SFU Offers Craft Beer Certificate For Your Inner Brewmaster

SANTA ROSA, CA - FEBRUARY 07: Freshly poured glasses of Russian River Brewing Company Pliny the Younger triple IPA beer sit on a counter at Russian River Brewing Company on February 7, 2014 in Santa Rosa, California. Hundreds of people lined up hours before the opening of Russian River Brewing Co. to taste the 10th annual release of the wildly popular Pliny the Younger triple IPA beer that will only be available on tap from February 7th through February 20th. Craft beer aficionados rank Pliny the Younger as one of the top beers in the world. The craft beer sector of the beverage industry has grown from being a niche market into a fast growing 12 billion dollar business, as global breweries continue to purchase smaller regional craft breweries such this week's purchase of New York's Blue Point Brewing by AB Inbev. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Indie kids rejoice: A B.C. university will begin offering a certificate in craft beer this fall. Yes, that’s right — craft beer.

Though on the surface it sounds like a frat boy’s dream, Simon Fraser University (SFU)'s Continuing Studies "Craft Beer and Brewing Essentials Certificate" is actually a set of five courses designed to educate students on how to successfully brew and market their own beer.

“The craft beer community is growing very quickly, creating a huge need for quality education,” Adam Chatburn, president of the Campaign for Real Ale Society of B.C. branch in Vancouver, said in an SFU news release on Tuesday.

SFU does already offer a course through the Faculty of Science called the "Science of Brewing," which was introduced last January and was very popular, bringing in nearly 60 students to the class this semester.

Courses in the certificate program, which launches at the university's Surrey campus in October, will cover the science behind brewing, quality assessment, business fundamentals, and ingredient development.

Though this is the first part-time program in the Lower Mainland for students who want to brew, Kwantlen University started offering a diploma in the science of brewing this past fall.

Larry White, the director of non-credit programs with SFU, said the program differs from Kwantlen’s two-year program in a number of ways.

“It is a short program, consisting of five courses that will provide students with an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of the craft beer industry,” he told The Huffington Post B.C. in an email. “It is scheduled part-time in the evenings and on some weekends … making it accessible for those who have other daytime obligations.”

White said this program suits the needs to students who are already working in this booming business, or even those who want to open a brewery but need to know more of the inner workings before going in that direction.

An information session is scheduled for Jan. 27 at SFU Surrey, with a formal launch event to follow at Surrey Central City Brew Pub.