{"id":129741,"date":"2026-01-23T22:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/129741\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T22:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:54:26","slug":"partnership-with-local-brewery-creates-first-usf-branded-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/129741\/","title":{"rendered":"Partnership with local brewery creates first USF-branded beer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Matthew Cimitile<\/a>, University Communications and Marketing<\/p>\n

For the first time, the public can now purchase a beer crafted with USF at its core
\n \u2013 from its branding to its brewing process.<\/p>\n

Through its partnership with the USF Brewing Arts<\/a> program, Mastry\u2019s Brewing<\/a> has launched a new beer: The St. Pete Pilsner. The crisp and smooth pilsner, brewed
\n by USF alumni, features a student-designed label that highlights aspects of USF, St.
\n Petersburg and the art of beer brewing.<\/p>\n

It is now available at Mastry\u2019s St. Pete Beach location and will soon be available
\n at retailers near USF\u2019s campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, our Brewing Arts program has developed some great relationships with
\n local breweries, with many of these owners and head brewers teaching in our program
\n and being our champions in the community,\u201d said Joe Askren, director of USF\u2019s Brewing
\n Arts program. \u201cOne of those supporters came to us with the idea of partnering to make
\n a beer, label it and sell it to further support what we are doing here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mastry\u2019s Brewing developed the beer\u2019s recipe, and a USF alum who works at the brewery,
\n helped create it. The pilsner features light herbal and floral notes over a grainy
\n malt base. A portion of all proceeds of St. Pete Pilsner will support the Brewing
\n Arts program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very community-focused, which is why this was a natural partnership,\u201d said
\n USF alum Matthew Dahm, owner and founder of Mastry\u2019s Brewing. \u201cOur goal is to develop
\n the best hand-crafted beers and invest money in products made in our local community.
\n And what better way than partnering with our local university to further brewing arts
\n and using sales of the beer to support education for our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seeds for St. Pete Pilsner came about as USF St. Petersburg was preparing for
\n its annual fundraiser, Bulls & Brews by the Bay<\/a>. Askren wanted to develop a new beer recipe for the fundraiser and get students involved
\n in designing the can\u2019s label. So, he approached graphic arts Professor Jenny Yucus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yucus teaches a packaging design class every year that works with an outside client
\n on a project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really push experiential learning, and this class in particular allows the opportunity
\n for students to work with a real client to learn how to design for nonprofits, manage
\n client expectations, pitch their work, receive feedback, and other job skills they
\n need once they graduate,\u201d Yucus said.<\/p>\n

During the fall 2024 semester, each student in her class was tasked with creating
\n a can label for the new beer. Students met with Mastry\u2019s Brewing leadership, conducted
\n research into brewing and learned how to use USF brand standards. Out of 20 eye-catching
\n labels, a panel selected Ashley Wiser\u2019s design, who graduated in May of 2025. It includes
\n illustrations of Rocky, signature locations of the USF St. Petersburg campus, and
\n sea life and palm trees to represent St. Petersburg. It also includes illustrations
\n of bottles, ingredients and equipment to highlight the art of brewing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a wonderful collaboration and allowed my students to learn how to design
\n for an industry that was completely new to many,\u201d Yucus said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see
\n it in stores and try it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to impacts from Hurricane Helene and Milton, the St. Pete Pilsner never made its
\n debut at the fundraiser, but is now available for purchase.<\/p>\n

A major goal of this collaboration is to enhance awareness and grow the Brewing Arts
\n program. The 24-week online program provides students with the foundational knowledge
\n and practical skills needed for a successful career in craft brewing, covering the
\n science of brewing to the business of craft beer. A QR code on the can will bring
\n people to the program\u2019s website to learn more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of Bull pride and involvement in the creation of this product,\u201d Dahm
\n said. \u201cFrom students to faculty and staff to alumni, so many helped to get this across
\n the line to where we are able to provide it to the public and hopefully help out a
\n great program.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interested students can still apply to the next Brewing Arts cohort that begins on
\n February 2, 2026.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Matthew Cimitile, University Communications and Marketing For the first time, the public can now purchase a beer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-129741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}