What started as a class assignment turned into a brand and a product. Spur City Brewing is a brand started on the University of South Carolina’s campus.

Associate Professor Scott Taylor presented his beverage marketing class with the task of creating a name and a brand for a brewery.

The name “Spur City Brewing” won, and it grew from there.

“The students developed all of those things, the name, the graphics, everything,” Taylor said.

The semester after the creation of the brand, Taylor worked with Robbie Lybrand, a chef-instructor, to create a course that would allow students to learn to brew beer.

The school also offers a craft appreciation class, in which students taste and discuss what makes different types of beer.

All these courses worked together to create Spur City Brewing’s first official brew: “Frat Lot Lager.”

“We brewed, tasted and came up with recipes together,” Taylor said.

The brewing itself started on campus in the Fall, in the school of Hospitality, Retail, and Sports Management’s brew room. The room is located in the beverage lab, where all such courses are held.

“This was deemed the coolest classroom on campus,” Taylor said.

Students began brewing the beer in small amounts, until the course was over. Spur City Brewing is now partnering with Steel Hands Brewing to produce and sell “Frat Lot Lager” to the public.

While the branding and recipe were all made by USC students and faculty, the production and distribution will be through Steel Hands, with an official launch event scheduled for April 15.

Now that the first beer is officially about to launch, there is a future of profit for this product, and hopefully more products, Taylor said.

Taylor knew from the start that when they got to this point, there were certain things that must happen with the proceeds.

“My one hard line has always been (that) some amount of proceeds have to come back to a scholarship fund,” Taylor said.

Chef Robbie also said it is important for the money to be put back into the students who made this brand and brew.

“This is a student-run, student-led student-driven opportunity to learn about the industry and possibly raise money for scholarships all in one,” he said.

The brand is limited to one brew right now, with others possibly added to the list, he said.

“The more we expand this, the more scholarship dollars we’re going to bring in for our students,” Lybrand said.