Students from Bath Spa University had a special field trip to a brewery to find out more about the processes involved in making beer.
Students from Bath Spa University visiting Electric Bear | Photo © Bath Spa University
The second-year students, studying Biology in Society and Applied Microbiology, visited Electric Bear in Bath to discover what’s involved in brewing and find out more about the context of the industry.
They were also able to taste some of the beers brewed on the Brassmill Lane site.
Field trips are a key part of the Biology curriculum, giving students the opportunity to see first-hand how the topics they study can be applied to real-world situations.
Dr Samantha Lane, Senior Lecturer in Human Biology at Bath Spa University, said: “We run a range of field trips for all of our Biology courses across the academic year.
“These may be related to the development of particular skills such as habitat surveys and wildlife photography, or they are used to expose students to working environments, such as in the food and drink industry.
“In this case, students had carried out lab based fermentation reactions on a small scale, and then this trip enabled us to project those processes into an industrial environment, where students could see and taste them being applied.
“They could also speak to those employed in this sector, opening up potential graduate destinations, which students might otherwise not have thought of.”
During the remainder of their course, the students will explore themes such as ecology, environmental management, microbiology, human pathophysiology, biodiversity and food analysis.
