Lakewood Brewing Co. Taps The Next Generation with The University of Texas at Arlington

DALLAS, TX  (January 2024) – Lakewood Brewing Co. is brewing up the next generation of beer talent through a collaboration with The University of Texas at Arlington, which is offering
a new Brewing and Fermentation Science Certificate. Dylan Parks, Ph.D., biology assistant professor of instruction and former Lakewood Brewing lab technician, is head of the four-course certificate program that Lakewood is helping provide the hands-on experience for.

Designed to teach students from the ground up, Dr. Parks has developed a curriculum that will include The Science of Brewing, Fermentation Science, Brewing Lab and Sensory Evaluation, QA/QC, and Product Design. There will also be a requirement for a 16-hour internship at a local fermentation or brewing facility, for which Lakewood is one of the first to participate.

“Hands-on experience is critical to anyone that is going to go on and work in a production facility, whether it be a winery, brewery, cidery, or distillery,” said Wim Bens, founder and president of Lakewood Brewing. “It’s important to have an educated workforce, or to even power someone’s future hobby – that’s how I started, and I’m stoked to help others go that path.”

Bens is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, which he has also worked with following the launch this year of PONY PILS, a beer Lakewood made for Mustang fans. After it flew off shelves after launching this summer, SMU added it PONY PILS to its concession offerings at home football and basketball games. The beer also has an associated scholarship with $1 from every case sold going to the LBC Future Brewer STEM Scholarship, which has a goal to “Inspire the passions of the next generation of craft brewers.”

Lakewood is most notably known for its Temptress Imperial Milk Stout, the best-selling craft stout in Texas. Today, its beer portfolio includes year-round IPA's, lagers, stouts,
and popular seasonal offerings, all of which draw beer lovers to the Taproom at 2302 Executive Drive in Garland. Its beers are available on craft beer shelves Texas-wide and can be found using Lakewood’s online Beer Finder.