A bit of Bavaria will come to Drysdale TAFE this Friday as tourism students showcase their own beer creation, following a collaboration with Morrisons Brewery.
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As part of a Certificate III in Tourism, students have had a sneak peak behind the scenes of the Invermay brewery while completing a beer, spirit and liqueurs elective.
The course was designed to provide students with hands-on experience and insight into the beer industry and will culminate on Friday at an Oktoberfest-themed tasting event.
TasTAFE Hospitality and tourism teacher Dan Mohor said the opportunity had proven invaluable.
“This was an idea that we had and through existing collaborations in the hospitality industry we got the idea flowing,” he said.
“The craft beer culture in Tasmania is just exploding and we really wanted to give students as much knowledge and hands-on experience as possible so that they have options to pursue it further.
“We also wanted a local focus and it doesn’t get more local than Morrisons.”
Mr Mohor said the beer-making process began in August, with students getting their hands dirty working with yeast, hops and learning about the fermentation process.
Drysdale TasTAFE student Xavier Bury said the experience was not too dissimilar to making porridge.
“It has been fantastic,” he said.
“I work in tourism and I wanted an opportunity to gain further insight behind the scenes.
“I really wanted to push myself.
“Craft beer is fantastic because it takes away from the culture of drinking to get drunk.
“It is more about the finesse and as the Tassie ale business matures, the quality goes up.”
Around 500-litres of beer has been produced by the students, which will be kegged on Tuesday ready for Friday’s tasting.
Morrisons head brewer Paul Morrison said the collaboration with TasTAFE had been a lot of fun.
“For us it has been really nice to be able to pass our skills on and show them what it is that we do here,” he said.
“Down the track if it helps our brand and if it helps the beer industry in Tasmania it is a good thing.
“Tourism is where we sell most of our products.”
This it the third year that the the beer, spirit and liqueurs elective has been offered at Drysdale TAFE but the first time that students have been able to create their own commercial beer.
While it hasn’t been named yet, Mr Mohor said the final product tastes great and is a testament to the students’ hard work.
Friday’s Oktoberfest themed tasting will get underway at 5.30pm at Drysdale TAFE and will also include a number of Bavarian delicacies including pretzels, sauerkraut and bratwurst.
Mr Moher said they also hope to offer the beer for sale at some local craft beer bars.