Augustana students launch craft brew in partnership with Big Lost Meadery & Brewery
Big Lost Meadery & Brewery is partnering with several Augustana University students to brew and launch a craft beer called Orange Honey Saison. A launch party will be held March 28 at 7 p.m. at Big Lost.
These students are part of AU’s brewing & fermentation minor, which was added in the fall of 2022 and features two tracks of study. In the applied brewing track, students learn and apply the science behind fermentation, along with how to set up, run and troubleshoot fermentation equipment. In the brewing management track, students apply business principles to the craft brewing industry. Both tracks include local internships at places such as breweries, wineries or industrial fermenters.
All students in the minor participate in a final capstone course where students design, produce and market a beverage. The Orange Honey Saison brewed with Big Lost is part of the most recent capstone project. Saison is a pale-colored ale, also known as a farmhouse ale, originating in Belgium and characterized by its dry, fruity, spicy, and highly carbonated flavor profile. Big Lost Meadery & Brewery opened at Lake Lorraine in February 2025, its second location. The mead served here is brewed in Wyoming at its flagship meadery with beers in Sioux Falls brewed on site. Honey is a key ingredient in mead.
Augustana students studying brewing & fermentation collaborate with local breweries. Augustana’s program aims to teach the creativity, science, theory, impact, application and management of all things fermentation, which range from ales and root beers to vitamins and vaccines. AU is one of two universities in South Dakota that offers a brewing and fermentation minor.
