Online Brewing Programs

jmcnamara

jmcnamara

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I've been poking around for a while now, and I found a program that Portland State University offers for an online brewery management certificate. what's really nice is that by the end of the program, i'd have a ready business plan. Seems to be a pretty reputable school, at least for the physical university side of it.

anyone have info on them or other online programs?

thanks!
 
a while back I took a class at OU on brewing, it was very in depth on the biology side of things
 
i had thought about coming at it from the physical brewing side, but it seemed a bit overwhelming with the classes that I saw. a lot of hands on classes at a campus somewhere, which just isn't practical for me.

plus, i figure i can always hire a chemistry / biology / etc. major fresh out of college to be the brew monkey, while i'm more on the business side of things.

i'm typing this at work as I gaze out the window, sigh...
 
I'd go with the biology, given my experience brewing. Fermentation control is the number two factor in getting good beer (sanitation is of course number one). That's yeast biology, pure and simple. The physics are pretty easy, rather basic engineering when you get right down to it. The yeast's magic is where the magic really happens.
 
from the perspective of being a "Brewer", i'd agree.
but my end goal is to open a brewery or brewpub, so i'm trying to come at it from the business side of things

as always though, thanks for the ideas
 
In that case, B-school is what you're after. Brewing is physics, chemistry and biology with a bit of cooking thrown in, all under the influence of alcohol. Brewery involves paying bills, meeting payroll, marketing, managing your supply chain, schmoozing with customers, keeping the lights on, all stone-cold sober. All reasons I, after about ten minutes of consideration, decided against going pro.
 
Nicely put, Nosybear!
 
you most certainly know about the siebel institute's online programs then. UC Davis has a good reputation and probably offer online courses. But I have to agree with Nosybear; you want a business school. online MBA's are offered by almost everyone. Another idea would be to visit Tom Hennessy's immersion course at his brewery in CO.

I thought about the siebel online courses myself, as well as their classroom courses at a partner school in Munich. Even thought about Weihensteffan, but I have almost decided to go instead to Berlin this fall to the VLB crash course. Which mean's, based on the photographs of their American graduates, that I have 10 months to grow a beard.
 
I know a brewer who went through Weihenstephan's program - he took silver at GABF for his pilsner this year, which is what Weihenstephan teaches you to brew. But to open a brewery, you need the business side. You can always hire a a brewer and, sorry for the brutal honesty, they're pretty cheap.
 
Nosybear said:
I know a brewer who went through Weihenstephan's program - he took silver at GABF for his pilsner this year, which is what Weihenstephan teaches you to brew. But to open a brewery, you need the business side. You can always hire a a brewer and, sorry for the brutal honesty, they're pretty cheap.
Click to expand...

Let's not over simplify it. I'm sure they teach the finer points of Helles, Weizen, Bockbier, Festbier along with Pils. :D
 
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