MOUNT PLEASANT, MI (AP)-- Colleges and beer have a long shared history, and Central Michigan University is taking that partnership to a new level with the creation of a program to train and certify
experts in "fermentation science."
Central Michigan this week announced plans to launch the program in fall 2015. It's aimed particularly at supporting and boosting the state's fast-growing craft brewing industry.
Microbrewers now generate an estimated $1 billion in annual economic activity in Michigan.
The Mount Pleasant school bills its undergraduate program as the first in the state specifically aimed at providing a "hands-on education focused on craft beer."
It will include classroom and lab work in biochemistry, chemistry and microbiology, as well as a 200-hour internship at a brewery.