[Brew Series] Training America’s Next Brewers: The Top Brew Schools in the US

There’s Nothing Like a Frosty Glass

You love beer.  You love the recent explosion of micro and nano-brewed craft beer.  You’ve been brewing at home for ages.  Your dream is to open a microbrewery – but do you know how?  It seems like many people have been asking the same question.

So many people that a number of universities have begun to put together craft beer programs designed to help microbrewers run their businesses successfully.  We investigated many of the programs and have ranked our top 5.  Here they are:

5. University of New Hampshire

New England has been a particular seed bed for the burgeoning craft beer industry. With its myriad of mill buildings and industrial experience, most New England states have a multitude of brewers.

In the Fall of 2016, the venerable University of New Hampshire will be launching its “Craft Brewery Startup Workshop: The Business of Beer” at its Durham, New Hampshire campus. The program consists of a five-day craft beer-intensive, taught by leading and experienced brewers.

First and foremost, students will create a business plan to help them organize ideas for their beer businesses.  Next, students will delve into a study of necessary equipment and where to procure it.  They will also spend time learning about the different ingredients which make up beer styles.

The intensive introduces such topics as business practices and market positioning. Instruction focuses on all aspects of brewery development.  And, as if that isn’t enough, you will form a very worthwhile network of fellow brewers.

We have ranked the UNH Program as #5, only because it, too, is a start up and does not have a history yet.

Tuition – $1,300

4. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

OK, it’s time to get serious.  Colorado State University offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Fermentation Science and Technology.  The program has been designed to prepare students to enter the “fermentation” industries around the world.

What the heck is a “fermentation industry”?  Fermentation relates to friendly bacteria and the production of wonderful food items using the unique microbial characteristics.  Think of cheese, yogurt, sour dough bread, and of course beer and wine.

Although the program does not specialize in craft brewing alone, it provides a varied and excellent background for working with bacterial cultures in the food industry.

The program began in 2013 and is located on the CSU Campus as part of the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.  The classroom consists of a brewing lab, a teaching kitchen and a fermentation laboratory, donated by the Anheuser-Busch Foundation.

Course work consists of a heavy math and science load: Algebra, Chemistry, Microbiology, as well as Viticulture, Statistics, Enology and Food Production Management. If you enter this program, you will be doing way more than sampling beer!

Instate Tuition – $24,526. Annually

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