SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The study of brewing and fermentation will start being offered as a minor at Augustana University this fall. 

According to a news release, the new academic program is being added as part of Augustana’s 2030 strategic plan. The minor will have applied brewing, where students will learn and apply the science behind fermentation. In brewing management, students will apply business principles to the craft brewing industry.

Augustana said internships at local breweries, wineries or industrial fermenters will be part of the program. 

“This minor is so interdisciplinary,” Dr. Stephanie Bruggeman, an assistant biology professor, said in the release. “The opportunity for hands-on learning and the networking we’re going to provide them with — it’s something they can’t get anywhere else.” 

Augustana becomes the second university in South Dakota to offer a brewing and fermentation minor after the Board of Regents approved a program for South Dakota State this spring.

SDSU’s market analysis on the said total alcoholic beverage sales in the United States counted for $252 billion in 2019, according to Beverage Information Group. In South Dakota, the study said the state had only five craft breweries in 2011, but the number is now approaching 40.