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TAPPING THE TALENT

Craft beer is brewing up significant economic benefits for San Diego County, not to mention national buzz created by a growing array of local brands now being sold at stores, bars and restaurants across the country.

But for beer to avoid the boom-and-bust fate that befell the industry in the 1990s, and evolve into a long-term juggernaut for the local economy, observers agree that the industry will need an educated and knowledgeable workforce.

That applies not only to those who make the brews, but those who sell it, serve it and promote it as a regional culture and tourist attraction. One aim of the local craft beer and hospitality industries — expressed at two recent summits drawing hundreds from both arenas — is to train a large base of professionals who can take on a role similar to that of the wine world’s sommeliers.

The goal is to have stewards — in taverns, restaurants and hotels — who not only can tell a visitor the differences among San Diego and North County beer styles, but also suggest a good brew to go with that steak or pasta, or advise a customer on how long that take-out beer will stay fresh in the growler.


Craft Beer Ambassadors

“As this becomes more of a tourist draw, the local beer industry sees this need to have workers who are ambassadors to the craft beer culture,” said Vince Vasquez, senior policy analyst at the National University System Institute for Policy Research in San Diego.

Vasquez authored the recently updated report on the industry, which noted that the region’s craft beer brewers — numbering more than 80 with more on the way — posted $781.5 million in sales during 2013 while employing 2,279 workers countywide.

The sales figure was up nearly 15 percent and the employment number rose 40 percent from 2011.

National University reported that while brewery wages in San Diego County lag those of other local industries, the average annual pay for local brewery workers — at $38,598 — is among the highest in the nation. The local average tops that of other top brew markets including Boulder and Denver, Colo.; Portland, Ore.; Asheville, N.C.; and Grand Rapids, Mich.

A key to raising employment and pay levels in local beer manufacturing, and related industries that serve and sell beer, is to raise the level of industry education and training.

Over the past several years, leaders of local brewing companies have recently been bolstering their support of certificate programs offered at local universities, providing financial and instructional help while also serving on advisory boards.

Karl Strauss Funds Scholarships

San Diego-based Karl Strauss Brewing Co. recently announced it is funding two scholarships to University of California San Diego Extension’s brewing certificate program, with the goal of helping “a new crop of San Diego brewers” get started in the business.

The university’s 2-year-old program trains students in both the science and business of craft beer, and includes an internship at a local brewery.

Matt Rattner, president and co-

founder of Karl Strauss Brewing, noted that many of the top employees at his and other local beer companies were trained in a nationally renowned master’s-level brewer program at University of California, Davis.

That graduate program does not currently have an equivalent counterpart in San Diego County, but Rattner said beer education is crucial to maintaining product quality and ultimately the region’s overall beer reputation. This is especially important as a growing number of home brewers seek to turn their hobby into a business.

“Some people think you just mix together the same ingredients and get the same taste every time,” said Rattner. “It’s not that simple. It’s actually a very scientific process.”

To date, 115 students have enrolled in the UC San Diego certificate classes.

“They vary in how intensively they’re taking the program. Some are taking one course per quarter, some two, and some three,” said Peter Thomas, an associate director in the university’s extension program.

Reaching Beyond Brewers

Local beer-training programs are increasingly reaching beyond brewers, attracting business owners and hospitality professionals who want to know more about the products they’re serving and promoting.

Last summer, when San Diego State University opened online registration for the first classes in its “Business of Craft Beer” professional certificate program, it took less than eight hours for all 100 class seats to sell out. The program covers beer styles, marketing methods, startup issues and related topics, and now has about 200 students enrolled.

Officials at the university’s College of Extended Studies said the six-class program, with a nine-class advanced program also being offered, has attracted interest from a wide range of learners, including beer aficionados, prospective brewery workers, and hotel and restaurant industry professionals.

“Some of them are home brewers who just want to know how to take this to the next step,” said Giana Rodriguez, an SDSU extension program director who oversees the beer-business program.

While students don’t brew beer in the program, she said they do gain knowledge related to production, service, food pairings, fostering the social aspects of craft beer, and ways to delineate a business from a growing throng of competitors serving similar products.

“It’s becoming a matter of how do you stand out from those 83 or more other brewers, or whether you actually want to differentiate yourself,” Rodriguez said.

Rising Prominence in Hospitality

An emerging sign of craft beer’s rising prominence in local hospitality circles, National University reported, is that San Diego ranks second among U.S. metro markets for the number of people earning one of three certifications in the Cicerone Certification Program.

Started in 2008 by a Chicago brewer, and overseen by the Craft Beer Institute, the Cicerone program can be taken online and seeks to replicate the wine industry’s sommelier training. Subjects covered include beer brewing styles, culture, storage, food pairings and other service issues.

Vasquez noted that of the 31,000 people who have attained a Cicerone certification nationwide, about 580 are in the San Diego region. That contingent is second in size only to Chicago’s.

He said local residents enrolled in Cicerone programs include brewery workers, and others employed in the bar, restaurant, hotel and tourism industries.

The San Diego Brewers Guild, an advocacy and educational group based in Pacific Beach, is in the process of setting up two symposiums — tentatively scheduled for May and October — that will deal with ways to maintain quality control as the local beer industry continues to grow.

Paige McWey, the guild’s executive administrator, said future local beer festivals could also include 30-minute educational sessions for brewers and the general public. Sessions will likely cover styles, ingredients and differences in offerings from various brewers.

200 Guild Members

Guild membership has been steadily growing in recent years and now numbers more than 200, including brewers and industry supply and service vendors. McWey said the fastest-growing member segment appears to be the “allied” category, including operators of bars, restaurants and other venues required to sell a certain level of craft beer on-premises to become a member.

The guild now has about 80 allied members — more than a third of the total membership roll.

“Lately we’ve been adding five to 10 new memberships a month, especially in the allied category,” McWey said. She added that the trend is a sign that the industry is rapidly moving beyond production and distribution issues, while becoming a driver of hospitality and tourism business.

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