Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte

What Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte does

Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte (ESCM) is a private Brazilian higher education institution founded in 2014 in Blumenau, Santa Catarina — recognized as the 'Capital Brasileira da Cerveja' — and operating as the first higher education institution in Latin America dedicated exclusively to beer and beverage education. The institution serves four primary customer segments: professional brewers and microbrewery owners seeking formal technical training and CRQ-eligible credentials; food and beverage professionals pursuing sommelier expertise; industry professionals seeking formal postgraduate qualifications; and craft beer enthusiasts and home brewers. Operations span four countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay), with over 15,000 students trained since founding and a lean team of approximately 41 employees.

ESCM delivers a portfolio of approximately 20 courses across three formats: full-time in-person programs anchored by the flagship 1-year, 1,400-hour Mestre Cervejeiro technical course; hybrid graduate-level programs such as the MEC-recognized Pós-Graduação em Tecnologia Cervejeira (360 hours); and a broad catalog of fully online courses covering beer technology, quality control, brewery management (commercial and industrial), sommelier training, specialty topics (hops, non-conventional beers, microbiology), and adjacent verticals (gin, cachaça, non-alcoholic beverages, distilling). The physical infrastructure includes 12-13 specialized laboratories (microbiology, sensory analysis, brewing production, micromaltaria), Latin America's largest brewing library, and a 2,000m2 campus in Blumenau. Delivery relies on Microsoft Teams for live online classes, a Unimestre LMS portal, and digital materials accessible for 6 months. Faculty composition is 80% Masters/Doctors, with active industry practitioners and curriculum alignment via partnerships with German brewing institutes VLB Berlin and Doemens Academy.

Revenue is generated entirely through course tuition fees on a B2C direct-to-consumer basis, with pricing ranging from R$1,328 for short online specialty courses to R$25,623 for the flagship in-person Mestre Cervejeiro, and payment options including credit card installments (up to 12 months), boleto bank slips, and upfront payment discounts of 7-10%. MEC accreditation is delivered through a strategic partnership with Anima Education, and the institution supplements core course delivery with specialized technical services spanning brewing production, product and market analysis, and business management consulting for breweries.

Name

Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte

Legal name

Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte

Website

https://cervejaemalte.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ESCM is a Brazilian higher education institution founded in 2014 specializing exclusively in beer and beverage education, operating across Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. It serves professional brewers, microbrewery owners, hospitality workers, and craft beer enthusiasts through technical, sommelier, postgraduate, and online programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brewing and Beverage Vocational Education

NAICS

Breweries (31212)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Bar & Beverage (Bartending/Mixology/Coffee/Tea) (EDAOAKAH)

Keywords

• Brewing education
• Beer sommelier training
• Craft beer courses
• Beverage industry training
• Malting and brewing

Headquarters

HQ city

Blumenau

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Course Tuition Fees: Revenue generated from course enrollment fees across various programs including technical courses, postgraduate programs, specialization courses, and free courses. Students pay enrollment fees plus installment payments or full upfront tuition with discounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte is a higher education institution specializing in beer and beverage training, delivering technical, postgraduate, specialization, and free courses in in-person, online, and hybrid formats. The portfolio covers the entire beer production chain (raw materials, malting, brewing, quality control, sensory analysis), sommelier training, distilling (cachaça, gin), brewery management, and adjacent beverages, with credentials recognized by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and aligned with VLB Berlin and Doemens Academy standards.

