Spring Break
The Daily OrangeDrinking on a school night: Students tap brand repertoire, bottles in alcohol appreciation class
By Gavin Godfrey
Posted: 10/4/05, 11:46 PM EST Section: Pulp
Beran said after the first midterm there is always about a 15-20 percent drop in the class' enrollment. At this point in the semester, professors know exactly who came for the drinking and who came for the learning.
"We want our students to be critical and understanding of their consumption," Beran said. "We not only want them to drink, but we want them to know exactly what they are drinking and how they can tell."
At times, even opening a container exposes some alcoholic ignorance. Beran recalls a time when the class was drinking champagne - a $2,000 lesson plan - and the room became littered with three dozen bottles as students learned how to unscrew a cork. One student decided he knew everything there was to know, and proceeded to open the bottle, only to have the cork shoot out at about 100 mph and chip a huge chunk of plaster off of the ceiling.
"Nothing too crazy has really ever happened," Beran said. "We keep a very watchful eye on the students while the tasting is going on and never give them a large amount."
The overall goal of Beran and Burr is to teach their protégés to drink less and better.
According to Beran, the students on college campuses drink the brand names because they do not know anything else. To keep students in the loop, the professors have a list of micro, regional and major brewing companies who send in representatives to speak to the class. Students hear names like Anheuser-Busch, Saranac and Yuengling and realize Miller Lite and Pabst are not exactly the most tasteful drinking choices.
"I've learned that the knowledge involved in distinguishing different grades of alcohol is simply being able to know there is a difference," Pellerano said.
"We want our students to be critical and understanding of their consumption," Beran said. "We not only want them to drink, but we want them to know exactly what they are drinking and how they can tell."
At times, even opening a container exposes some alcoholic ignorance. Beran recalls a time when the class was drinking champagne - a $2,000 lesson plan - and the room became littered with three dozen bottles as students learned how to unscrew a cork. One student decided he knew everything there was to know, and proceeded to open the bottle, only to have the cork shoot out at about 100 mph and chip a huge chunk of plaster off of the ceiling.
"Nothing too crazy has really ever happened," Beran said. "We keep a very watchful eye on the students while the tasting is going on and never give them a large amount."
The overall goal of Beran and Burr is to teach their protégés to drink less and better.
According to Beran, the students on college campuses drink the brand names because they do not know anything else. To keep students in the loop, the professors have a list of micro, regional and major brewing companies who send in representatives to speak to the class. Students hear names like Anheuser-Busch, Saranac and Yuengling and realize Miller Lite and Pabst are not exactly the most tasteful drinking choices.
"I've learned that the knowledge involved in distinguishing different grades of alcohol is simply being able to know there is a difference," Pellerano said.
