In a tucked-away corner of Close Hipp Building Room 114, the unmistakable sounds of early 2000s emo rock — All-American Rejects, Plain White T's and American Hi-Fi — set the relaxed atmosphere for one of the University of South Carolina's most innovative academic offerings.
Professor Taylor setting up for class, listening to music and prepping the nonalcoholic beer samples.
Scott Taylor, Ph.D., Pearce Faculty Fellow and instructor of the Honors College course "Coffee, Tea and Nonalcoholic Beverages," stands behind a modern bar setup — garnet with a black backsplash — arranging a variety of nonalcoholic beers for the day's tasting. The classroom itself is non-conventional with a functional bar area facing three rows of traditional classroom desks, creating a space that bridges academic learning with real-world hospitality.
"We're seeing a revolution in the nonalcoholic beverage industry," said Taylor, a USC doctoral graduate who returned to his alma mater after teaching for three years at the University of Houston. "This course examines coffee, tea and other nonalcoholic beverages while teaching students how to build successful beverage programs for restaurants, bars and other hospitality operations."
The three-credit course meets twice weekly and combines regular tastings with a comprehensive study of beverage production, cultural significance and financial management. Students are encouraged to develop practical skills by maintaining detailed tasting notebooks and ultimately creating their own nonalcoholic drink recipes.
Five different nonalcoholic beers tasted in class, ranging from pilsners to IPAs.
This particular day’s class focuses on nonalcoholic beer, with Taylor guiding around 15 students through a tasting of five different options. His approach is conversational rather than textbook, engaging students with his dry humor and apparent passion for the subject matter, while blending theory with practicality.
"Big companies have the money to distribute widely, but they often put out a crappy product," Taylor notes as students sample O'Douls, which he candidly describes as having "a lingering aftertaste and weird sourness," that reminds him of "a pong table in a college garage."
Not all reviews are negative. When presenting Guinness's nonalcoholic offering, Taylor calls it "one of the greatest things ever made," noting its reputation as a recovery drink because of its protein content. He also praises Stella Artois for producing a quality nonalcoholic beer.
“Dr. Taylor's teaching style is very open and casual,” said class member, Caroline Yahn. “He leads you and tells you what to do, but he also gives you independence to go in your own direction while still teaching, which is really nice.”
Nonalcoholic beers provided to each student by Professor Taylor for tasting.
Another project required students to work in small groups to develop their own nonalcoholic drink recipes — including sourcing ingredients, analyzing flavor profiles and creating cost breakdowns.
Yahn and her group created a blueberry lemon poppy seed smoothie with frozen bananas, blueberries, chia seeds, dates and vanilla. And the class also hosted speakers from Burnt Church Distillery who discussed making nonalcoholic margaritas.
Taylor, an avid marathon runner, explained that nonalcoholic beer can be more hydrating than water after intense physical activity, a detail that could explain why Budweiser Zero specifically targets athletic consumers.
As part of the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management program, the course aligns with the department's mission "to educate global leaders for the hospitality and tourism industry through innovative and experiential curriculum." In the class, students learn to identify top-selling brands, differentiate between coffee and tea producing regions and develop financial controls for nonalcoholic beverage programs.
Class members anticipate that academic experience will provide a bridge to practical skills that will serve them in the evolving hospitality landscape where providing sophisticated nonalcoholic options is rivaling traditional beverage service.
“It's like a nice break from the day, but you're still having a fun class and getting credit," Yahn said.
Hayes Wilkinson is a sophomore in the University of South Carolina Honors College, where she is pursuing a degree in marketing. She produced this story as part of Bertram Rantin’s Honors JOUR 291 Writing for Mass Communications course. Beyond academics, Wilkinson has a passion for the outdoors and is an avid dog lover!