During the semester that has just ended at The University of Toledo, I taught a course titled, The Geography of Beer and Brewing. This was a course for graduate students. Eight students enrolled in the class – six doctoral students and two Masters students. Being a graduate level class, it was reading and discussion intensive with one student responsible for leading the discussion each week. Students had to read four to five scholarly papers each week, and come to class prepared to discuss and debate them. The topics covered in the class were wide ranging and included the historical evolution of the brewing industry, craft breweries and neighborhood change, beer and the law, beer tourism etc. The scholarly literature on the brewing industry is multi-disciplinary. As a result, even though this was a course taught within the Geography and Planning Department, students were exposed to a wide range of disciplinary perspectives on the industry – geography, economics, anthropology, business history, law etc. The mix of students in the class was also very gratifying. There were two female students, one African American student (female), and at least two Muslim students (from Bangladesh). This mix made for fascinating discussions; discussions that were undoubtedly richer because of the diversity of voices around the table.
As part of their course assessment, students had to write a five thousand word term paper. I have just completed reading them and I have to say that I really enjoyed doing so. Here are the titles of the term papers that I read:
Market Overview of Non-alcoholic Beer: Prospects and Constraints
Thai Microbrewing Tied Down by Policy: Policy Analysis of Thailand’s 2008 Alcohol Beverage Control Act and its Effects on Small-Scale Thai Breweries
Discussing the Relationships between Crime and Craft Beer in Chicago, IL
Beer and Brewing Consumer Preferences : A Look at Preferences of American Drinkers
Geographic Analysis of Ohio Hop Farming and Breweries
Going Out for a Pint: Craft Breweries and Walkability
Izakayas as Third Places in Japan
Limits to Production: A Study on the Relationship Between Craft Brewery Production Volume and Socioeconomics of Urban Areas
Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the papers produced by the students. A few of them, with some work, may even have the potential to be published in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. I will be talking with these students over the summer to see if the are interested in pursuing this possibility.
As with any course, the first time that you teach it, you identify changes that you can implement to improve the overall learning experience for students. I plan to teach a new and improved version of the same course in the spring 2020 semester. I am also giving some thought to developing an undergraduate version of the same course. This will, of course, be lecture-based, and so involves developing a semester’s worth of lecture material. I am gradually piecing those lectures together.
I’m not the only person to teach a course on the the geography of beer and brewing in the United States. There are a few others of which I am aware. Sean Crotty teaches a Geography of Beer course at Texas Christian University, while Julie Wartell teaches Craft Breweries and the Urban Economy at the University of California, San Diego. While a course on the the geography of beer and brewing may be considered a niche or boutique course, there is no question that such a course can help students develop a more nuanced understanding of broader topics and issues such as industrial location theory, industrial organization, changing consumer preferences, neighborhood change, etc.
A few weeks ago, I had lunch with Terry Keller ,Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lourdes University in Sylvania, OH. Terry is the driving force behind Lourdes’ recently announced Bachelor of Science degree in Craft Beverages. I was curious to learn more about the degree, and so Terry invited me to the Lourdes campus for lunch.
The degree requires the completion of 120 credit hours. As with any degree program, there are general education and core requirements, such as courses in English Composition, Theology, and Philosophy. It is when the students get to courses in the Major that the options get interesting. Students must complete forty-eight credit hours of Major Courses. Courses that they can choose from include General Microbiology, Introduction to Brewing Science, Fermentattion, Styles & Flavors, and Advanced Brewing & Distilling.
I had lunch with Terry Keller on the beautiful campus of Lourdes University
Students in the program will also be required to complete nine credit hours of internship study. Lourdes’ internship partners range from the local to the international. Local partners are Inside The Five Brewing Company, Black Cloister Brewing Company, Twin Oast Brewing, Upside Brewing, and Heidelberg Distributors. Lourdes also has partnerships with a number of vineyards in California, as well as Galway Hooker Brewery and Nephin Distillery (both in Ireland). The latter two will provide Study Abroad opportunities for the program’s students. Two of the program’s local partners have already concocted two brews in recognition of Lourdes’ new initiative. Inside the Five Brewing Company have brewed Gubi The Gray, a Smoked Amber Wheat, which it named after the school mascot. Upside Brewing have brewed Gray Wolves Wheat, a Pale Wheat Ale.
