Beer Decoded: From Grain to Glass
Beer is the oldest alcoholic beverage still in common use, and the most poured drink on any bar's menu. This free course gives bartenders, servers, trade professionals, and everyday beer drinkers the vocabulary, ingredient literacy, and tasting instincts to talk about beer with real confidence.
What You'll Learn
Across six modules, you'll trace beer's story from ancient Sumer and medieval monasteries through the hops revolution, the Bavarian cold revolution, and the modern craft boom. You'll learn how water chemistry, malt, hops, and yeast come together through the seven-step brewing process, and how each lever the brewer pulls shapes what ends up in the glass. You'll work through the 15 styles most commonly poured in bars, from American light lager and Mexican lager to German pilsner, hefeweizen, American IPA, hazy IPA, porter, and dry Irish stout, with full specs for ABV, IBU, SRM, and serving temperature.
Built for the Floor and the Home Fridge
You'll run a structured four-step tasting, build a shared descriptive vocabulary, and learn to spot the most common off-flavors (DMS, diacetyl, oxidation, light-struck, acetaldehyde). You'll master the perfect pour for every style, match glassware and temperature correctly, and recognize the service faults that kill flavor. The final module covers label literacy, freshness dating, the craft-macro-import distinction, and the ownership map of the global brewing industry so you can shop smarter, answer sourcing questions, and explore the category with authority.
Whether you're pouring pints for a living or just want to drink better beer, plan on 30 to 40 minutes total. Pass each knowledge check at 75% to earn your completion badge.