Sweet partnership brings Hokie-inspired ice cream to market | VTx

Long-standing history of agriculture excellence

In the summer of 1893, a creamery and cheese factory were built on Blacksburg’s campus near Price Hall. With milk production from the campus dairy cows, Virginia Tech supplied the town of Blacksburg with dairy products, delivering them door to door. The dairy sales room in the dairy science department became an institution at Virginia Tech, serving ice cream to students and the local community from the early 1930s through 1967.

Since 1968, the Department of Food Science and Technology has been a leader in contributing to food quality, safety, marketability, and availability through excellence in teaching, research, and Virginia Cooperative Extension. The department’s nationally ranked undergraduate and graduate programs prepare students for careers in industry, government, and academia.

Once a small program intended to complement the food studies curriculums within the former Department of Animal, Dairy, and Poultry Science, today’s department has grown into one of the top food science programs in the country, spurred on by its nearly 100 percent job placement rate and the ongoing rapid expansion of the global food industry. Notable alumni include the current president of Kansas State University, the director of the Panamanian Food Agency, and the former U.S. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety.

The department is ranked ninth on Successful Student’s list of the 10 Best Bachelor’s in Food Science and Nutrition Programs in the country and eighth on its list of Best Master’s in Food Science Programs.

“With a focus on experiential learning, the department prides itself in uniquely preparing students for success,” said Wiersema, pilot plant manager at Virginia Tech. “With our cutting-edge facilities and innovative programs, like our food and beverage fermentation program, we are helping shape and prepare undergraduate and graduate students so that they are not only ready to enter the workforce, but contribute to the evolution of the industry with emerging technologies.”

In 2017, the department’s food and beverage fermentation degree option became one of only eight four-year brewing programs in North America to be officially recognized by the Master Brewers Association of the Americas. Shortly after, the department established a student exchange program with the Technical University of Munich Weihenstephan, providing students the hands-on opportunity to learn brewing science and technology from experts at the premier university for brewing science and research, including learning at the oldest continuously operating brewery in the world in Freising, Germany.

Two years ago, Virginia Tech announced a partnership with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery to create the award-winning Fightin’ Hokies Lager, Virginia Tech’s first licensed beer, which became Virginia’s top-selling craft brew in its first year on the market, according to Nielson. The beer was awarded a silver medal at the 2022 Australian International Beer Awards in the Munich-style helles category and second place in the pale European lagers category at the Virginia Brewers Guild. Additionally, created to celebrate Virginia Tech’s 150th anniversary, All Hail to Thee is the second beer developed in collaboration with Hardywood available for consumers in May.

“We’re excited to build on the momentum of the beer’s success,” said Wiersema. “The new and exciting collaboration with the award-winning Homestead Creamery is the latest step in its continued growth, signifying a bright future for the department.”