Student-athletes won’t be the only ones representing the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) during the football program’s home opener on Saturday, Sept. 14. Students in the Brewing Laboratory Science program will be on-site, with tastings of the beer they crafted on campus under the Northern Colorado Brewhouse label at the ninth annual Bears, Brews & Bites tailgate. 

Attendees can sample unlimited tastings of beer from 11 other breweries, including five Greeley breweries and Denver Beer Co, and receive a souvenir glass and a ticket to the UNC home football game for $45. The event kicks off at 11 a.m. in the Fan Fest Tailgate area, ahead of the Bears taking on the Abilene Christian Wildcats at 2 p.m. 

"The on-campus brewery is a project that has been in the works for many years now,” Brewing Project Manager Sean Johnson said. “We had quite a few hurdles to jump over but we’re really excited to be where we are and have these beers at Bears Brews & Bites this year.” 

A collaboration between Yetters Brewing Company and UNC’s Brewing Laboratory Science program allows the option to sell UNC-crafted beer. For the past seven years, students in the program have been learning how to brew at the seven-barrel microbrewery on campus. However, most of the beverages produced ended up wasted since the university lacked a license to sell the beer. That is until Johnson and Yetters Brewing owner Dan Yetter teamed up this past April to form the Northern Colorado Brewhouse. Under the new partnership, Yetters essentially owns the label and sells the beer under his liquor license, but the beer is brewed on campus and oftentimes in collaboration with UNC students.  

“When Dan said he had to brew multiple times a week to keep up with demand, I asked him if he’d be interested in leasing the brewery space at UNC. The alternative is that our brewery continues to brew beer that goes to waste,” said Johnson. 

Yetter opened the doors of his new taproom this year at the corner of 10th Street and Ninth Avenue. With the new agreement in place, he upgraded from a 30-gallon system to a 220-gallon system, allowing him to brew the same volume of beer with fewer batches so he can focus on running his business. 

“For us, the partnership allows us an opportunity for students to do classwork and internships on campus, as well as involve other UNC academic programs like Accounting and Graphic Design to brew beer that we can then have at places like Burger and Co. and football games,” Johnson said. 

Johnson first started hosting Bears, Brews & Bites in 2017 and has overseen the event every year since. Proceeds from the event help support the programmatic needs of UNC’s Brewing Laboratory Science program, which consists of an undergraduate certificate and an undergraduate minor. In the past, that money has funded training, new lab equipment and scholarships for students pursuing the minor. 

Tickets for this year’s Bears, Brews & Bites are available online. Those who purchase before Friday, Sept. 13, will also receive a food voucher. 

Northern Colorado Brew House beers are currently sold at Burger and Co. in the University Center and at Yetters Brewing Company in downtown Greeley.