Donation of canning system to MSU Denver’s Beer Industry Program

The Calgary-based inventor of micro-canning equipment for craft brewers has donated a canning system to the growing Beer Industry Program at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Cask’s Micro-Automated Canning Systems (mACS) will serve to educate the program’s students on the packaging, environmental, and freshness-keeping benefits of canned craft beer.

The MSU Denver brewing program (a branch of the school’s innovative School of Hospitality, Events and Tourism) offers several degree and non-degree options. It blends the art and science of brewing beer with the hospitality knowledge and operational skills sought by the beer and brewing industries.

"The Cask canning line will be a true difference maker for both MSU Denver and the beer industry as a whole,” says Scott Kerkmans, instructor and director of MSU Denver’s Beer Industry Program. “Our students are the next generation of brewery leaders, and now they can learn about micro-canning on equipment ideally suited for small and medium-sized breweries. They can apply that knowledge while interning during school and working after graduation.” 

“When we toured the school’s beer lab,” Cask founder Peter Love says, “we were blown away by the caliber of the testing equipment and the sophistication of the staff. We love that MSU Denver students will get quality control and testing experience way beyond what they could get in a typical craft brewery, and our micro-canning gear and cans will be put through that same rigorous testing and scrutiny.”

Cask’s mACS donation will also provide funding for the beer program. Tivoli Brewing Company, located in the school’s Tivoli Student Union, is adding cans to its packaging lineup and will host the mACS in its brewery. Tivoli will pay the university for use of the machine (at market rate) as if employing a mobile canning service. Students will receive training from Tivoli Brewing staff on the canning operation and get firsthand experience with brewing, packaging, and distribution.

MSU’s Beer Industry Program includes courses in a range of topics – chemistry, biology, management, hospitality, marketing and others. Students can earn Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in Brewery Operations or Craft Brewing and Pub Operations, or a minor or certificate in Brewery Operations.