Forty-two students from around the world have come to Bend this week to participate in Oregon State University’s first Craft Brewery Startup Workshop.

The event, which started Monday at OSU-Cascades and is scheduled to run through Friday, is helping participants learn what it takes to start a brewery and how to develop business plans.

“Our goal is to give (students) an understanding of the structure and purpose of a business plan,” said Roger Woods, a workshop instructor and a senior lecturer in operations management at Michigan Technological University. “But most importantly, for them to go into the venture with their eyes wide open.”

Topics range from financing, marketing strategies and the history of craft brewing, to licensing, taxes and the use of sustainable brewing practices.

Woods said the brewing industry continues to grow. But, he said, up-and-coming brewers need to understand what they are going to sell, who’s going to buy it and how they are going to make money.

“It really is about helping them create a better business decision, which could be, ‘No, not right now, not in this place,’ or it could be, ‘Yes, this is the right time to do this business,”’ Woods said.

Nikos Ridge, another workshop instructor and co-founder and CEO of Eugene-based Ninkasi Brewing Co., agreed.

“As this industry continues to get larger, it’s important to know what you’re trying to do, where your niche is and where you’re adding value to people who are going to be buying your products,” he said.

Abby McHugh, one of the workshop participants, came from Australia to learn about the industry.

“I am hoping to eventually start a small-scale microbrewery and taproom back home in Brisbane, Queensland,” McHugh wrote in an email. “I think the course has provided a great insight into the pros and cons of various business models and a good balance of interaction.”

The Craft Brewery Startup Workshop is part of the Northwest Beer Sessions, a group of courses OSU offers as part of its continuing education program, said Johanna Lounsbury, program manager for Professional and Noncredit Education.

Lounsbury said the workshop was originally going to be held in Corvallis, but was moved to Bend instead. Now, Lounsbury said, she expects the workshop to occur annually at the Bend campus.

“This is a great opportunity to build the relationship with our colleagues on the other side of the mountains at OSU-Cascades,” Lounsbury wrote in an email. “Not to mention that Bend is a mecca of beer and entrepreneurship; it’s a perfect location!”

— Reporter: 541-617-7818,