Brandy Salmon, the associate VP for the partnerships and innovation at Virginia Tech has recently made a public statement about their new partnership. This new collaboration with Hardywood is being formed in order to produce Hokie beer. She informed, that this exclusive partnership will move beyond the traditional trademark of a license agreement.
It will effectively lend support to the initiative taken by various campuses in order to push the research inventions to the next level. Additionally, the beer recipe being followed by this partnership will offer Hokie beer, which is an exceptional quality of beer to the markets.
Virginia Tech is looking forward to forging this collaboration with Hardywood which is a Craft Brewery situated in Richmond, in the state of Virginia. This partnership has proven to be fruitful. This has resulted in Virginia Tech getting their license for Hokie beer or Fighting Hokie Lager.
This exceptional collaboration has reinstated the land-grant operation awaited by Virginia Tech. This will help their transition to remarkable faculty-led research as well as development to the market. They will deliver economic profits to the commonwealth.
In this scenario, the Hokie beer is a patented recipe for craft beer that is developed by the researchers of Virginia Tech. This will be produced and promoted by Hardywood from the start of the coming spring season.
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Perks Of Hokie Beer Manufacturing
Credits Virginia Tech
Dan Sui, the VP for innovation and research, has informed, that they are extremely thrilled that this research is being conducted at Virginia Tech. It will soon be launched in the market. The proceeds will further fund their students with scholarships. It will also enable advanced research programs in their outstanding food science project and fuel the local economy of Virginia.
Moreover, Sui has said Hardywood is the ideal partner in Virginia as their values are similar to institutions producing Hokie beer. This is the reason for their immense confidence in the success of the collaboration. This partnership will yield innovative concepts that will excite the next generations.
Fighting Hokie Lager, usually described as the classic Helles lager that follows the Munich style. This variety of beer balances the herbal decent hop character with the enjoyable malt sweetness. Hokie beer has an alcohol volume of a mere 5 percent that lends a clean, crisp, and energizing quality to the consumers.
This bright, golden-hued Hokie beer is going to be distributed among the better retailers of beer. It will also be distributed in various restaurants, convenience, and grocery stores of the wholesalers of Hardywood across Virginia as well as Washington D.C. during the spring of the new year of 2021.
Looking For A Viable Partnership
During the beginning of 2020, Virginia Tech had begun the procedure of locating a brewery. Especially one with powerful brand recognition, a cooperative R&D approach, and a history of sustainability. It should have the ability to meet the demands of consumers as well as produce good quality products.
In order to meet these demands, Virginia Tech acquired an interest from many leading brewing companies across the country. The reputation of Hardywood lies in its quality of beer as well as the commitment to provide it to the commonwealth. They intend to execute this by employing sustainable practices along with the procurement of local ingredients. This is the secret behind Hokie beer.
Brandy Salmon had stated that they wanted to collaborate with a first-class brewing company, from the very beginning, with reliable connections within Virginia. It was important for their partner to produce copyright recipes that will assist the faculty in developing the best beer ever produced.
The credibility of Hardywood is visible in their motto that says “Brew with Purpose”. This embodies their core values which comprise technical quality, environmental efficiency, going local, and helping the community.
A Partnership Of Credibility And Excellence
Credits Virginia Tech
Eric McKay, co-founder, and president of Hardywood has also said that they are the foremost academic institution of discipline in the craft brew industry in America. They also have hospitality management and conduct food science. This is why it is of utmost importance for them to collaborate with an equally ideal partner who is philosophically aligned with them.
McKay also commented that they desire to create an official Hokie beer that will pay tribute to the Hokies. They also want to honor the Head Brewer and VP Production of Hardywood, Brian Nelson, who graduated from the Engineering College of Virginia Tech in 2001.
He further stated that the production of this Hokie beer will be a significant step towards the formation of a new partnership with Hardywood that is eagerly awaited by them. This is mainly due to the upgraded projects including the hosting of student internships and exploring enhanced use of the agricultural products of Virginia in the Hokie beer recipe.
Hardywood was one of the very first breweries that received the Green Brewery of the year 2015 from Virginia. Hardywood relies on renewable energy like wind, biomass, and solar energy. Their team members frequently take help from the local farms that reuse the grains as feed and compost. Many of their existing beers are produced in collaboration with several local organizations committed to environmental protection.
Hardywood has deep roots in the state of Virginia. They are proud of brewing locally sourced hops, wheat, blackberries, malted barley, spices, herbs. This also contains locally roasted beans of coffee, ginger, honey, apple, peaches, pumpkins, blueberries, and raspberries.
Sustainable Heritage Of Brewery
Credits Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech has its own brewhouse which is a viable option for advancing the beer industry for the commonwealth. This consists of over an annual $8 billion economic impact. It also contributes an annual $2.9 billion tax. This was reported by the Beer Institute.
The brew factory and malting system are the foundation of the Food Science Department and Innovation Collaboratory Technology. This is a place that combines industry and research. The top 10 scientists of the country present in the department have been brought in by leading companies like Tyson Foods and Dupont Teijin Films.
Brian Wiersma, plant manager of Human & Agricultural Biosciences informed that their department believes in hands-on learning. They requested the company to pull out a few of their automation. Despite this, the system apes the craft brewing arrangement.
The educational program is situated in the Life Sciences and Agricultural College. This unique program provides several experimental opportunities like the study-abroad program. This sends their students abroad to Germany in order to learn advanced beer-making techniques at Weihenstephan. This company is the earliest running community in the entire world. Graduate students in the program get real-world experience that has a massive knowledge based on real-world brewing approaches.
In a similar manner, it is known that the Food Science & Technology Department is placed 9th in the list of best 10 bachelor food science programs in the nation. Additionally, they are 8th on the food science master’s program.
Joseph Marcy, ex-head of the Food Science Department has stated that the department grew exponentially within the past 10 years. This is due to new facilities, faculty, and options for a degree program.
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Hokie Beer Funding And Learning Programs
Renee Boyer, present head, stated that although this growth is exciting, it also has a long-standing aim for each student to excel. They want every student to acquire excellent experience along with superior quality education.
This department had a fermentation program in 2017. This was one of the very first in N. America to receive recognition from MBAA (Americas’ Master Brewers Association). Furthermore, the program earned a place in the top 12 universities in the US and Canada that meet and exceed the regulations and learning results followed by MBAA.
This department has propelled several notable firsts owing to the dedication of faculty including Wiersma. Another dedicated faculty is Herbert Bruce, the assistant professor of the undergraduate learning and brewery practice. Additionally, Sean O’Keefe, the professor of food science. These are the important researchers who are assisting the development of Hokie beer by Virginia Tech.
6 years back, the 3 faculty members of Virginia began this journey after trips to Germany. They were working on some brewing equipment during their student exchange program. They were passionately inspired by the kinds of beer they indulged in during their stay there.
After they returned to Virginia Tech, they started working on the research and production of superior quality beer. They experimented with various kinds of grist bills, hop varieties, malts, yeast strains, and fermentation methods. Ultimately they reached their aimed recipe, aroma, and flavor profile of Hokie beer.
They were convinced that Virginia Tech is the ideal fit for Hardywood brewhouse and would deliver first-quality beer to Virginia. During last summer, Virginia Tech had their perfect beer recipe and apt collaborative partner. They waited for the test batches to be completed. Finally, they are ready to start their dream project very soon.
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