Note: One of the people mentioned in this article, Emery Love, worked for the Collegian last year.

The beer scene has become a big part of Fort Collins culture, but working behind the scenes of a brewery and learning how to make beer marketable brings something new to the experience of that very culture.

Two Colorado State University journalism students, Natalie Wendl and Emery Love, had the opportunity to intern for the Fort Collins Brewery during the fall semester 2015.

Alisha Lubben, Event Manager  and Assistant General Manager for the Fort Collins Brewery said the internship program right now is for marketing and public relations, but the brewery is working to create more parts of the program.

“Right now, we have an established program (internship) for marketing and PR internships where the candidates can offer up press releases, they do some really great blog articles, as well as taking pictures,” Lubben said. “We recently started a new project called ‘Brewing Artists,’ which includes (members) of the community, with a focus on CSU, are able to come in and start their portfolio by designing tap handle flags, and by designing the mural that’s going to be outside the brewery.”

Natalie Wendl  said she applied for an internship at the brewery as she was searching for an internship to fulfill credit for her degree.

“I was looking at a bunch of places and then I stumbled upon a posting for a PR intern from last year, so I sent an e-mail asking if they needed one for this year,” Wendl siad. “They were, so I interviewed and got it.”

Wendl said she was able to be creative with her work in the brewery.

“FCB pushes the artistic, creative side of you so that was really cool and not just basic PR,” Wendl said. “You can put a twist on it and they’re okay with that.”

Wanting to go into public relations or advertising, Love said she enjoyed that she had the opportunity to be creative with the work she did in her internship. She also said her education at CSU has taught her to write well, quickly and concisely.

“I get to come in and work and write, but I also get to taste beers and work in the bar scene,” Love said. “In the most basic sense, I learned how to write well. I think because of my education at CSU I am able to write and I am able to do it quickly.”

Lubben said the semester long internship program works to encompass all aspects of what the brewery does, much of it dealing with hospitality. The interns utilize social media and write blog posts, but are also involved in direct communication with customers at the brewery.

“We ask that they (the interns) come downstairs and really get the feel of the hospitality industry, so whether you’re looking to go into the creative marketing side, into sales, into PR into craft beer, or hospitality, it really encompasses all those different functions of a brewery and a restaurant,” Lubben said. “These two girls are highly motivated, are passionate about craft beer, they are passionate and hard working.”

Collegian Reporter Megan Fischer can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @MegFischer04.