Twin Oast Brewing in PortClinton, OH will be one of Lourdes University’s local partners
The new degree program will launch in the fall semester of 2019. For that first semester, Terry hopes to enroll between eight and ten students. Part of the program’s mission is to “provide students the knowledge and practical skills for success in the craft beverage industry.” It is clear from the courses that the student will take in order to complete the degree that it is a comprehensive and holistic program. Even if another institution in the region were to mimick Lourdes’ example, and introduce a similar program, Lourdes will have the benefit of what is known as first-mover advantage. In other words, they now have the opportunity to establish a reputation and develop a brand identity in the area of craft beverage education. It is essential, however, that they do this well, and focus on developing an excellent program that provides students with a quality product. Having spent just under an hour with Terry, I have a feeling that Lourdes are going to do just that.
Talking about potential competition, back in 2016, I attended a meeting at Terre State Community College in Fremont, OH. They were interested in developing a curriculum for a certificate program around the topic of beer, and brought together a few local experts to brainstorm. As far as I know, the initiative never got beyond that one meeting. A few years ago, I suggested to someone in the upper administration at my institution, the University of Toledo, that they explore the possibility of developing a certificate or degree program around the theme of craft beer. Unfortunately, the University of Toledo is not a particularly forward-thinking institutuion and the suggestion fell on deaf ears. So kudos to Lourdes University. I wish them every success in their new degree and hope to hear and read about its success in the coming years.
Terra State Community College in Fremont, OH are exploring the possibility of developing a Certificate Program focused on brewing
Back in February I participated in a meeting at Terra State Community College. Terra State is located about forty miles southeast of Toledo, OH just outside the town of Fremont, OH. Terra State are interested in developing a curriculum for a Certificate Program around the topic of beer and brewing. I was invited to attend the meeting by Ellen Wardzala who is Associate Dean of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at Terra State. In addition to Ellen there were three other Terra State administrators in attendance. Also there was Mike Roder, the Founder of Catawba Island Brewing Company in Port Clinton, OH.
Prior to the meeting I did my homework on what other colleges and universities across the country are providing with respect to education in the area of beer and brewing. It is apparent that an increasing number of community colleges and universities are offering programs with such a focus. The website of The Brewers Association lists fifteen university-affiliated brewing programs in the United States and Canada, although a more extensive search of the Internet suggests that this list is not comprehensive.
Several types of brewing programs are offered by colleges and universities. These range from individual stand-alone courses, to certificate programs, to fully-fledged undergraduate degree programs. Terra State’s interest lies in exploring the possibility of offering a certificate program. Certificate Programs in many different areas of study are increasingly common at American universities and allow students to acquire basic knowledge of and expertise in an area of study. My own department at the University of Toledo offers one in Geographic Information Science and Applied Geographics. They typically require the successful completion of four or five courses. Certificate programs focused on beer and brewing at American colleges and universities appear to focus in one of two areas – the science of brewing or the business side of the industry.
Central Washinton University’s Craft Brewing Certificate focuses in the scientific side of brewing
The certificate program at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA is a four-course (ten weeks per course) sixteen-credit program that focuses on the science of brewing. The four courses that comprise the certificate are Principles and Biochemistry of Brewing, Topics and Strategy in the Craft Brewing Industry, Brew Process Technology, and Brewing Microbology. The program is designed for current craft brewing professionals who are interested in further developing their skills and individuals working in other professions who may be interested in a career change and entering the world of commercial craft brewing.
