California's UC Davis' Continuing and Professional Education announces the Business of Craft Beer

Press Release

UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education has launched a new subject area, the Business of Craft Beer, designed to address the growing needs of brewers looking to successfully start and operate a brewery.

With more than 7,200 breweries in the United States, the craft beer industry has become increasingly competitive. “Crafting and brewing great beers is a basic requirement in today’s craft beer industry,” said Pat Greer, a brewing industry veteran and an instructor in UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education’s Brewing Program. “However, starting-up and operating a brewery requires a completely different set of skills and knowledge to be successful—this is what the Business of Craft Beer is all about.” With courses in Marketing Craft Beer and Brewery Safety, the Business of Craft Beer provides brewers with focused, practical instruction and training on key topics beyond brewing science that they can readily apply.

 “Brewers need to be able to answer the question: What does it cost to make great beer?” said Greer. Knowledge of finance, taxation and compliance are not usually in the wheelhouse of a brewer. Support activities, such as identifying overhead costs, marketing, distribution and inventory, are crucial to running a successful brewery.

Courses utilize both interactive lectures with guest speakers and a workshop format with group sessions, so students can engage in discussions and participate in hands-on learning. They also incorporate insight and experiences from industry experts to help students succeed and avoid some of the pitfalls others have encountered.

The Business of Craft Beer courses complement UC Davis’ suite of technical brewing courses by addressing the evolving needs of the craft beer industry. “We are working closely with craft brewers and studying industry trends and developments as we look at designing future courses,” said Greer, who mentioned brewery management and distribution as potential future topics. “What makes these courses unique is the opportunity for brewers to work with talented instructors and be part of UC Davis’ legacy in the craft brewing industry.”

Marketing Craft Beer begins January 11 and Brewery Safety: Creating a Safe Workplace starts January 18.

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About UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education

For nearly 60 years, the UC Davis Division of Continuing and Professional Education has blended the distinctive academic expertise of UC Davis with practical training that immediately improves capability and job performance. This “Career Curriculum” supports working professionals as they refresh and expand job skills over the course of their careers.

With 63,000 annual enrollments in classroom and online university-level courses and more than 220,000 students on Coursera, UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education serves lifelong learners in the growing Sacramento region, all 50 states and more than 100 countries.