american brewers guild

What american brewers guild does

American Brewers Guild (ABG) is a privately held craft brewing education institution founded in 1997 and headquartered at 610 Route 7 South in Middlebury, Vermont. The company delivers distance-learning and hybrid brewing education programs targeted at working brewers, aspiring professional brewers, and homebrewers who cannot attend traditional full-time brewing schools. Its core product portfolio consists of three tuition-based programs: the Standard Certified Brewmaster Associate (CBA), the Standard Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering (IBS&E), and the Working Brewers IBS&E, which is a variant designed specifically for employed brewers requiring distance-learning flexibility. Course delivery combines an online curriculum with a hands-on in-person component hosted at ABG's on-site Drop-In Brewing facility in Middlebury, VT.

ABG monetizes primarily through tuition fees for its three certification-track programs, with pricing not publicly disclosed. Ancillary revenue-adjacent services include Consultancy, Employment Services (placement for graduates), and Admissions support. The institution extends its reach through two core foundation partnerships: the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation, which annually awards a full-tuition scholarship plus a $1,000 travel stipend to one IBS&E student from the Pacific Northwest, and the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling, which has sent scholarship recipients to ABG annually since the foundation's inception in 2020 under inaugural chair Garrett Oliver. ABG's primary go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer through its website (abgbrew.com), with qualified leads also generated via foundation scholarship channels; no enterprise sales motion, paid acquisition infrastructure, or AI/ML capabilities are present in the data. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding, ownership, or M&A history.

Name

american brewers guild

Legal name

American Brewers Guild

Website

https://abgbrew.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Short description

American Brewers Guild, founded in 1997 in Middlebury, VT, provides distance and hybrid brewing education programs (Standard CBA, Standard IBS&E, Working Brewers IBS&E) for working, aspiring, and home brewers, monetized through tuition fees and scholarship partnerships with industry foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Brewing Education

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Microbreweries & Craft Breweries (THAFALAC)

Keywords

• Craft brewing education
• Brewing science training
• Distance brewing programs
• Professional brewing courses
• Brewery certification programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Middlebury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition-based Education Programs: ABG generates revenue through tuition fees for its brewing education programs including the Certified Brewmaster Associate (CBA), Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering (IBS&E), and Working Brewers IBS&E programs. Programs have prerequisites and accept registrations for specific sessions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

American Brewers Guild provides distance and hybrid brewing education programs for professional, aspiring, and home brewers. The core offerings are three tuition-based programs — the Standard CBA (Craft Beer Academy), the Standard IBS&E (Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering), and the Working Brewers IBS&E — supplemented by professional consultancy, employment placement, and admissions support services. All programs culminate in hands-on instruction at the on-site Drop-In Brewing brewery in Middlebury, VT.

Product overview

American Brewers Guild operates as a craft brewing education institution offering multiple interconnected programs. The core offerings include three brewing education programs: Standard CBA (Craft Beer Academy) for foundational brewing knowledge, Standard IBS&E (Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering) for advanced scientific brewing education, and Working Brewers IBS&E designed for employed professionals who need distance learning flexibility. The institution also provides ancillary services including Consultancy, Employment Services, Admissions support, and a physical brewery visitation experience called Drop-In Brewing. All programs are delivered online to accommodate working brewers since 1997.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard CBA (Craft Beer Academy) Standard online program providing foundational craft brewing education. Accepts registrations for the January 2027 session and requires prerequisites. Designed for aspiring and professional brewers seeking entry-level formal brewing credentials.
• Standard IBS&E (Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering) Comprehensive intensive brewing science and engineering program offered in collaboration with the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation, which provides full-tuition scholarship opportunities for Pacific Northwest applicants. Runs January to June annually, with a final on-site week at Drop-In Brewing in Middlebury, VT.
• Working Brewers IBS&E Intensive Brewing Science and Engineering program designed specifically for working brewers who cannot attend traditional on-site education. Delivered via ABG's online distance learning platform with hands-on components.
• Consultancy Services Professional brewing consultancy services offered by the guild to brewing industry clients.
• Employment Services Employment placement and career services for brewing professionals and ABG graduates seeking positions in the brewing industry.
• Admissions Services Admissions guidance and registration support for prospective ABG students evaluating and enrolling in brewing education programs.
• Drop-In Brewing (On-Site Training Brewery) On-site brewery facility located at 610 Route 7 South, Middlebury, VT 05753, used as the hands-on training site for the final on-site component of ABG's brewing programs.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and DistillingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020ABG has educated MJF Scholarship winners annually since the foundation's inception in 2020. The MJF Foundation promotes technical education and creates career opportunities for people of color in brewing and distilling industries. The foundation board, chaired by Garrett Oliver, selects scholarship recipients who attend ABG's Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering program.
• Glen Hay Falconer FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Glen Hay Falconer Foundation awards full-ride scholarships annually to ABG's Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering program. The scholarship is open to professional and homebrewers from Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, and Northern California's Bay Area/Monterey regions. Recipients receive full tuition plus a $1,000 travel/lodging stipend for the final onsite week in Middlebury, VT. Winners are selected each December for the January-June program cycle.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP): BJCP provides beer judging and sensory evaluation certification widely used by homebrewers and craft beer professionals. While distinct from brewing science, BJCP captures the same aspiring and career-brewer audience that ABG targets at the entry level.
• Cicerone Certification Program: Cicerone offers multi-tier beer service and tasting certifications that overlap with ABG's audience of working beer professionals. While Cicerone focuses on beer service rather than brewing science, it competes for the same students' continuing education budgets.
• Oregon State University Fermentation Science Program: Oregon State University's fermentation science degree and option program provides university-accredited brewing and fermentation education in the Pacific Northwest. It overlaps with ABG's IBS&E curriculum and is geographically close to ABG's Pacific Northwest scholarship catchment area.

Others

• Brewers Association: The Brewers Association is the not-for-profit trade group representing US craft brewers and offers educational programming, conferences, and resources. It does not directly compete with ABG but operates adjacent educational offerings and is a key industry stakeholder that influences demand for ABG's programs.

Broad incumbents

• Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA): MBAA is a broad industry association that provides continuing education, technical brewing courses, and professional development across the Americas. While not a standalone degree-granting institution, it competes with ABG for working brewers' continuing education dollars and credentials.

Direct peers

• Siebel Institute of Technology: Siebel Institute is ABG's most direct competitor in professional brewing science education, offering brewing diplomas and certificates through both on-site and distance formats. Now affiliated with Doemens, Siebel competes for the same working-brewer and aspiring-brewer segments that ABG targets with its IBS&E and CBA programs.
• UC Davis Master Brewers Program: UC Davis offers a Master Brewers Certificate Program through its food science and technology department. It competes with ABG by offering university-backed credentials and access to broader academic research resources, targeting the same professional brewer cohort.
• Doemens Academy: Doemens is a globally recognized brewing and beverage technology school based in Germany that now encompasses Siebel Institute. It offers comprehensive brewing science programs and competes with ABG for internationally mobile brewing students and professionals seeking advanced technical credentials.

Regional players

• VLB Berlin: VLB Berlin is a German research and training institute for brewing that offers vocational brewing education primarily serving the European market. It overlaps with ABG in technical brewing curriculum but operates in a different geographic market.
• Heriot-Watt University (ICBD): Heriot-Watt's International Centre for Brewing and Distilling offers undergraduate and postgraduate brewing education, primarily serving UK and international students. It overlaps with ABG's intensive brewing science curriculum but operates in a different geographic market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

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