Ron Smith is a man who knows beer. He is a Master Level Beer Judge Certification Program Beer Judge, Certified Cicerone, Craft Brewery Operations & World Beer Styles Educator, Craft/Small Brewery Quality Consultant, Belgium & Germany Beer Trip Guide and International Whiskey Judge.
At a recent Indy Chamber Lagers & Leaders event at St. Joseph’s Brewery, Ron educated the room about the brewery’s current beer selections, including types and origins, ingredients and distilling techniques, and how to properly evaluate a beer through taste and aroma.
You can meet Ron and learn more in IUPUI’s Essentials of Brewery Operations Program, an intensive course in Craft Brewery Operations. This 7-day certificate program is designed for anyone wanting to work in the craft brewing industry. Participants do not need be IUPUI students, and there are no prerequisites, though some brewing experience or exposure would be beneficial. The certificate program is reasonably priced at less than $250 per full-day class; and classes are two weeks apart.
Brewery Operations introduces attendees to all aspects of professional brewing operations from brewing, quality control and packaging, to tap room operations, marketing and sales. The program is designed for people wanting to enter this rapidly growing industry in various operational roles. Brewery Operations provides an in-depth understanding of beer styles, off flavors, ingredients, water chemistry, and brewing processes, and gives attendees a strong foundational overview of commercial brewing equipment, processes, packaging, quality control measures, tests and data, serving and tap room operations, and more. In addition, half-day sessions will be held at Sun King Brewery to gain practical knowledge, plus there are multiple after-class technical brewery tours at local Indy breweries.
Class schedule and topics:
Class 1: World Beer Styles and Sensory Analysis- Class 2: US Beer and Craft Beer Styles, Trends and History
- Class 3: Beer Ingredients and Their Impact on Brewing
- Class 4: Brewhouse Equipment and Operations
- Class 5: Fermentation and Cellaring Operations
- Class 6: Packaging and Quality Control
- Class 7: Brewery, Tap House & Bar Operations
Thanks to Sun King for their support of this program and their desire to help create a more educated, quality-driven craft beer workforce. Visit the following link to learn more about this program and to sign up – https://expand.iu.edu/browse/pdce/programs/essentials-brewery