Having just wrapped up our latest beer education course through the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension last week, I am thrilled to announce we will be hosting not one, but TWO, new courses in the new year. And the timing of the announcement – just weeks before the holidays – is not coincidence. A great socially distanced gift for the beer fan in your life (or cohort)!

These online beer courses have been a big success so far, and we want to keep providing some respite from the cold, dark, COVID winter. Plus you get to drink beer while you learn!

The two new courses will run consecutively covering different topics, so you are welcome to register for both. Both are four week classes (1-hour per week), with two sections offered (Tuesday and Wednesday). Registration is $75 per household, plus purchase of a course-pack of 16 hand-selected beer for sampling during class. Here are the deets:

Brewed in Canada: Exploring Canada’s Craft Beer Industry
February 2/3 to February 23/24, 8:00-9:00pm
Click here for more information/to register

Old World & New World Beer: Evolution and Innovation in the Beer Industry
March 16/17 to April 6/7
Click here for more information/to register

The Brewed in Canada course will explore the history of craft beer in Canada, examine regional differences in craft beer and sample some of Canada’s best craft beer.

The Old World, New World course takes a slightly different approach. It will follow the evolution of certain styles from their European origins to their modern North American incarnations, highlighting how beer is constantly changing.

I know many of you who don’t live in the Edmonton region ask how you can get the beer used in the course pack. As with our previous classes, Sherbrooke Liquor will be our “bookstore”. At the moment they don’t deliver outside the capital region, but you are welcome to make a trip to Sherbrooke to pick up your pack or organize a group beer run. My comments section can be a starting place to find other non-Edmontonians looking for a way to get the beer. The packs will be ready a couple of weeks before each class begins.