Best Beer Brewing Classes

UC Davis is ubiquitously known as having one of the top wine programs in the country, so it’s no surprise that its beer brewing courses are of equal prestige. Led by renowned industry pros, the year-round brewing education offerings at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education include a 15-week Master Brewers Certificate Program and a collection of short, comprehensive online courses that can be taken individually or as a complete series. Many essential subjects are covered across the department, from craft beer law to microbiology and everything in between.

The Master Brewers Certificate Program is offered at a flat rate of $16,000, which includes a nonrefundable and nontransferable $1,000 deposit and certificate fee. The room and board fees are not covered.

This program requires precalculus as a prerequisite and two courses from this list of subjects: biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and engineering. The short-term online courses at UC Davis are much less expensive, generally costing between $75 and $299.

If you’ve got $20 to spare and want to learn the basics of brewing online at your own pace, entrepreneur and homebrewing expert Adam Ward’s bestselling Udemy course is your best bet. Made up of 28 information sessions and video lectures, Learn How To Brew Beer At Home In 5 Easy Steps takes its students on a journey from basic theory and yeast’s role in fermentation to hands-on brewing exercises, bottling, and more. Participants in Ward’s Udemy class receive a certificate upon completion, making your home brewer status official.

Note that this program is for true beginners, meaning if you consider yourself to be well-versed in beer and how it’s made, you’ll probably want to select something a bit more advanced.

For the price, this is a great deal for those who want to build a solid foundation of basic concepts, theories, methods, and actual brewing at home, guided by Ward. You can also gift this course to someone who’s passionate about beer and is interested in brewing at home, or you can treat your employees to group access to the entire course catalog by signing up for Udemy for Business (which comes with a free demo so you can check it out before committing).

The Master Brewers Higher Education Advisory Committee is a division of the Master Brewers Association (founded in 1887) that exists to support educational institutions offering courses in brewing and fermentation through approved guidelines and learning objectives. You’ll find these curricula in two- and four-year degree programs across the country along with a handful of certificate programs, which generally span a 10- to 18-week period.

Currently, the following schools offer recognized Master Brewers Association programs in various areas of concentration: ​ Central New Mexico Community College, ​Colorado State University, ​MiraCosta College, and the Pennsylvania College of Technology. The cost of each program depends on the schools' tuition rates, but you can read up on and apply for a handful of different scholarships and/or the discounted rate lottery on the MBAA’s Course Scholarships page.

Food is, of course, an essential complement to the beer-drinking experience, so it makes perfect sense that the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) would be home to an award-winning teaching microbrewery located on the Hyde Park, New York, campus. At The Brewery at the CIA, students learn all there is to know about the brewing process as they hone their skills hands-on in the production of the school’s two flagship craft brands, Cleaver IPA and Mise en Place Wit. This program has been around since 2015 (it launched as a collaboration between the CIA and Brooklyn Brewery) and is available as an elective to students in bachelor's degree programs.

One of the school’s objectives is to showcase beer as a drink that’s as food friendly as wine. Tuition, board/meal plan, and fees for one semester at the Hyde Park campus costs $19,270. Residence hall costs are extra. The CIA offers a variety of scholarships and financial aid options.

Brewing is a scientific process, and the World Brewing Academy’s (WBA) Brewing Technology syllabus takes a deep dive into the nitty-gritty of it all. This program is a collaboration between the Doemens Academy in Munich and Chicago’s Siebel Institute of Technology and is available in both online and in-person format (or a mix of both). To get started, simply choose entry-level, intermediate, or advanced on the WBA website to explore the options.

For beginners, there’s a three-week web-based course (Executive Overview of the Brewing Process for $985). At the intermediate level, you can enroll in the Concise Course in Brewing Technology as a two-week on-campus intensive ($3,875) or a web-based version of the same class, which takes place over three months at the same rate.

Advanced students take Advanced Brewing Theory ($10,700), a 20-week Master Brewer Program, or an international diploma program in brewing technology. Check the WBA website for the most up-to-date semester availability and pricing information.