A unique course on the business and economics of brewed and distilled beverages will be offered on Tuesday nights next semester. Professor of Business and Economics Alan Grant and Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Martha Harris will offer the course as a special topic.

“The course will be like an intro to business and very small intro to economics class,” Grant said. “There are a lot of students who are afraid of taking business and economics courses, so this is a nice introduction to the area with all of the focus being on a particular industry.”

The course will also include an optional travel experience during spring break. Participants will travel to London, North Wales and Scotland, where they can take guided tours of breweries and visit some historic pubs.

“We don’t get much of a chance to study distilling,” Grant said. “So this will be a unique chance to tour some historic places.”

Grant stressed that the trip is not required to enroll in the course.

“You don’t have to travel,” he said. “Everybody is welcome to take the course and participate in the classroom content.”

Senior Trevor Sutton, who is currently planning to enroll in the course, believes that it will be a special opportunity that is completely different from other curriculum throughout his time at Baker.

“I feel like it’s a good opportunity to expand horizons in a completely different field while still relating it to the last three years of my education,” he said. “I’m also looking forward to being immersed in the new culture and seeing the history around Europe.”

Senior Megan Pontius, an economics major, has a similar interest in the course as she rounds out her undergraduate degree. Pontius’s interest sprang from her inability to take Grant’s interterm course on a similar topic.

“I expect it to be a pretty basic economics class,” Pontius said. “Dr. Grant has mentioned that there will be a lot of micro and macro principles in the course, but actually applying it to breweries and distilleries will be a different experience.”

The course will also involve student projects including distilling beverages in a small experimental form with Assistant Professor of Biology Scott Kimball and other guest lecturers.

“I was really thrilled when (Grant) told me that he was turning the class into a full-length course,” Pontius said. “I’m really looking forward to brewing and distilling beverages. It’s something that I’ve never really experienced before.”