The world’s largest provider of drinks education, WSET Global, has announced details of its new Level 1 and Level 2 Awards – in beer.
WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust), associated with education on wine, spirits and most recently sake, revealed it was headed into beer in 2023.
From March 2024 it is providing the new qualifications through Australian course providers, who will be the first to offer its Awards in Beer.
The organisations include:
- Juice Wine Education & Training Consultants Adelaide, SA
- Bacchus Academy Melbourne, VIC
- Archive Academy, Geelong, VIC
- Queensland College of Wine Tourism, Stanthorpe, QLD
And the country’s largest pub operator, Endeavour Group, has been approved to train its own team members, in Surry Hills.
WSET boasts more than 50 years of educational experience and says the new beer qualifications will set the global standard for tasting and education in the category.
Set to become WSET’s fourth qualification subject stream, the worldwide education program kicks off Down Under.
“2024 will be an exciting year for WSET as we expand into a new drinks category for the first time in 10 years,” offers Sarah Andrew, APAC Head APP Development.
“We have identified Australia as the most important market to launch our WSET beer qualifications in the Asia Pacific region, based on production and consumer engagement.”
Pertinent to the upcoming International Women’s Day, the courses were created by WSET’s Head of Research and Curriculum – Beer, Sara Hobday, and Master Cicerone and WSET Senior Business Development Manager for Beer, Mirella Amato, in collaboration with industry experts.
The Level 1 and 2 Awards in Beer will provide the product knowledge and tasting skills to become more beer confident, exploring the main types and styles of beer, key methods of production, tasting technique and food pairings, providing trade professionals with product knowledge and tasting skills.
Launching online and in-person, students will be equipped with a universal language to describe what they are tasting and a framework for assessing quality, using WSET’s trademarked Systematic Approach to Tasting.
“Harnessing our experience as leaders in global drinks education, our new Level 1 and 2 Awards in Beer will bring a unique and interactive approach to tasting and learning,” says Andrew.
In the lead-up to the launch, WSET is running a series of bitesize webinars from 26 February to 1 March, exploring topics such as ‘What is beer made from?’, ‘How is beer made?’, How to choose the right beer glass, and ‘How do you taste beer?’.
