Biography
Dr. Witrick uses her previous industry experience to try and bridge the gap between industry and academia by designing her experiments to try and mimic that of the industry. Her research primarily focuses on how ingredient manipulation within a fermented beverage system will impact the fermentation as well as the flavor of the final product.
The primary focus of Dr. Witrick's work is looking at how you can alter the flavor and aroma profile of a fermented beverage by simply changing a single ingredient or altering the fermentation parameters. Examples include altering the water chemistry to see how it will impact or inhibit Brettanomyces bruxellensis and the beer’s flavor profile. She is also conducting research on the impact the geographical growing region of an ingredient has on the flavor and other quality attributes of the specific ingredient found in beer. While, Dr. Witrick’s primary research area is beer, she does work with other fermented beverages and products like kombucha, kefir, yogurt, and wine.
- Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2013
- Ph.D. Food Science and Technology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2012
- B.S. Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, 2008
My current projects are 1.) looking at Florida grown malts and their brewing quality characteristics, 2.) the impact of different preparation techniques of tea for the manufacturing of kombucha, 3.) Brettanomyces bruxellensis and how altering the fermentation environment will impact the flavor profile of the beer, and 4.) impact of wine packaging on the flavor profile of Florida’s wine.
Katherine Thompson-Witrick, Ph.D.