Belgium is not only home to the world’s biggest brewer, but in recent years has seen a rise of innovative micro-breweries and diversification of the beer market with potentially far-reaching implications for the business and economics of the brewery industry inside and outside the country. In November 2016, UNESCO even added ‘Belgian Beer Culture’ to the World Heritage List, highlighting the cultural importance and impact of the Belgian beer industry beyond pure business and economics.
Every year, students of the Undergraduate Summer Programme at the Brussels School of Governance, have the opportunity to follow the course “The Belgian Brewery Industry in a Global Context: Business, Economics, Culture and Innovation”. This summer course offers the possibility of learning the nuts and bolts of the beer brewing process itself. This year, a group of eight talented students comprised of BSoG BA students and study abroad students, were part of this immersive experience. The students rolled up their sleeves to brew their own beer from scratch! After the brewing process, they will dive into the art of bottling and branding, putting their creativity to the test. To get some inspiration, students also got the opportunity to visit some of our breweries, including esteemed establishments such as the Brussels Beer Project and the legendary Duvel brewery.
This course focuses on key principles and changes in the economics, marketing, production and innovation of the Belgian Brewery Industry in a Global Context. Taking the Belgian beer industry as a multi-faceted case study for studying core Business processes and developments in the field of the national and international beer market (including production, strategy, marketing and product innovation), this course also explores the impact of geography, culture and globalisation on Belgian beer businesses and their business strategies. The course includes company visits, guest lecture series and experiential learning and provides unique insights into the major shifts and changes of the major economics and business processes related to the brewery industry.
Now, all that's left to do is wait patiently for the fermentation process to work its magic!
You can read more about our Summer courses here.