Product overview

Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte (ESCM) is a higher education institution specializing in beer and beverage training, offering a portfolio of courses across multiple formats (in-person, online, and hybrid). The product lineup includes: (1) full-time in-person programs — the flagship 1-year Mestre Cervejeiro technical course (leading to a Technician diploma plus Mestre Cervejeiro, Mestre Malteiro, and Mestre Destilador certificates), and intensive in-person Sommelier de Cervejas; (2) hybrid graduate-level programs — the MEC-recognized Pós-Graduação em Tecnologia Cervejeira Híbrida combining online live sessions with on-campus residencies; (3) fully online courses covering beer technology, home brewing, quality control, hop specialization, non-conventional beer production, commercial and industrial brewery management, brewpub operations, non-alcoholic beverages, gin production, cachaça production, malting, microbiology, and distilling. The courses range from entry-level (Cervejeiro Caseiro) to advanced professional certifications, serving hobbyists, industry professionals, brewery owners, and entrepreneurs across Brazil and Latin America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sommelier de Cervejas (Hybrid) Hybrid beer sommelier course combining online live classes with a single in-person weekend session, covering beer history, raw materials, production processes, classification, sensory evaluation, food pairing, and beer communication for food and beverage professionals and enthusiasts.
• Sommelier de Cervejas Presencial (10-day Intensive) Intensive 10-day in-person beer sommelier course held in Blumenau featuring tasting of 60+ national and international beer labels, sensory evaluation, and food pairing techniques for hospitality professionals and serious enthusiasts.
• Mestre Cervejeiro (Técnico Presencial) Full-time in-person technical brewing course over 1 year (1,400 hours) at the Blumenau campus, covering all stages of beer production, quality control, and business management, leading to a Technician in Brewing diploma plus Mestre Cervejeiro, Mestre Malteiro, and Mestre Destilador certificates.
• Mestre Cervejeiro EAD (Online) Distance-learning version of the Mestre Cervejeiro technical course, providing remote access to ESCM's brewing curriculum for students across Latin America who cannot attend in-person classes.
• Pós-Graduação em Tecnologia Cervejeira Híbrida MEC-recognized hybrid graduate specialization (360 hours/6 months) combining online live classes with two intensive in-person residency periods at ESCM's campus, covering the entire beer production process, quality analysis, and market opportunity assessment for industry professionals.
• Tecnologia Cervejeira Online Online beer technology course covering beer production processes, raw materials, and quality control for students seeking to deepen their brewing knowledge remotely.
• Cervejeiro Caseiro Entry-level online course for home brewers covering the fundamentals of craft beer production for personal or small-scale brewing.
• Controle de Qualidade em Cervejarias Online live course on quality control in breweries covering sensory and physico-chemical testing, laboratory structure, and practical testing methods for beer quality assurance.
• Gestão Industrial de Microcervejarias Online course focused on industrial management of microbreweries covering legal requirements, food safety certifications, HACCP, statistical process control, equipment maintenance, and production planning.
• Gestão Comercial de Cervejarias Online commercial management course teaching sales strategies, pricing, marketing, distribution channels, team management, and goal planning specifically for breweries.
• Produção de Cervejas não Convencionais Online course covering non-conventional beers including gluten-free, non-alcoholic, sour, grape ale, and wood-aged styles, with 30 hours of instruction over 5 weeks for craft brewers seeking style differentiation.
• Operação de BrewPubs Online course on operating brewpub establishments covering legal compliance, financial management, cost control, bar/restaurant operations, menu planning, kitchen optimization, inventory management, customer service, team leadership, and marketing, over 7 weeks and 39 hours.
• Aprofundamento em Lúpulo Online Online hop specialization course covering hop cultivation, varieties, processing, chemistry, hopping techniques, dry hopping, and IBU calculation for producing hop-forward beers.
• Produção de Bebidas não Alcoólicas Online course covering production of non-alcoholic beverages including soft drinks, juices, nectars, refreshments, coconut water, isotonic drinks, energy drinks, teas, and kombuchas, with quality control and packaging modules.
• Produção de Gin Online gin production course covering raw material identification, must preparation, extraction processes, filtration and blending equipment, setting quality standards, sensory analysis, and chemical testing over 5 weeks.
• Produção de Cachaça Online course on cachaça production covering Brazilian sugarcane spirit history, raw materials, must preparation, distillation, filtration, blending, quality standards, sensory analysis, wood aging, and barrel selection.
• Mestre Malteiro (Online) Online malting specialization course covering the entire malt production process for brewing, including barley quality parameters, malting steps, malt selection, brewing adjuvants, barley and malt analysis, and special malt optimization (60 hours).
• Microbiologia da Cerveja Online Online course on beer microbiology covering microorganisms involved in fermentation, contamination control, and microbiological quality assurance in breweries.
• Mestre Destilador Online Online distilling course covering distillation processes, spirit production techniques, and quality control for distilled beverages.
• Microbiologia da Cerveja Presencial In-person intensive microbiology course held at ESCM's Blumenau campus covering laboratory techniques for microbiological analysis in breweries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates can qualify for technical responsibility positions in breweries and distilleries through CRQ registration
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AnimacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institution partnership providing accreditation and institutional support for higher education programs including postgraduate specialization
• Universidade São Judas (UniSãoJudas)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for academic collaboration and student exchange
• Politécnico de ViseuminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortuguese polytechnic institution partnership for international academic exchange and knowledge sharing
• UNISOCIESCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional educational institution partnership in Santa Catarina region
• UNAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHigher education institution partnership for academic programs
• AMPESCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of private higher education institutions in Santa Catarina
• VLB Berlin (Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei)coreTechnology or IntegrationGerman brewing research and education institute - reference in brewing professional development; faculty training and certification alignment
• Doemens AcademycoreTechnology or IntegrationGerman brewing academy providing international certification and curriculum alignment for sommelier and brewing programs

