Business of Craft Brewing
The School of Professional & Continuing Studies offers the Business of Craft Brewing course for students interested in entering the craft brewing industry as an owner.
This 10-week course, a complementary offering alongside our Beer Brewer Professional Certificate, provides an in-depth exploration of the business side of launching a brewery, covering essential topics such as selecting the right brewery model, developing strategic sales and marketing plans, navigating regulatory and taxation requirements, and understanding the financial planning and projection process. The course is delivered live and online, led by instructors with hands-on industry experience.
Upon finishing the course, students have the option to complete a Capstone project, where they can apply the concepts learned throughout the course to create their own brewery business plan. Those who choose to participate in the project will have their work reviewed and critiqued by one of the program’s instructors.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand the different types or models of breweries
- Perform basic financial analysis of brewery operations
- Develop a basic brewery marketing plan
- Understand and create a brewery sales plan
- Write a business plan for a brewery
Course Topics
The course will cover the following topics:
- How to decide what type of brewery business is right
- How to start your brewery business
- Financial planning and analysis needed to run a brewery
- What marketing plans are and how to use them
- How to plan strategically for sales and growth
Who Should Take This Class
This course is ideally suited to the following people:
- Brewing industry professional upskilling in order to manage a brewery
- Entrepreneurs seeking to launch their own brewing business
- Beer Brewer Professional Certificate earners seeking additional training in the business of craft brewing
- Anyone curious to learn more about running a successful brewery