Portland State’s Craft Brewing Certificate program focuses on the business side of the industry
In contrast, Portland State University in Portland, OR offers a certificate program that focuses on the business side of the craft brewing industry. Again, this is a four-course program with students being required to complete courses in Basic Business for Craft Beverage and Craft Beverage Business Management. Students then have to take two of the following three courses – Strategic Craft Beverage Marketing, Finance and Accounting for the Craft Brewery, and Craft Beverage Distribution. All courses are only offered online with each one taking four to five weeks to complete. The target audience are home brewers who might be interested in commercializing their hobby as well as industry professionals who wish to advance their knowledge of the business aspects of the industry. While brewing is emphasized in the courses many of the principles taught can be applied to operating and running distilleries and cideries.
Getting hands-on experience is a critical part of a brewer’s training.
While knowledge attained in a formal classroom setting can be very useful it is only a piece of the training that someone working in (or hoping to work in) the craft brewing industry may find beneficial. The other piece is hands-on-experience and that can come in a variety of forms including an internship, job shadowing, and on-the-job training. Many of the courses of study offered by professional brewing-focused organizations are hybrid in nature, combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience. The American Brewers Guild (ABG) is one such organization that offers a variety of brewing-focused courses. These include courses in Brewing Science for the Advanced Homebrewer, Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering, and Lab Practices for the Small Brewery. Some of these courses of study comprise a combination of formal instruction and practical training. For example the Guild’s twenty-eight week Craftbrewers’ Apprenticeship Program requires twenty-five weeks of formal instruction (via distance learning), one week at a working brewery, and five weeks of on-site practical training at another working brewery.
But spending five weeks in a brewery is not just about getting practical training. It is also acquiring what is referred to as tacit knowledge. Social scientists who study knowledge often make the distinction between codified and tacit knowledge and to to be a successful brewer both are critical. Codified knowledge is that which can be attained from reading a textbook, referring to an instruction manual, listening to a lecture etc. An example of utilizing codified knowledge would be baking a cake using the recipe in a cookbook. However give two people, a novice and a professional chef, the same recipe and chances are the dish produced by the chef will be superior. The difference in outcomes can be attributed to the chef’s tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge are the skills, ideas, and experiences that the chef has acquired over many years of practicing his or her profession. He or she carries this knowledge in his or her head and because it is experiential in nature it cannot be easily shared with and transferred to another individual. It is knowledge that is difficult to articulate. In a very informative paper Thomas Thurnell-Reed of Coventry University interviewed craft brewers in England. It is clear from these interviews that tacit knowledge is a critical part of the brewers’ knowledge base. Several brewers spoke of the value of spending time in other breweries and seeing how things are done. As noted by Thurnell-Reed “craft skills often draw on tacit knowledge which is often easier to demonstrate than it is to explain and describe verbally” and “being around a working brewery and seeing how things ‘get done’ thus appeals to a sense of tacit knowledge.”
Being a successful commercial craft brewer requires the command and application of wide range of diverse knowledge. Some of that knowledge can be attained from reading, some via the process of formal instruction, and some through on-the-job experience. This knowledge is both codified and tacit in nature. Universities and community colleges can play an important part in helping commercial craft brewers, both current and aspirational, improve their knowledge base, particularly with respect to the scientific and business sides of the brewing industry. This is an emerging student market for institutions of higher education. As such it has the potential to get saturated as more and more colleges and universities recognize and develop curriculum to meet what is surely to be a growing demand. However those colleges and universities that already have developed, or are in the process of developing, their curriculums can get ahead of the pack. And if they provide a high quality product they can establish their reputations and thereby position themselves to be successful even as the market becomes increasingly crowded. So kudos to Terra State Community College for taking the initiative in northwest Ohio.
With respect to the meeting that was held at Terra State I suggested that a valuable next step might be to bring together some local craft brewers in a focus focus group setting and pick their brains with respect to what type of curriculum (both in terms of content and format) might be useful to the craft brewing industry. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of these focus groups.
Further Reading
Thurnell-Read, Thomas. 2014. Craft, tangibility and affect at work ina microbrewery. Emotion, Space and Society, Volume 13, pages 46-54.
