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Mastry's Brewery and USF Alumni craft new beer
Mastry's Brewery in St. Petersburg collaborates with USF to support the university's Brewing Arts Program. FOX 13's Kailey Tracy reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A local brewery is turning school spirit into a pourable reality through a new partnership designed to fund the next generation of Florida brewers.
Matthew Dahm, the owner and founder of Mastry’s Brewing Company in St. Pete Beach, has partnered with his alma mater to launch the St. Pete Pilsner. It’s a beer crafted specifically to support the university's Brewing Arts program.
Courtesy: Matthew Dahm
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Dahm said he and other USF alums created the beer.
"We wanted a crisp, tasty something to enjoy under the Florida sun at a tailgate," Dahm said. "The birth of this idea really came to be a collaborative effort between myself and Dr. [Joe] Askren, director of the USF Brewing Arts program. Again, really just looking for more ways to spread awareness and again, to bring additional levels of funding to the program to help it continue to grow and expand."
Dig deeper:
Dahm said the program has been around for more than a decade, and Mastry’s Brewing has been a participant for a while, taking on interns and more.
"It's a semester-long program that takes the students all the way from the beginning of beer, all the way down to the making it, selling it, marketing it. So, not only do they get to learn about it as far as how to make it, the hops, the water, all the fun magical beer science that comes into it, but then we also talk about the business of beer, marketing and participating with the community," Dahm said.
Dahm and other Tampa Bay Area brewery owners and managers help teach courses in the program.
Students designed the new pilsner’s label that features USF’s mascot, signature locations of the USF St. Petersburg campus, and sea life and palm trees to represent St. Pete. It also includes illustrations of bottles, ingredients and equipment to highlight the art of brewing.
"The label was another really fun component of this project. It gave us an opportunity to not only work with the Brewing Arts program, but bring in another class in the marketing school," Dahm said.
The can also features a QR code on the back, allowing consumers to scan and learn more about the Brewing Arts program.
What they're saying:
Dahm says the project promotes an overall sense of school spirit.
"Go Bulls. I love the University of South Florida. There's always a lot of additional Bull pride that goes and to be able to support my alma mater, enhance the workforce, provide student education, continue to grow what we love here with the craft beer community. And so, it really is a giant collaboration amongst a lot of Bull-loved individuals that are very passionate about what that university does for this area, and then how we give back to it," Dahm said.
What's next:
The St. Pete Pilsner is currently available at Mastry’s Brewing Co. It will soon be available at retailers near USF’s campuses in Tampa, St. Pete and Sarasota-Manatee.
Dahm noted that any area bars or restaurants interested in carrying the beer to support the university can contact the brewery directly.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the University of South Florida and the owner of Mastry’s Brewing.