• Ad Age, Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:15 AM

All 40 of MillerCoors new craft and import division are going to beer school, where they will learn beer history, styles, flavor and etiquette, E.j. Schultz reports in a fascinating article, including a course on food pairings called "Beer & Cheese." The back-to-basics training is just one example of how the brewery giant is using Tenth and Blake to focus on the fast-growing craft segment.

"In the craft and import business it is a lot more about education being the new promotion," Tenth and Blake president and CEO Tom Cardella tells Schultz. "There's a lot of desire for knowledge and learning and training in regards to how beer is made, how beer is looked at in regard to the sensory experience as it pairs with food."

The investment "is a recognition that they have to get more serious and take things to the next level in the high-end beer market," said Benj Steinman, president of Beer Marketer's Insights, a leading beer trade publication. "The challenge is for a big company to think small."

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