Hops and business on the agenda for New Zealand's first full-time brewing course

Forget engineering and literature - it's hops and business that's the lesson in this class.

A full-time brewing course, New Zealand's first, is now on offer at Otago Polytechnic's Cromwell campus.

"People are going into the industry armed with a bit more knowledge, maybe confidence that they've learnt the basics and technically advance facets of brewing," Brewery operations manager Ben Middlemiss says.

The course has attracted people from all walks of life.

Brewing lecturer Geoff Collie says, "We've got a range from 18 to - not sure I should tell Michael's age, but he's around 50, and he's German so we are teaching the Germans how to brew beer."

It aims to not only teach people how to brew, but also how to run a business.

The course comes at a time where the brewing industry is growing rapidly, with New Zealand having more breweries per capita than the United Kingdom, US and Australia.