CNM Brewing Students’ Creation on Tap at Flock of Moons Brewery

In collaboration with Flock of Moons Brewery, CNM Brewing students have crafted a flavorful Belgian Saison brew that will begin flowing through taps at Flock of Moon’s location in the university area’s Bricklight District on Aug. 21.

Students from CNM’s Beer Production I class executed the entire process, including planning and evaluating the hop profile, mixing in grain, setting up lines and hoses, and shepherding the ingredients through the entire brewing process on Flock of Moons brewing equipment.

“This was a great opportunity for our students to get real-world experience at a professional brewery,” said Antonio Fernandez, CNM’s lead Brewing instructor. “We have an awesome brewing lab at CNM, but this was an opportunity for our students to work with a bigger system and get a much wider view of what actual brewing looks like in a brewery. They learned about the tighter deadlines of the professional world, and they were also able to make great contacts for employment in the industry.”

“From recipe design to brew day and even sensory evaluation during fermentation, our collaboration with CNM was a blast,” said Flock of Moons co-owner and brewer Jeff Tomlinson. “(The students’) thoughtful questions made me reflect on my own processes and even consider new approaches – so the learning went both ways. Antonio tied each step back to the students’ lessons and highlighted the similarities and differences between brewing on Flock of Moons equipment and what they use at CNM. It was a rewarding experience that left everyone more inspired about the craft of brewing.”

CNM’s Brewing graduates continue to be in high-demand across New Mexico’s robust and renowned brewing industry – the program has a 100 percent job placement rate for graduates.

“Having a world-class brewing education program right here in New Mexico is truly something special,” Jeff said. “Our brewing community is collaborative and tight-knit, with the New Mexico Brewers Guild helping to bring everyone together. I’ve met so many wonderful people in the state’s craft beverage industry, many of whom came through the CNM program. As a brewery owner, it’s reassuring to know there’s a deep pool of passion and talent right in our backyard.”

“The demand for our graduates remains very strong,” Antonio said. “Breweries need employees who are well trained and can hit the ground running. Employers know about the quality of our program and our graduates. There’s a huge number of our graduates working at breweries around the state. CNM grads make up the majority of the brewing workforce.”

Jeff created the recipe for the Belgian Saison that the CNM students executed on. Belgian Saison is a farmhouse style ale that’s very crisp, flavorful and highly carbonated. This one that the CNM students brewed features hops and yeast with very fruity and citrusy flavors. They named it “Citrinitas” – an alchemist term for “yellowness.”

“We’re looking forward to the public trying this beer and tasting the result of what a great partnership like this can produce,” Antonio said.

“I can’t say enough about the enthusiasm the entire CNM team has brought, not only to brewing our collaboration beer, but also to celebrating its release and lifting up our neighborhood brewery,” Jeff said.

This was the fifth time CNM Brewing students have teamed up with a local brewery to produce a collaboration brew.

CNM’s top-notch brewing curriculum and highly experienced faculty turned the college’s program into one of the best in the country. In the 2018 U.S. Open College Beer Championship, CNM was named the No. 2 brewing school in North America. During that competition, CNM students won the gold medal in the IPA category and silver in the Stout category.

Learn more about CNM’s Beverage Production and Management programs, which includes brewing, winemaking, and distilled spirits concentrations.