Meet Harmonie Bettenhausen, Ph.D., Director of the Hartwick College Center for Craft Food and Beverage in Oneonta, New York. She was appointed the Director in June of 2021.

From Animal to Food Science

Dr. Bettenhausen grew up in Chicago, Illinois. In the mid-90s, she moved to Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She received her B.S. in agricultural/animal sciences, an M.S. in food science, and a Ph.D. in agricultural biochemistry. For a brief period she was pre-vet and worked as a vet tech, she also has experience in horse training, environmental remediations, brewing, and cheesemaking. In addition, she traveled to Bulgaria with the Peace Corps and worked in multiple different labs.

Many people have influenced Dr. Bettenhausen’s career working with barley. Early on, she was inspired by Doug Odell from Odell Brewing Co., in Fort Collins, Colorado by his approach to brewing and his use of raw materials. Later, she was inspired by many others including, Gary Hanning (AB-InBev), “the Newmans,” the team at New Belgium, Dr. Pat Hayes, Aaron MacLeod, the guys at Admiral Malting, Dr. Jamie Sherman, and Dr. Xiang Yin. These people, as well as others, all have one thing in common, an inherent passion for barley and what it can be or do.

Directing Food Research

At the Center for Craft Food and Beverage, Dr. Bettenhausen’s research is very broad. There she works with many different grains in all multiple capacities and stages. She has access to great instrumentation and tools which aid her team of experts and colleagues to accomplish research beneficial to the industry.

One of her favorite things about research is answering questions related to how genetics and environment (including processing) affect the flavor of malt, beer, and distillate. She is most proud of being a team player within a group of individuals who can contribute to knowledge that is readily usable by the industry. Hartwick College’s Center for Food and Beverage launched in 2014 and is a resource for testing, business development, and education for small and mid-sized breweries, wineries, distilleries, farms, and other craft food and beverage producers. It is the first such facility in New York State.

Presenting at the 2022 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum

Attend the 2022 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, in Tampa, Florida to hear Dr. Bettenhausen discuss how peroxyacetic acid effects DON levels during malting.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Bettenhausen’s research you can reach her via email.

You can also check out the series of previous USWBSI Featured Researchers.