Something Special Brewing in New Darden Club

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has dozens of student-run clubs, with areas of focus ranging from professional sectors like consulting and finance to affinity clubs like Graduate Women in Business and those focused on athletic pursuits.

The newest, Darden School of Brew, dives into the dynamic craft beer industry, which is thriving locally and nationally.

“We started the club because we wanted to connect with Charlottesville’s thriving beer scene and create an opportunity for Darden students to learn more about the business of beer,” says club co-founder Ryan Bottini (Class of 2018).

Every month, ten of the club’s 170 members spend a day at Three Notch’d Brewing Company working with brewers Dave Warwick and Willey Broaddus to make the next brew. The beer ferments and conditions for two to four weeks and is then served to club members at beer release events before being served publicly in the brewery’s taproom. Release parties are hosted at the new Three Notch’d event space and feature one or more educational speakers, who teach club members about a new aspect of the beer industry.

Past speakers have covered topics including the brewing process, production planning, hop growing, and the financials of starting up a brewery. Next month, members will be hearing from the local craft beverage tour company Cville Hop On Tours about how they promote and work with breweries in the area. The club’s next beer, a First Coffee Cream Ale, will be on tap.

Read the full story on the Discover Darden blog.