As Roanoke becomes an ever growing destination for craft brew lovers, one local agency wants to connect community members to the latest science emerging from Virginia Tech’s food science labs.
Virginia Cooperative Extension and Parkway Brewing Company are partnering together to offer an ongoing speaker’s series – Tapping Into Extension: Beakers and Brews. Each month, researchers from Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology will bring their research out of the lab and into the tasting room. These events are free and open to the public, providing interesting and approachable information in a casual setting.
The first session, “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: A Flavor and Sensory Analysis of Beer,” will take place on Monday, February 27th at 6:00pm. Dr. Sean O’Keefe, professor of food analysis and food chemistry, will walk attendees through his work on flavor and sensory analyses of beer works. Future events will be held the fourth Monday of each month at 6:00pm through the end of June. Sessions will cover a variety of topics related to wine, beer, and cider.
“We thought brewing was a great topic to highlight the partnership of Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia Tech in our community’s growing craft brewing scene,” said Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent Kathleen Reed. “It combines Extension’s promotion of local growers, sound food safety practices, and long-term benefits to the local economy. We hope this series will draw people who may not have known about Extension before and introduce them to who we are and what we do.”
Those with questions about Tapping Into Extension should call the Roanoke office at 540-772-7524.
