In an effort to expand the learning opportunities available to students from the University of Delaware, as well as offer a delicious, locally-sourced dessert option at their restaurants, Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant has teamed with the UDairy Creamery to offer an internship opportunity in brewing to a qualified undergraduate student in UD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) beginning in the spring.

The partnership also allows the UDairy Creamery to provide Iron Hill with exclusive ice cream flavors that can currently be found at the company’s 12 tri-state brewery restaurant locations.

Those flavors include vanilla, chocolate chip cookie dough, malted bourbon pecan and a chocolate stout featuring Iron Hill’s Russian Imperial Stout beer.

Melinda Shaw, UDairy Creamery manager, said that she is excited about the opportunity to give UD students an easy access point to a brewing internship and that it has the potential to get more students interested in food science.

“I think, especially with food science and fermentation and what we’re doing with our new upcoming dairy plant and the other courses, it’s something that every food science program should offer. It has the potential to get a lot more people interested in food science, too, if they know there are opportunities in fermentation and beer,” said Shaw.

Iron Hill has long maintained close ties with UD, as their flagship store opened in Newark in 1996 and they collaborate with CANR by having students in the college’s “Fermentations: Brewing and Beyond” interdisciplinary course learn first-hand about the brewing process at the Main Street location.

“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with the University of Delaware’s [College of Agricultural and Natural Resources] and look forward to working with students as part of our undergraduate brewery internship program,” said Iron Hill co-founder Kevin Davies. “We’re also excited and proud to offer our guests these premium, from-scratch ice creams from the UDairy Creamery in a way that provides support to one of the nation’s most exceptional universities.”

Iron Hill also collaborates with the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and was looking for ways to expand learning opportunities to UD students through internships.

They currently serve as an internship location for master’s degree students in beer schools so this partnership allows them to revamp their existing program for undergrads.

Shaw said that although the UDairy Creamery’s mission is not to sell as much ice cream as possible, and that they’ve never wholesaled the ice cream before, the opportunity to partner with Iron Hill has her excited about the educational possibilities for UD students.

“If a company is really working to build a partnership and be able to offer students such a great opportunity, it’s something that we shouldn’t deny our students the chance of having,” Shaw said, adding, “I think in this area, Iron Hill is one of the more longstanding brewery restaurants and I don’t think they get as much credit as they deserve for being around and as successful as they are. I think the fact that they’re growing so much and still want to work with the University and Delaware and our students is really impressive.”

For CANR students interested in applying for the internship, visit the CANR internships page. Qualified applicants must be at least 21 years of age.