May 10, 2018

In the world of brewing, the U.S. Open College Beer Championship is a big deal. It’s the place where all of the American and Canadian colleges that offer brewing classes come to compete. This year, CNM came home stacked with medals.

Overall, CNM was named the No. 2 brewing school in North America, beating out 15 other colleges and universities. The CNM brewing students also won gold in the IPA category for their "Galaxy Smash IPA" and silver in the Stout category for their bold "1st Place Stout."

“This is an important competition, and it just proves that New Mexico is definitely one of the best beer states in the country per-capita,” says Nick Jones, an instructor in CNM's Brewing and Beverage Management Program.

While CNM’s brewing program has only been around for a couple years, Jones says we’ve already seen a lot of success stories. Well over 50 percent of graduates have landed local brewing jobs, and students from the current cohort are already on their way to successful careers.

Much of that success comes from dedicated instructors and students, but there’s also been lots of support from the New Mexico brewing industry. CNM created the program in response to the skilled workforce needs of local breweries, which need CNM's pipeline of highly skilled graduates to help them grow. Representatives from the local brewing industry help CNM develop curriculum.

“It’s been great partnering with local businesses and we’re always working hard to make sure our curriculum meets their needs,” Jones says.

Students learn everything from beer wort production (the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer) to fermentation to finishing and packaging beer. In addition, as with all CNM culinary programs, food safety and quality control are emphasized.

A big congrats to all the winning students. To find out more about Brewing at CNM, click here.