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on fermentation science including how to brew quality beer, there was a lack of opportunity to gain knowledge about the business side of the industry. Greg, a senior program developer at UVM’s Division of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, set out to create an online certificate program at UVM. The
more information about the program,
focus of this new certificate program was on marketing and branding, brewery
upcoming online classes, and curric-
finance, brewery operations, social media in brewery promotion, and beer sales
ulum, visit learn.uvm.edu/program/
and distribution.
business-of-craft-beer/.
Greg contacted senior staff in breweries across the US and Canada to launch The
I asked Greg what he’d say to
Business of Craft Beer Program at the University of Vermont. All instruction is
someone who was interested in
provided by industry leaders in breweries and consultants to the industry, so
pursuing a course or receiving
he needed to gain their buy-in to this concept in order for them to lend their
the certification. He says that
expertise to this effort.
the conversation typically begins
Since its inception, the program has greatly expanded from the original con-
with exploring what role a person
cept, adding faculty, new courses, and a tweaking of the curriculum. After three
is interested in pursuing in the
years, 500 people from around the world have completed certificates.
industry. While it appears to be a
For the future, Greg envisions adding a continuing education option for the
fairly simple question, the answers
Beer Industry series or courses that cover key business topics to help staff grow
are occasionally surprising—some
their breweries.
envision pursuing a long-held dream
Most of the people who take the certificate are writing a business plan for a
of opening their own brewery, while
start-up brewery or seeking employment in the industry, but Greg says people
others are seeking to transfer skills
from breweries also participate to gain broader knowledge of the industry. In
and experience in sales, marketing,
short, whether people are just beginning to explore their options or have already
or operations into the world of
begun crafting a business plan and identifying a potential brewery location, the
beer. Many graduates have been
program is an effective and engaging step in the process. For people who want
successful in both pursuits.
U
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