Tap Into The Business of Craft Beer With Kendall College

New research from Kendall College reveals the impact craft beer is having on the beer industry. In the last seven years, the consumption of craft beer has more than doubled. The popularity doesn’t appear to be waning anything soon. Already, 36 percent of people drink beer made by small, boutique breweries dedicated to unique gourmet drafts. As for the rest of world that is still largely familiar with only the mainstream mass-market brands, nearly half of those polled in a survey by Kendall College said they would drink a craft brew, but they aren’t aware of what it is.

Drinkers between ages of 25 and 34 know what craft beer is and 43 percent of these Millenials guzzle it over blander, diluted varieties. Baby Boomers drink craft as well: 32 percent of them. The rest of world likely won’t be far behind because craft brews are no longer the obscure oddities they used to be. There are more microbreweries now than there have ever been, except for in the 1880s when home brewing was popular; Kendall College counted 2,403 of them in 2012, but that number has likely expanded. There are also more specialty pubs that boast collections of artisan beer and are hiring a ton of new staff to serve and educate the public on it. Even airlines are getting behind specialty beers, with companies like Delta and Virgin Airlines serving them in flight.

This puts pressure on the restaurant and beverage industry to develop more employees who are cognizant of artisan beer so they can not only serve it to customers but also make recommendations, explain the brewing process and ingredients, as well as suggest food pairings. Kendall faculty and alumni have put together a primer on what to eat with specialty beers for new initiates. For a garden salad or vegetarian meal, Alumnus Drew Larson, beverage director at Hopleaf bar recommends Saison. Assistant Professor Phil Mott suggests drinkers of IPA and wheat beers have them with Indian cuisine and sushi, respectively. For pumpkin pie and pasta, assistant professor and John Laloganes believes barley wine and pale ales are good matches. Laloganes, author of “The Beverage Manager’s Guide to Wine, Beer and Spirits” also recommends brown ale for sandwiches, such as grilled cheese paninis.

For a more nuanced idea about how and with what to drink craft brews, the curious can take classes at either Kendall College or the Seibel Institute. These two entities have joined together on one campus. Kendall offers courses on beer, fermentation, beverage operations, and alcohol distribution as part of its beverage management program. Meanwhile Seibel, which operates a brewery on campus, will provide a Bier Stube and teaching hall for students to learn about making artisan beer and overseeing a beer business.

With sales of craft beer going from $5.7 billion in 2007 to a projected $36 billion in 2017, there will be a demand for graduates with skills and knowledge that can be used in breweries or specialty pubs. Already, the craft brewing industry has hired 103,585 workers and experts expect the industry to keep on hiring.