Sarah Howie, second from right, dishes up Killian's Roast Chicken with White Bean Ragout with the help of fellow students Virginia Atkinson and Toby Head. Photos by Chris Lawson

What do you get when you combine barley, hops and Metro State’s Hospitality, Tourism and Events department?

The answer is a real-world experience that has students testing out recipes that include beer, like Killian’s Irish Red or Blue Moon, as a core ingredient. About seven years ago, Associate Professor Michael Wray was approached by Coors about creating a range of simple, easy to prepare recipes that incorporated the company’s many products. With the help of Metro State HTE students and his colleagues, Wray has produced more than 60 recipes. Some of the dishes include: Killian’s Jalapeno Corn Muffins, Blue Moon Shrimp Fritters with Blue Moon Tropical Fruit Salsa and Killian’s Red Hot Wings.

“After all the interest from the different brands, it really turns out that Killian’s and Blue Moon are the most popular to cook with,” says Wray. “That’s where we’ve been focusing most of our effort.”

After Wray has carefully crafted the culinary concoction in words, the students take over to test and, in some cases, adjust and improve upon his original recipe.

Associate Professor Michael Wray, center, discusses the first course with the judging panel.

Last Thursday, seven students in Assistant Professor Shelly Owens’ Food Production I class prepared the latest round of recipes for a panel of judges composed, in part, of representatives from Molson/Coors and the company’s marketing firm, Integer Group. The students prepared a four-course meal made up of 12 different items that included appetizers, main entrées and even desserts made with beer as an ingredient.

Wray says the idea is to take five to 10 different ingredients plus the core product, in this case Killian’s Irish Red or Blue Moon, and create an easy-to-follow recipe that mirrors or compliments the flavor of the beer used.

“If the recipe is not 100 percent clear, it leaves gaps,” says Sarah Howie, a junior majoring in human nutrition-dietetics. “More than anything, this [exercise] teaches how to fill the gaps by using common sense and skills we’ve developed in the kitchen.”

Howie says one of her goals is to encourage people to eat healthier by teaching them how to prepare meals at home. She adds that, because of this project, she understands better how to write recipes that are easy for the average consumer to follow and prepare.

Detail of Blue Moon Baked Brie

“That’s the beauty of it,” says Wray. “They’re culinarians. Not only are they testing [the recipes], but they’re using their own skills that they developed in class to fix them.”

Once Wray and the students feel like they have a winning dish, they turn over the recipe to representatives from Integer Group who then create and launch a marketing campaign for supermarkets around the country. Wray says he is often asked to present the recipes at meetings around the country, and adds that he has taken students to share their insights as well.

“Everyday students in the classroom try to simulate a working environment with real problems,” says Wray. “[This initiative] is real. This is a real corporation coming to the college experts and the students for their opinion and their expertise. A whole national marketing campaign is going to be built around their work. It’s real. There’s no playing with this.”