earning HER STRIPES

Gwyneth Armstrong was the first woman to enroll in the fermentation program at Hocking College, and as the recipient of Three Tigers Brewing’s Patrick Gangwer Scholarship, she did so with paid-for tuition. Armstrong recently graduated from the program in Nelsonville and took a job as a shift brewer with Wolf’s Ridge Brewing in Columbus where she lives and works.

How did you learn about Hocking College?

I was taking a year off from college to try and figure out what I really wanted to do, and a coworker suggested that I check out the program at Hocking College. I thought this would be a cool way to combine my love for science and my love for beer.

How did you settle on the two-year associate degree program?

Hocking is a very good college for those who may not want — or have the time for — a four-year program. The two-year program allows the working person to get a degree while keeping their job.

Did you find the classes interesting, challenging?

I like to say that brewing beer is a fun science experiment that you get to do every day and then share with people. I feel like you don’t need to have a heavy science background — you just need a passion for creating a craft beverage.

Congrats on landing the scholarship! How helpful will that be going forward?

In five years, I’d like to be in a head or lead brewing position. Eventually I’d like to open my own brewery, and that is expensive. So that, on top of student loans, would probably be quite stressful.

What’s it like to be a woman working in a male-dominated industry?

There are not a lot of women working in breweries. If I can be a trailblazer for women in this industry, that would be amazing. We have the numbers we just need to keep growing them.