Oregon State University announced it will build a new research brewery thanks to a seven-figure donation from Gambrinus chief Carlos Alvarez.
Alvarez, the CEO and chairman of the Gambrinus Company – which owns BridgePort Brewing, Spoetzl Brewery, Trumer Brewery, and Tappeto Volante – has gifted the school with $1 million to build the brewery in the university’s Wiegand Hall Pilot Plant Facility.
The donation is the latest extension of a collaborative relationship the school already has with the company that dates back more than 15 years, specifically with BridgePort. Based out of Portland, BridgePort, which Gambrinus acquired in 1997, isn’t far from the school’s Corvallis campus.
“I am very pleased to support Oregon State’s fermentation science program and its outstanding students, who represent so much promise as future craft brewers,” Alvarez said in a press statement. “I am particularly excited to be able to fund this project and give back to the industry that built my business.”
Gambrinus, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is the nation’s fifth largest craft brewing company, according to the Brewers Association.
Tom Shellhammer, OSU’s Nor’Wester professor of fermentation science, said he was excited to expand the university’s “grain-to-glass” program.
“This state-of-the-art facility will allow us to provide an experiential education that is truly world-class, while also enhancing research that benefits industry,” he said.
This is the second major craft investment in a brewing education program. Earlier this month, New Belgium gifted Colorado State University with $1 million to renovate the facilities that host its own fermentation science and technology program.
When complete, OSU’s new brewery will be named in Alvarez’s honor, the school said.