Carroll's home brewers

Author: Malcolm McDowell Woods

Published Date: 6/1/2017

Categories: Biochemistry Chemistry F1RST Magazine F1RST Summer 2017 Mathematics


Professorial Pints

Faculty fermenters create a unique community at Carroll

photo illustration of Carroll home brewers

Back in 1846, when Carroll admitted its first green freshmen, the beers that made Milwaukee famous were at best microbreweries. The forerunner of Pabst, Best and Company, began brewing beer in 1844. Blatz started up in 1851. Frederick Miller arrived from Germany in 1854 (carrying his own yeast from Germany!). And Joseph Schlitz opened his namesake brewery in 1858. 

It was clearly a pretty good time for startups. Carroll is going strong, 171 years later. And those beers? They made Milwaukee famous and became known far and wide.

Everything moves in cycles, though, even beer. Today microbrews are once again in vogue, brewing startups abound and more than a few budding braumeisters are tapping into the DIY trend. Even Carroll faculty.

When Dr. Tom St. George, an assistant professor of mathematics, arrived at Carroll three years ago, he discovered that a couple of his colleagues were home brewers. “I jumped into it as a way to get to know some of the people here,” he said. Well, that, and he likes beer.

St. George notes that Carroll’s home brewers are mostly from the mathematics and chemistry departments. In his own mathematics department, associate professors Dr. David Feil and Dr. John Symms were brewing, as were associate chemistry professors Dr. Kevin McMahon and Dr. Michael Schuder and Tom Pahnke, a clinical associate professor in physical therapy. “Most of us have scientific minds,” St. George said. “We’re quite interested in the process, not just the outcome.”

Of course, the outcome is beer. So, it’s like a cool chemistry experiment you get to drink. And these faculty members do. Symms noted that they get together informally to talk beer and have, on occasion, sampled each other’s creations. Pahnke, who at 22 years and counting, is a home brewing elder, said the topic often comes up before or after campus meetings. “It’s always fun to hear what others are doing.”

Toasting Carroll

We asked our professorial panel to recommend a few brewskis that pair well with the Pioneer life.

a lineup of beer bottles
  • Celebrating Commencement
    • Commencement deserves a bright, sparkly wheat beer or hefeweizen, such as Dancing Man Wheat by the Wisconsin-exclusive New Glarus Brewing Co.
  • Cheering at Homecoming
    • Tailgating in the early fall chill at Carroll’s Homecoming calls for a warmer seasonal brew such as this Oktoberfest by Chicago’s Revolution Brewing.
  • Toasting our Founders
    • If Carroll’s founding fathers toasted their new school, they probably did it with a crisp pilsner-style beer like König Pilsner from König-Brauerei GmbH in Germany.
  • Downing a Ponza Rotta
    • Admit it, you still get a hankering for a ponza from Jimmy’s Grotto every now and then. A hoppy IPA, Milwaukee Brewing Co.'s Hop Happy will cut that cheesy goodness.
  • Listening to Bagpipes
    • A nod to our bagpiping tradition here at Carroll, this malty, dark amber Scottish Ale hails straight from the source, Belhaven Brewery in Scotland.
  • Showing Some Love
    • This smooth, creamy milk stout from Left Hand Brewing in Colorado is a favorite of your F1RST editorial staff. Nitrogen bubbles make for a silky drink.

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