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Doemens Academy: Doemens Academy is a German brewing school providing sommelier and brewing professional certifications, and a named ESCM curriculum partner. It competes for the same globally mobile brewing students and sets the credentialing standard ESCM aligns to.
• Brewlab: Brewlab is a UK-based commercial brewing training center offering short courses for craft brewers, brewery staff, and home brewers. It is comparable to ESCM in targeting working professionals seeking short-format, applied brewing training.
• KU Leuven — Belgian Brewing School: The Belgian Brewing School at KU Leuven offers an academic Master in Brewing Science and several continuing-education brewing programs. It is comparable to ESCM as a university-affiliated brewing education provider with a strong European reputation and similar postgraduate-style offerings.
• Siebel Institute of Technology: Siebel Institute is one of the oldest brewing schools in the world, based in the US/Canada, offering diploma courses in brewing technology and brewery operations. It is a direct peer for advanced brewing professional education and competes with ESCM for Latin American students seeking international credentials.
• UC Davis Master Brewers Certificate Program: UC Davis offers a Master Brewers certificate program built around brewing science and engineering, and is widely recognized as a top-tier US brewing education offering. It overlaps with ESCM's postgraduate and technical certificate programs in target audience and content.
• Heriot-Watt University — International Centre for Brewing and Distilling: Heriot-Watt runs the well-known MSc in Brewing and Distilling and is the leading university-level brewing degree globally. It competes at the postgraduate/degree tier of brewing education, which is the same credential category as ESCM's Pós-Graduação em Tecnologia Cervejeira.
• American Brewers Guild: American Brewers Guild is a US craft-focused brewing school offering intensive brewing apprenticeships and certificate programs. It targets the same craft brewer and brewery owner audience as ESCM, particularly for students seeking hands-on, intensive-format training.
• Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD): IBD is the UK's professional body for brewing and distilling, providing globally recognized qualifications (General Certificate in Brewing, Diploma in Brewing). It competes in the certification/credentialing layer of brewing education that ESCM's MEC and CRQ-recognized programs operate in.
• VLB Berlin (Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei): VLB Berlin is Germany's flagship brewing research and teaching institute, offering professional brewing courses and certifications. It is ESCM's most direct international comparable — even serving as a curriculum partner — and represents the global benchmark for institutional brewing education.

Regional players

• Centro Universitário SENAI (SENAI Brewing Programs): SENAI operates Brazil's largest network of professional and technical education, including industrial food and beverage programs. While not a brewing-specialist, it is the closest large-scale Brazilian institutional competitor in technical/vocational beverage education and could expand into brewing if demand continues to grow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1ZFx-UeHg6epFQ80tgMKsA
• Facebookfacebook.com/cervejaemalte
• Instagraminstagram.com/cervejaemalte
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/escola-superior-de-cerveja-e-malte

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Escola Superior de Cerveja e Malte