WSET Level 1 Award in Beer (coming soon!)

A beginner level qualification for anyone looking to learn the basics of beer. Through a short and interactive course, you’ll learn the foundations of beer production, styles, service and tasting.

About the course

The WSET Level 1 Award in Beer provides a great introduction to the world of beer. Learning though sight, smell and taste, you'll become familiar with a range of beer styles and how they are made.

If you work with beer, you’ll be able to answer customer queries with confidence and provide helpful recommendations. If you’re learning for fun, you’ll feel inspired to explore new styles and know how to get the most out of every glass.

View the qualification specification

  • The main ingredients used to make beer
    • Malt (malted grains) and other sugar sources, water, hops, yeast
  • The main production steps used to make beer
    • Malting, brewing
  • The principles of successful beer storage, service and food pairing
    • Beer storage and service: keeping beer fresh, glassware, pouring keg beer, opening and pouring bottled beer, service temperature
    • Common beer faults: staling, light strike (skunking), bacterial infection
    • Food and beer: Preferences, sensitivities, interactions, application and other considerations
  • The characteristics of a range of key beer styles
    • Malt-driven styles: American or international pale lager, Munich helles, Blonde ale, Munich dunkel, Brown ale, Porter and stout, Barley wine
    • Hop-driven styles: Traditional Czech or German pilsner, Bitter, American pale ale, American IPA, Hazy IPA
    • Yeast driven styles: Weissbier, Dubbel, Tripel, Saison, Witbier
    • Sour styles: Berliner weisse, Geuze (gueuze)

Your learning will be assessed by a closed-book exam of 30 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 45 minutes. Exams will be available both online and in-person.

WSET is committed to making our exams fair and accessible, and ensuring that no candidate is placed at a disadvantage. If you have any special requirements or need to request reasonable adjustments, please discuss this with your chosen course provider.

This qualification is regulated by Ofqual.

No prior beer knowledge is required, just enthusiasm! All our classes are delivered in English therefore a good level of English is beneficial.

 

WSET’s approach focuses on learning through tasting, so you can experience the influence of ingredients, processes and other key factors on what’s in the glass.

You won’t be assessed on your tasting skills at Level 1, but tasting is an important part of the course. You'll learn the basics of how to taste and describe beer using the WSET Level 1 Systematic Approach to Tasting Beer.

The beer samples you taste on the course will vary by course provider, but we recommend that 14 beers are tasted across a range of styles.

Recommended tasting samples

  • An introduction to tasting beer: Porter or stout, American pale ale or American IPA or hazy IPA, Weissbier
  • Malt-driven styles: International pale lager or blonde ale, Munich dunkel or brown ale
  • Hop-driven styles: Bitter or traditional Czech or German pilsner, American pale ale or American IPA or hazy IPA
  • Yeast-driven styles: Tripel or dubbel, Saison or witbier
  • Sour styles: Geuze or Berliner weisse
  • Beer and food: Munich helles, Porter, Dubbel, American pale ale

Study options

This qualification is currently in the pre-launch stage, which means we are busy preparing expert beer educators to offer the course and exam. We expect to have the first courses available to book in early 2024.

We will be offering four study options here at WSET School London, which you can explore below.

To register your interest in WSET beer courses, please complete this form, and you’ll be the first to know when the first courses are available to book.

  • Where: WSET School London
  • Duration: 9:00am-5:00pm on one day (includes exam)
  • Private study: Not required. There are recapping and revision exercises throughout the day
  • Samples: In-class beer samples included
  • Includes: Your workbook, nine beer samples, six hours of tuition, your examination, and exclusive offers via our Student Deals Card
  • Who: Those who want to complete the course as quickly as possible
  • Price: XXX
Find a day release course

Course dates

 

No courses could be found.

This course was great! Solid information and really interesting. The course had a comfortable vibe, focused without being stressful and friendly without being sloppy. Lovely teachers!

Katie, Level 1 Award in Beer (pilot)