It took Mcast students six months of work, but the brewing project was completed in time, so Gallery can be the official beer when Valletta becomes the European Capital of Culture in January.
The brainchild of seven students, aged 17 to 26, they worked on the project after an intensive two-week beverage course at Friesland, a vocational college in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, which will also be a European Capital of Culture next year.
The students, studying for an advanced diploma in food technology, took the opportunity to also promote further collaboration between the two countries.
‘Gallery’ reflects the museums and creative exhibits in Valletta
“The main objective of the project was to come up with a new beer that will be marketed in both countries as an official craft beer. Once the beer was produced, the respective institutions would identify a local brewery to produce,” a spokesman for the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology said.
Four students, following a graphic design course, worked on the Gallery branding and logo after the beer was developed.
The name ‘Gallery’ was chosen to reflect the museums and creative exhibits in Valletta, the spokesman noted.
Gallery is the official beer of V18.“Gallery can best be described as crisp and full-bodied in taste, similar to a lager,” course director Stephen Vella said.
“It took our students six months to perfect the recipe.”
Craft beer is a relatively new concept to the Maltese market, where more commercial beers are usually found. Craft beers are made by brewers that are generally small, independent and use traditional methods.
“The project exposed students to the experience of working on a large-scale product and introduced them to potential employers,” Mr Vella continued.
Gallery is the first in a series of beers that the food technology students worked on.
The plan is to have a new craft beer launched by students in food technology and graphic design every year.
The beer is already available at The Brew and will be sold commercially in bars around the island in February.
Students work on Gallery at The Brew.