The head brewer at Bearded Lamb Brewing Company in Plymouth found an interest in beer and decided to enroll at Schoolcraft College, a place that taught him the skills he needed to start his second career.
Tim George may brew beer, but describe his day-to-day activity, and he sounds more like a scientist.
The head brewer at Bearded Lamb Brewing Company in Plymouth, George’s brewing journey began nearly a decade ago when he enrolled at Schoolcraft College. He earned a Brewing and Distillation Technology Certificate and began at Brew Detroit, where he started off as a production brewer and lab assistant before becoming the head of their lab.
There, he learned a greater understanding of the science of beermaking.
“I was responsible for ensuring the quality and consistency of our beers as well as the larger contract brands that we brewed and packaged in house for,” he said. “Everything from raw materials to the finished product in the can or bottle had to be within their specifications and shelf stable.”
Originally working in the automotive industry, George decided several years into his career that it wasn’t for him. He found interest in beer and enrolled at Schoolcraft College, a place that taught him the skills he needed to start his second career. After completing his program, he even worked at the College as an instructor for a short time.
“The big benefit to Schoolcraft’s brewing is that you’re there hands-on in the brewery, making something. You’re not just reading about it,” George said. “That’s what definitely helped me: being able to participate in the product and what goes into it.
“To me, it’s the best college in the country for brewing, 100 percent.”
After several years at Brew Detroit – the third largest brewery in the state at that time – he saw an opening for the head brewer job at Bearded Lamb, nestled in Plymouth’s Old Village neighborhood, and applied. His application rose to the top when ownership saw he had a Certificate from Schoolcraft College, located just a few miles up Haggerty Road.
It did not take George long to make an impact: Bearded Lamb took home two awards in the U.S. Open Beer Championships earlier this summer. That included a silver medal in the Schwarzbier ****category and a bronze medal in the American black ale category.
Working at a small brewery like Bearded Lamb allows George a chance to try some different styles, which is what led to those two awards.
“It’s nice to be able to make such a variety of styles,” George said. “People really enjoy that, too.”
Tony Vassallo, one of the owners of the brewery, said having George on the team has given the Old Village brewery some new life.
Having a Schoolcraft College graduate as head brewer, Vassallo said, is just the storybook tale for Bearded Lamb.
“It’s this local kid who went to a local college and is now here working for us,” he said. “It’s part of the story. This local guy is now brewing in Plymouth just miles from where he went to school.”
Learn more about Bearded Lamb Brewing Company at beardedlamb.com. To learn more and enroll in Schoolcraft’s Brewing and Distillation Technology program, visit schoolcraft.edu/brewing.
