Beer and biology
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Students study the science behind brewing beer in Bath
Tuesday, 23 May, 2023A field trip to a brewery is the kind of field trip most students dream of - but Biology students from Bath Spa University have been doing just that.
The second year students studying Biology in Society and Applied Microbiology visited the Electric Bear brewery in Bath to discover the industrial processes involved in making beer, and find out more about the context of the brewing industry. And, of course, they were also able to taste some of the beers brewed on the Brassmill Lane site.
Field trips are an important 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 Biology students will explore themes such as ecology, environmental management, microbiology, human pathophysiology, biodiversity and food analysis. They will also be able to continue to make the most of the University's unique campus with its rich variety of woodland, grassland and freshwater habitats, which are used extensively in practical work.