Alumni Entrepreneurship

May 7, 2025 | Tom Breen

Their Final Class Project? A Beer-Tasting Showdown

‘Battle of the Brews’ saw two student teams develop their own beers, from hops to marketing

A man in a while shirt drops a bottle cap into a plastic receptacle while three women in white shirts applaud.

A satisfied customer votes for Courtside Cooler by dropping a bottle cap into a container, while some of the students who made the beer applaud (Claire Tremont / UConn College of Engineering)

A friendly competition between two teams of UConn student brewers ended with one victor – but with everyone who got a chance to sample both beers a winner.

The UConn Brewing Innovation initiative – a donor-supported multidisciplinary hub that partners the College of Engineering, School of Business, and College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources – has been showing students how the beer brewing process works from the ground up since 2023, in collaboration with Connecticut breweries.

This year’s project had a new feature, however: the 55 students in the course would make two beers instead of one, with the teams putting their creations to the test for an audience of thirsty alums, who voted on the winner.

Cans of beer made by UConn students, called Jonathan's Peach Party and Courtside Cooler.
(Claire Tremont / UConn College of Engineering)

In this corner: Jonathan’s Peach Party, a fruited New England wheat IPA with a subtle, crisp peach flavor. In the opposite corner: Courtside Cooler, a margarita-inspired ale brewed with fresh oranges, limes, and Motueka hops.

“For the flavors, we just kind of thought that the summer is coming up, and then about the kinds of beer people like in the summer,” said Viviana Cvecic ’25 (ENG). “We tried them both the other day, and they’re both very good.”

Both beers were brewed at Urban Lodge in Manchester, which also has a location in Hartford, and which hosted the showdown on a warm May evening for a crowd of more than 200.

In truth, this was more a collaboration than a competition: both teams went through the course together, learning everything about the beer-making process from how hops are grown to devising a name catchy enough to make a product stand out in a crowded market.

“All of our work from the past semester – learning what goes into the brewing industry, actually making a beer – it all comes together today,” said Emma Witt ’25 (ENG). “And with a little competitive side to it.”

Although making beer for a class project probably sounds like heaven to many, the students emphasized that it required plenty of hard work, and gave them an appreciation for the farming, science, and marketing that most of us may not consider when cracking open a cold one.

“I was a bit hesitant at the start of the class,” said Aditya Shah ’25 (BUS). “I’m a finance major, what do I know about the science behind beer? But it turned out to be one of the most transformative experiences I’ve had at UConn.”

The two teams were guided by UConn Brewing Innovation program directors Jennifer Mathieu, executive director of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the School of Business and Jennifer Pascal, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering; along with Dennis D’Amico, associate professor in the Department of Animal Science and Jeffrey Aeschlimann, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Pracitce.

“The students learned about every part of the process – science, marketing, agriculture, branding,” Pascal said. “This is a really good, balanced class.”

A woman in a grey shirt hands cups of beer to a man.
About 200 UConn alums attended the event at Urban Lodge in Manchester (Claire Tremont / UConn College of Engineering)

That appreciation goes two ways, with student brewers saying the faculty were one of the most important ingredients of the course.

“The professors were very passionate about it,” said Jillian Margaglione ’25 (CLAS). “It was so nice to hear them talk about the process. You can really tell when someone loves something.”

The verdict from alums sampling the brews was clear: both beers were spectacular. But in the end, a vote had to be taken.

The winner, by a razor-thin margin of 15 votes, was Courtside Cooler. The prize, in addition to bragging rights, is that the beer will now be brewed by Urban Lodge for distribution to outlets around the state, meaning many more people will get to sample its bright, citrus-forward flavor this summer. After all, the event was, among other things, a perfect way to test a new beer with the public.

“It’s been really fun for us to work with these students over the last two semesters and give them an inner look at what we do every day,” said Max Dougan, a brewer at Urban Lodge.

That experience has changed the way these student brewers view the entire industry, from the macro perspective to the next can they sip from.

“I was impressed at how much there is to this,” said Madison Moore ’25 (CAHNR). “There’s science, there’s marketing, there’s farming and agriculture. It’s so much more than people probably realize.”