The Business of Brewing: An Immersive Educational Experience
This course is conducted annually and is in it’s third year. Lost Worlds Brewing is proud to be a part of the immersive experience showcasing our brand and guest experince.
This week we welcomed UNCC’s Craft Brewing Continual Learning Program into our taproom for the day to go behind the scenes and see what it’s like to run a craft brewery. They’re part of a course that covers topics including finance, operations management, legal, and marketing. They welcome students of all backgrounds willing and wanting to learn how to enter the world of craft brewing in this immersive experience.
It all started three years ago when UNCC noticed that people in North Carolina were leaving the state to take classes in Oregon, at Portland State, on the business of craft brewing. They quickly saw the need to offer a course that is responsive to our state, based on regional laws and farm to brew agriculture specific to North Carolina.
According to Karri Kennedy, program director, initially the school targeted homebrewers who are lacking he business acumen to start a brewery. They soon found interest among entrepreneurs of all types as well as people who currently work in the craft beverage industry. In this 11-week course, students have 2-week blocks of online learning followed by a Saturday in an operating brewery.
“We were thrilled that Karri reached out and asked us to host a session,” said Dave Hamme, co-founder under of Lost Worlds Brewing. “David Gonzalez, our Director of brewing, has participated in the past and made the introduction, and we were happy to share both our facility and knowledge to a group so eager to learn.”
The class toured the brewery, both brew house and taproom, and Hamme presented on the evolution of the Lost Worlds brand and our proprietary guest experience model. At the end of the day, the class created their own fictional brand and provided feedback on their customer experience based on their day at the brewery and interaction with staff.
One member of our taproom staff is also a proud alumnus of the program, who enrolled in the course last year to strengthen his knowledge of the industry. Chase Craig enrolled in the program and continues to grow his role at Lost Worlds based on his interests. Craig began with the brewery when we first opened as an Adventure Guide, then progressed to a Shift Leader and now he heads up our sales and distribution operations too.
“Throughout the course our students are exposed to experts to add to their network as they pursue their goals,” said Kennedy. “We’re grateful to breweries like Lost Worlds who are willing to open the curtain and let us go backstage in the Brew House and dive deep into the business to benefit the next wave in the craft industry.”