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Milwaukee's first brewery incubator launches in February with Barley to Barrel, a 10-week program for those who want to start their own beer business.

The program will take 10 potential brewers from developing a business plan to product distribution with help at each step.

Six people have already signed up at $500 each.

Barley to Barrel is sponsored by The Crafter Space, an organization that helps aspiring brewers.

At the sessions, which run through April, mentors offer advice on inception, recipe design, sales and marketing and how to sell an account, said John Graham, one of three principles of The Crafter Space.

It doesn't have to be beer, Graham said. Mead and cider operations also qualify.

At the end, participants will brew, bottle and market their product, which will be available at select sites in Milwaukee.

Classes will meet at Company Brewing, 735 E. Center St., for hands-on recipe design, how to scale a recipe and brewing.

Company Brewing owner George Bregar said he liked the idea of the program enough to let Crafter Space use his brewhouse for weekly sessions.

"I think it's a cool program that they've put together," Bregar said. "That's what piqued my interest."

Bregar will teach the art of brewing in big quantities and will be reimbursed for ingredients used. Participants will brew a recipe of their own creation on the Company Brewing system and then finish and package the product. Beer, mead or ciders created will be released at a launch event on April 8.

Eleven mentors have signed up so far, including Mark Fairbanks, co-founder and chief aesthetic officer of Translator, a brand design agency, Henry Schwartz of MobCraft Beer and other professionals.

Chris King, an intellectual property attorney for Foley & Lardner, will offer cautionary tales on selecting a brewery name and raise awareness of potential legal issues and concerns.

"There's a finite number of clever names for your IPA," King said.

BREWERS WANTED

Applications will be accepted at BarleyToBarrel.com through Jan. 5.