A brand-new company dedicated to the education of the country’s beer drinkers and beer professionals, The Institute of Beer, has this week opened its doors. Keenly aware of the lack of structured and accredited training in this increasingly professional and ever expanding industry IOB have put together some of the best beer brains in the country and the best international beer qualifications to create something very special and much needed in Australia and NZ.

At the heart of their offering is the first ever licensing of the Cicerone range of beer related qualifications anywhere in the world. Hugely successful in the USA, Certified Cicerone status and Certified Beer Server status has become a pre-requisite of anybody working in the beer industry in America. The team at IOB believe the same will happen here.

“It’s got the stage in the US where not having a Cicerone qualification to demonstrate your broad range of beer knowledge means you’re in the minority and won’t get the job!” says Neal Cameron , Education Director for the company, “it’s not just about knowing beer, its knowing how to store it, serve it and most importantly assist your customer with making good choices in what has become a bewilderingly complex business. And if someone’s paying $10 for a schooner of beer, its unforgivable if that beer is not served in perfect condition; something that we’ve experienced far too often even in our best beer venues.”

As the brainchild of some of Australia’s beer industry heavyweights, the Institute of Beer has some serious credentials supporting their drive to raise the bar of beer knowledge in ANZ. The likes of Ian Kingham & David Phillips add a huge depth of knowledge and experience from the beer industry, these big personalities corralled by MD Peter Fullbrook with a lifetimes experience in training and development companies. The company has also put together a crack team of passionate educators to deliver their courses across the region including brewers, bar owners, festival and events professionals, cellar and bottleshop managers and beer judges.

With courses and exams stating in February next year, the opportunity for beer lovers and professionals alike to build their knowledge of beer and demonstrate this knowledge with online and face to face exams is now available.

The IOB suggests you can be entertained and informed by the Fools Guide to Beer, achieve Certified Beer Server status through Beersavvy eLearning and Certified Beer Server One Day Training. Or take the Road to Cicerone developing your knowledge and join the beer elite with a Certified Cicerone qualification. They can teach you how to recognise beer faults through their Faults and Flavour training or provide a wide range of education resources to help you on whatever beer journey you choose.

Whether you are a knowledge-thirsty consumer, a professional seeking accreditation and recognition of your skills or an organisation seeking a competitive edge, the Institute of Beer are most certainly the leaders in the field of beer education.

For further information, either go their website www.theinstituteofbeer.com, send an email on info@theinstituteofbeer.com or call Peter Fullbrook on 0417511835.