LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — For the last year, construction has taken up part of the University of Kentucky campus to create a project that is about a decade in the making.
The James B. Beam Institute is now just a couple months from completion, set to be the largest teaching distillery not just in the U.S. but the entire world, according to UK leaders.
“This is a long time coming in terms of building this centerpiece for the institute and trying to build a place for research and education at the University of Kentucky,” Beam Institute research director Brad Berron.
Opportunity and access.
The two big words leaders with the institute emphasize for future students.
The distilling industry, not just bourbon but spirits in general, is prominent in Kentucky and this new facility aims to show students how a vast array of majors and disciplines can find their place in the world of distilling.
“We’ve got opportunities to come in with agricultural innovation through grains. We can do engineering innovations through distillation techniques and we can also study all the business innovations in terms of how these new bourbon businesses are evolving in the state of Kentucky and really support those,” Berron said.
The ten-year long push to make this institute a reality was led by Seth DeBolt who teachers agriculture and environment studies at UK but is also the director of the Beam Institute.
Excitement for this project to finish starts and ends with him as he appreciates being able to see his dream come to fruition.
“It’s like that old adage. You plant a tree that you’ll never sit under it and experience the shade. Planting this here will serve this signature industry for decades and hopefully 50-100 years to come, DeBolt said.
The focus is truly on the future.
DeBolt is ready to start teaching and training the next generation of distillers.
“We need to fill an aging workforce and increase the stock of students that are ready to come into this dynamic Kentucky signature industry,” DeBolt said.
Leaders with the institute say construction should be done by this summer and start accepting students into the program this fall.
If you want to read more about the James B. Beam Institute, click here.
