At Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM) students are offered a world-class education for a myriad of topics.
Sport management, entertainment management, tourism management, hospitality management — and even wine and beer, just to name a few.
Wait…wine and beer?
That’s right.
In the fall 2025 semester, STHM launched two new special topic courses to help students (21+) fill their educational glasses: Fundamentals of Wine and Fundamentals of Beer. After a successful trial course offering, the classes are back for the 2026-27 academic year.
Taught by adjunct professors and subject matter experts Bob Trimble and Meredith Rebar, the courses are rigorous, offering students an in-depth education into the beverages. Topics students are taught include professional taste analysis and details, vineyards/breweries, beverage history and the manufacturing process.
“A lot of people might briefly look at these courses and think ‘it’s just fun,’” STHM department chair Yang Yang said.
“At STHM, we ensure our students are receiving a wide-ranging education that will help them find success in any industry. These offerings are a critical aspect of that.
“Our goal as a school is to offer our students a cutting-edge educational experience—through working with our peer institutions and professional partners within the city of Philadelphia, it became evident that a beverage program like this would be advantageous.”
While this course could be highly beneficial for a student preparing for a career within the hospitality industry, Yang explains that any student at STHM and beyond can benefit from the course, too.
“STHM prepares students for the ‘experience economy’,” Yang said. “Beverages like wine or beer are no longer a single product, they are a critical part of the consumers overall experience with a company or brand, so an advanced knowledge about these subjects can only strengthen their own ability to satisfy consumers.”
rimble, a wine expert with over 40 years of experience within the industry, instructs the wine course. He believes this course offers students a unique and beneficial knowledge set.
“Beyond teaching students unique things like taste sensitivity, tasting formats and production techniques related to wine, we are giving them expertise on a niche subject that can complete their worldly, well-rounded education at STHM,” Trimble said.
“While learning these concepts about wine can be especially crucial to hospitality students, any major can benefit. Consider an entertainment, finance, accounting or business major—this education can be highly important when entertaining or hosting professional clientele.”
The beer course was also led by a subject-matter expert: Rebar. In addition to being a small business owner with the industry, she has more than a decade of expertise in the field, making her an ideal instructor for the class.
“I’ve done nearly every job you can do within the beer industry, so it was very exciting for me to have the opportunity to teach this class,” Rebar explained.
Rebar’s classroom lessons included teaching topics like the history of beer, a deep dive into the prohibition era, the current state of the industry, brewing practices, and taste analysis. Students also gain a unique industry perspective: the class travels to on-site visits to breweries around the city—in fall 2025, they visited Yards Brewing Company, Love City Brewing and the Wissahickon Brewing Company.
That class trip to Yards Brewing Company also included a tour of their “control lab,” which oversees their brewing, packaging and quality control. Rebar said seeing how engaged, excited and interested the students are “makes her so happy.”
“The ‘on-location’ visits are a crucial element to the class, particularly for professional development,” Rebar explained.
“Not only are some of the students visiting a brewery for the first time, but they are also learning and seeing the passion behind the industry, what makes a brewery successful and how many professional roles go into the operational side of the business.”
Like Trimble, Rebar believes the course will have a lasting impact on students.
“It’s amazing that a course like this exists and can provide students with an in-depth perspective into a niche industry,” Rebar said.
“When I was getting into the professional side of the field, classes like this did not exist. The city of Philadelphia and the extending region have a fantastic beer community—it’s inspiring to see STHM and an immersive course like this showcase that admiration and respect for the industry.”
After a successful launch of the Fundamentals of Wine and Fundamentals of Beer courses, STHM added related courses Fundamentals of Distill Spirits and Fundamentals of Coffee, Water & Tea. The coffee, water and tea course has no age restrictions, allowing for more students to take part in the courses.
STHM associate dean Amy Giddings eyes another successful academic year for the unique course offerings.
“These courses are also available to students in any major and eligible Temple faculty and staff, creating a wonderful opportunity to learn alongside STHM students and explore Philadelphia’s vibrant beverage communities,” Giddings said.
“Whether the interest is professional or personal, participants will gain knowledge they can use and appreciate well beyond the classroom.”
Yang shares Giddings enthusiasm.
“Education into a wide range of subjects, including beverages, are positive ways that our students can stand out and find future success in their chosen disciplines,” Yang said.
As Yang puts it, STHM experiential courses like this prepare students for graduation with a full scope of knowledge.
Or maybe we should say a full glass?