purpose, and one purpose only — beer.

The opening of The Brewery at the CIA was heralded with cheers and clinking glasses as the Culinary Institute of America, in collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery, launched three craft beers Friday.

Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver attended the event, having worked closely with the institute in starting the microbrewery. The school's Cleaver IPA and Mise en Place Witte were based on Oliver's recipes.

"Beer can taste like anything," Oliver said. "It can taste like fruity pine, it can taste like a chocolate roast, it can taste like banana and all these other things."

With the craft beer movement, Oliver said beer "returned to normal," allowing for more variety and flavors.

"When I was in college, beer was this cheap, nasty thing that we drank every day," Oliver said. "None of us liked it — we said we did, but none of us liked it."

While students have had the opportunity to learn the history and science of craft beer, even tasting the different styles, The Brewery at the CIA will give students first-hand experience on how to make beer, according to the school's head brewer, Hutch Kugeman.

"They can learn about mash temperatures and mill grains," Kugeman said, "but once they get their hands in the malt and they smell the barley, that's when they get it."

The opening included the launch of three craft beers: Cleaver IPA, Mise en Place Witte and Cast Iron Stout.

The Cleaver IPA is a dry-hopped India pale ale with a golden color and grapefruit and apricot flavors mixed with the bitterness of the Centennial, Mosaic, Amarillo and Simcoe hops.

Mise en Place Witte is a Belgian-style wheat beer brewed with orange peel and coriander, resulting in a light-bodied, spicy beer with fruit flavor.

Cast Iron Stout, a student-made beer, is an oatmeal stout with notes of chocolate and espresso to complement the bitter German Magnum and Perle hops.

The seven-barrel facility includes three fermentation tanks and one finishing tank.

While the brewery is only accessible to culinary institute students and staff, craft beer made at the brewery will be on tap at American Bounty Restaurant starting in January. The institute plans to include at least one beer in all five restaurants on the campus.

Growlers also will be available at The Egg student center to the general public for $20 with beer. Customers can also get refills on their own growlers for $17.

While the students can suggest flavors they enjoy, Kugeman said they are also required to think about it from a business standpoint.

"What's seasonal? And what's going to sell?" Kugeman asked. "Your cheddar bacon stout is cool, but you're not going to sell 200 gallons of it."

An added bonus, the Cast Iron Stout will be available at the class' upcoming graduation.

Beyond teaching the ropes of craft brewing, Douglass Miller, assistant professor of hospitality and service management, said the c experience will translate into other areas of the restaurant business.

"Most students won't open a brewery after this," Miller said. "But on the hospitality side, they will have the knowledge to talk about beer and how it's made."

Courtney Parlman, 25, said creating a craft beer with her class was a group effort trying to mix their tastes with something that has broad appeal. A Hudson resident, Parlman said the experience has disenchanted the brewing process.

Culinary Institute of America creates on-campus microbrewery CIA associate professor Douglass Miller talks on the process of building the microbrewery and its educational benefits for students.

"We've touched on craft beer before in other classes, but after actually working on it, it gives me a better idea of how beer is made," Parlman said.

Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: @PoJoGeoffWilson.