A new course aimed at educating buyers and retailers about beer and the brewing process has been supported by Refresh UK.
The brewer, the name behind Wychwood and Brakspear, is sponsoring the Beer Academy which takes the form of six two-hour sessions culminating in a final exam.
Refresh UK's chief executive, Rupert Thompson, said: "The wine industry has done a wonderful job at demystifying wine while making the whole subject more interesting and aspirational. The Wine and Spirit Education Trust underpins the trade's efforts and gives certification of wine knowledge.
"It is important that the brewing industry has a similar educational programme, with the potential for future courses up to diploma standard and beyond."
Although the first course is taking place in London, Thompson said he hoped the course model would be adopted nationwide.
The Beer Academy is the inspiration of the White Horse's beer guru, Mark Dorber, and will be run by international brewing lecturer, Dr Lisa Bradley and Master Brewer, Roger Putman, chairman of the Brewing Industry International Awards.

The course will include discussions on raw materials, the history of brewing, the brewing process and beer styles, with each session illustrated by the tasting of ten beers from around the world. The final session will include an exam, for which certification is currently being sought.

Beer lover, Oz Clarke, who launched the Academy comments: "The Beer Academy is an important initiative. Beer is about fun and sociability but, for the Trade, it needs to be based on a foundation of knowledge. That is what the Beer Academy sets out to provide."



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