It seems the words “beer” and “school” have long been bitter rivals. Foothills Brewing is hoping to change that, though.

Late this summer, the homegrown brewery began holding monthly beer-school sessions that focus on the art and science of microbrewing. For $10, students get a lesson on the basics of beer — the history, ingredients, and terminology — along with a behind-the-scenes tour of Foothills’ in-house brewery. As an added bonus, each attendee gets to sample a handful of the brewpub’s award-winning beers.

“It’s really a fun way to learn a little bit more about what you’re drinking,” says Sarah Bartholomaus, general manager of Foothills Brewing.

As the dean of beer school, Bartholomaus knows a thing or two about brew. Her husband, Jamie, is the resident brewmaster at Foothills. The two have been holding beer schools since opening Foothills in 2005, although the class was previously for staff only.

Little by little, Bartholomaus took notice of an interesting trend. While every Foothills employee is required to attend beer school at least once, many were taking the course multiple times. “I thought, ‘If it’s this popular with the workers, maybe the public would be interested.’ ”

She was right.

In August, word began to spread that Foothills was thinking about holding an experimental beer school for the general public. In just a few days, Bartholomaus received nearly 150 e-mails from people who were interested in attending. Because of the overwhelming response, she’s decided to make beer school a regular thing.

“Make no mistake, you’ll definitely learn a lot,” she says, adding that a mandatory test is given at the end of each class. “But it’s a lot of fun at the same time. I mean, it’s beer … how can it not be fun?”

Beer schools are held Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and last 2 to 3 hours. The next two classes are scheduled for October 24 and November 21. To sign up, e-mail Sarah at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). For more information on the brewery, go to foothillsbrewing.com