The TAPROOM project aims to develop a multidisciplinary, interactive & comprehensive b-learning training course in the production and marketing of organic and craft-beer making. It seeks to promote beer as part of the art and intangible cultural heritage of the EU. All of this is linked to the EU organic products market that has been experiencing a strong growth in demand and production over the last 10 years. Such great demand for Organic and Craft Beers (OCBs) has raised the necessity for the existence of this type of training course; one that's fully dedicated to beer and organic farming, targeting the interest of entrepreneurs that are seeking to tap into this market segment and would like to overcome any knowledge gaps in this regard. Thus, it is important for industry professionals (craft beer producers, breweries, farmer entrepreneurs) to have the key skills and competences needed to match and address these challenges. It is a question of perceiving organic brewing and craft beers not only from a technical point of view, but also with regards to the given territory and heritage, and the producers' relationship with their customers. In the partners’ countries, there are courses on organic farming in agricultural universities – however, such courses are largely classroom-based and of at least a two-year duration. There are also several courses on agricultural farming offered by VET centres, but they are too generic and have no specific focus on beer production or compiled methodologies for craft beer techniques. Farmers and entrepreneurs who do not have the time or the possibility to attend a full course in order to start growing and producing organic beer, therefore have no other viable training option in their communities. As proven in past Erasmus+ projects, targeted and tailored training is required to meet the needs of the target group, in our case, focusing on organic malt and hops farming. The TAPROOM proposal offers an innovative vocational training process to support the development of OCB in Europe, integrating into a common curriculum all aspects of the development of organic production (farming techniques, production methods, marketing, communication, ethics & social responsibility, as well as bridging with art and cultural heritage). The main outputs of the project are: a TAPROOM learning Model; a TAPROOM Training course; a TAPROOM Manual for trainers; a Platform with an Interactive repository section; aTAPROOM Guidebook on certification of organic & craft beer production & marketing. The aim of the project is to enhance the competitiveness of European breweries and craft beer makers through development of their potential for the production and promotion of organic and craft beers. The project therefore seeks to: -Develop a course dedicated to organic and craft beer production for professionals and future professionals, complementing the training offered in agricultural and agronomic education. -Develop specific knowledge and competences in EU beer makers to produce and promote organic and craft techniques. -Meet the needs of the breweries and craft-beer-makers for specific and tailored-made training on production. -Support beer makers to enter the organic and craft beer market and boost their growth potential. -Encourage the application of organic farming and production approaches. -Promote the use of sustainable agricultural methods -Facilitate cooperation and technical transfers among European countries and European stakeholders; -Remind & develop awareness on the fact that beer is part of the cultural, gastronomic and landscape heritage of the country. The specific target groups of the project are: - Breweries & craft beer-makers wishing to engage in conversion to organic farming but lacking comprehensive and integrated training with detailed information for each step of the process. - Potential entrepreneurs who do not come from the agricultural world and have not gone through the traditional agricultural training systems - therefore often missed by the professional agricultural organizations supporting traditional beer producers. - Trainers from EU VET institutions active in the field of Agri and processing sector. The expected impact and long term benefits on national and EU levels are: - Coverage of the needs for innovative multidisciplinary, experience-oriented and user-friendly approaches for the development of professional competences of farmers, agronomists and breweries in production of organic and craft beers; - Transfer of know-how and experience on beer production & marketing; - Raised awareness of the local community on the value and importance of the intangible cultural heritage of brewery traditions.
The project had eight primary objectives: (1) The development of a professional educational and interactive course (10 modules), made by relevant experts, on the production and marketing of organic and craft beer (OCB), with the standard quality of pre-existing agricultural education. (2) Support brewers on their knowledge and technique in beer production by means of intra-partner countries' knowledge-sharing and sharing of best practices. (3) Consult and address the tailored needs of brewers in the five countries to create a specialised training approach on producing and marketing of OCB. (4) Facilitate the process of new brewers and interested individuals to start their breweries and boost their development in the region and beyond. (5) Highlight the benefits of organic farming, production, and packaging methods. (6) Promote sustainable farming, production, and packaging methods. (7) Create five national clusters of brewers and connect them to promote international (social and economic) collaboration opportunities (8) Increase awareness of the potential value of OCB with regard to the national and European heritage.
As a consortium, we identified an educational gap in our five countries (Malta, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria). All project countries experienced exponential growth in the craft and organic beer industry within the past decade. However, to accompany this growth, there was little-to-no educational, social, or governmental support to substantiate this growth, in order to ensure it grows sustainably and efficiently. The Erasmus+ programme enabled us to address this need by developing an educational curriculum on Promoting the Production and Marketing of Organic and Craft Beer, together with tools such as the Manual for Trainer, the Guidebook for National Certification, and the Interactive Repository Platform. These outputs addressed two primary needs: (1) Develop and support the lacking educational framework for the emerging niche industry of Craft and Organic Beer (2) Increase the lacking public awareness about the economic and social added-value of the niche industry of Craft and Organic Beer, such as the inherent national and European heritage instilled within it. The Malta Business Bureau, as project leaders and a business support organisation, was poised to capitalise on its vast network to support this industry.