News CCFB Awarded Grants for Collaboration Projects with Michigan State U and Virginia Tech

Two grants totaling almost $75,000 have been awarded to the Hartwick College Center for Craft Food and Beverage (CCFB). The awards include $55,000 from the Virginia Distillers Board and a grant totaling a little over $19,000 from the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development.

CCFB Director Harmonie Bettenhausen explains how working on these projects will directly benefit Hartwick. “We have the technology to be able to delve into industry-relevant research, and this helps to address the gap in our knowledge for our industry and we can then work to educate not only our industry but our students,” she said.

The Michigan Craft Beverage Council grant allows Hartwick College to study the best practices of measuring parameters for the quality of grains other than barley. The Virginia Distillers Board grant goes towards working on Virginia Tech Assistant Professor Nicholas Santantonio’s barley lines for quality and specific phenotypes.

“In our industry, collaboration is necessary and encouraged,” Bettenhausen said. “The CCFB has had an ongoing partnership with Michigan State University and Virginia Tech. We will share the results from these two projects at conferences and eventually publish.”

In recent months, the CCFB welcomed the Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), who visited the Beverage Innovation Lab. And this fall, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held for the CCFB’s Baking Innovation Lab on Dietz Street in downtown Oneonta.

For more information, visit the CCFB webpage.