Brew U: America's Best College Breweries | October

This story was originally published in October.

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College is classically when students first dabble in beer, the cheaper the better. Keg stands, 30-packs of light lager and malt liquor are all part of the coming-of-drinking-age narrative, especially mine.

During the late ’90s, I spent my undergrad days at Ohio University, in Athens, a charming college distinguished by brick streets, big trees and a stunning number of bars slinging numerous drink specials. The Greenery had quarter-draft night, while the Union sold 16-ounce bottles of Genesee Cream Ale for a buck. One was also the magic number at O’Hooley’s (it’s now the excellent Jackie O’s). For a single glorious hour nightly, the brewpub sold pints of its Scotch ales, pale ales, stouts and more for a buck.

Sure, Power Hour was all about pounding pints (my record: five), but all that inebriation came with a side of schooling. Beer wasn’t just about a buzz; beer was also about flavor, the interplay between grains and hops, water and yeast. Power Hour was the cheapest education in town, in some ways more useful than that journalism degree.

A couple decades later, colleges have caught the craft-beer bug. They’re installing breweries where students can cook up test batches, served at bars and taprooms on campus. Whether you’re a curious undergrad or a graduate looking for a liquid refresher course, here are five of the best college breweries where you’ll happily earn extra credit.

Metropolitan State University of Denver: Tivoli Brewing Company
Built in 1864, Denver’s Tivoli kept Colorado residents with lagers and pilsners for more than a century, until the brewery shuttered in 1969. Instead of facing the wrecking ball, the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places, later becoming the student union for several colleges, including Metropolitan State. In 2015, the campus welcomed the reborn Tivoli brewery, which offers refreshing helles lagers, German pilsners and hands-on educational experience for students seeking a beer-industry degree.
Pro tip: Crush the Tivoli beers at the everyone-is-welcome taproom, situated on the scenic campus.

The Culinary Institute of America: Post Road Brew House
Both culinary and liquid arts star at the cooking school’s Hyde Park, New York, estate, which houses the Brewery at CIA. The teaching and production brewery, created via a partnership with Brooklyn Brewery, supplies the school’s restaurants with beers such as the Mise en Place Wit and Cleaver IPA, plus student-devised “class project” beers like the maple syrup–drizzled Triple Crown. “We make sure all students get a chance to do everything, get involved in some way with each step of the brewing process,” head brewer Hutch Kugeman said. “Every class has a chance to create something new, and they’re brewing with a purpose, making something you can sell and that is seasonally appropriate.”
Pro tip: Try CIA beers at its Post Road restaurant, where the beers are served alongside elevated pub grub like Scotch eggs painted with stout-infused mustard.

Schoolcraft College: American Harvest Brewpub
It’s never amateur hour at the culinary-minded Schoolcraft College, located some 20 miles northwest of Detroit. Students enrolled in the university’s certificate program in brewing and distillation technology have grabbed gobs of medals for their beers, including a kölsch that took silver at this year’s World Beer Cup—one of professional brewing’s most prestigious competitions. Even cooler, Schoolcraft cans the kölsch, as well as its pale ale and IPA. They’re better mementos than yet another college sweatshirt.
Pro tip: While the brewpub is open to the public, the hours are pretty limited.

SUNY Morrisville: Copper Turret Restaurant & Brewhouse
At a recent U.S. Open U.S. Open College Beer Championship (yes, that’s a thing), New York State’s tiny SUNY Morrisville was named North America’s best brewing college. Credit is partly due to the local agronomic excellence: Students’ winning beers, such as The Arsenal IPA and The Crop pilsner, are nearly exclusively made with native hops and grains. “We take great pride in developing beers that highlight the bounty of New York agriculture,” said SUNY Morrisville’s head brewer Micheal Coons, who oversees the college’s brewing curriculum.
Pro tip: The beers are brewed and poured at the Copper Turret restaurant, operated by the college’s not-for-profit auxiliary corporation.

Colorado State University: Ramskeller Pub & Grub
Earlier this spring, the Fort Collins college outfitted its campus pub with a 264-gallon brewing system, which students in the school’s fermentation science and technology program use to create experimental batches. “We’re hoping to establish CSU as the leader in fermentation education and research,” Jeff Callaway, associate director of the fermentation science program, told The Coloradoan. Fun fact: MillerCoors donated the brewery, which was previously used at a hockey arena in Vancouver.
Pro tip: No need to cop a fake student: Everyone’s welcome to order a pizza and beers at the campus pub.