1. Brewers Association Mentorship Program

Participant

In this program, aspiring and advancing craft beer professionals will form focused mentoring relationships with a group of skilled craft brewing professionals with diverse expertise and experience. Participants in the program will:

  • Gain practical knowledge that is universally valuable in brewery environments
  • Develop relationships
  • Receive access to Brewers Association resources
  • Gain exposure to the “community and culture” of the craft beer industry
  • Receive hands-on assistance with an employment search, resume review, letter of recommendation, or other tangible acts of advocacy

Areas of Mentorship:

Participants in the program will indicate their preferences for five areas of mentorship in the program. Though every effort will be made to pair participants with mentors according to their stated preferences, pairings will be based upon the availability of mentors and alternate selections may be used.

  • Technical Brewing
  • Serving and Tasting Beer
  • Guest Experience
  • Brewery Safety
  • Event Planning and Management
  • Human Resources
  • Management
  • Marketing and Branding
  • Sales and Distribution
  • Brewery Finance

Pre-Curated Tracks

While applicants may select any combination of mentorship areas, the following pre-curated tracks are suggested for participants with the indicated professional aims.

For the homebrewer looking to go pro:

  • Technical Brewing
  • Serving and Tasting Beer
  • Brewery Safety
  • Brewery Finance
  • Management

For someone new to the brewing industry:

  • Serving and Tasting Beer 
  • Technical Brewing 
  • Sales and Distribution 
  • Guest Experience 
  • Event Planning and Management 

For someone focused on front-of-house:

  • Serving and Tasting Beer
  • Guest Experience
  • Event Planning and Management
  • Marketing & Branding
  • Management

For someone aspiring to run a brewery:

  • Brewery Finance
  • Sales and Distribution
  • Management
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing and Branding

Program eligibility:

  • Must be at least 21 years of age with a government issued ID
  • Access to internet and a computer

Training and support:

  • Participants will participate in a one-week orientation and training program.  
  • Participants will participate in weekly video conference calls with the program director and other participants to discuss experiences, challenges, successes, and to network. 
  • Participants will have the support of and access to the program director.

Time commitment

  • 2-5 hours per week. (Time will vary depending on the type of contact/activity planned.)

Duration of commitment:

  • 12 weeks

Timeline

Spring Cohort Fall Cohort
Applications Open: January 7, 2021 Applications Open: July 15, 2021
Application Deadline: February 28, 2021 Application Deadline: August 31, 2021
Program Start: March 15, 2021 Program Start: September 20, 2021
Program End: June 6, 2021 Program End: December 12, 2021
Apply as a participant