Students brew world of beers
The next wave of brewers thinks the world of craft beer and they’re ready to prove it.
Students from the Niagara College brewmaster program are offering 20 different beers inspired by international brewing styles at the seventh edition of Project Brew in St. Catharines.
They’re calling it Brewnited Nations and it’s as good a reason as any to shuffle to Niagara Region during tourism’s shoulder season.
Creation of a beer festival with an international flare wasn’t an accident. It reflects the makeup of the soon-to-graduate class, which includes students from Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, and the United States.
“It allows us to take responsibility and build a festival while learning about the many trials and tribulations that come into play while putting this together,” said the event’s student chair Brittany Ribalkin, who will be presenting a biere de Garde, a strong pale ale style from France, at the event.
It’s also a fundraiser for the Matt Soos memorial scholarship. The West Lorne native was a graduate of the program and worked at Railway City in St. Thomas and Muskoka in Gravenhurst. An annual scholarship in his name is awarded to the best beer winner in Niagara College’s annual brewmaster competition.
The festival is Friday, April 7, beginning at 5:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. in Market Square.
Tickets are $25 at the door, cheaper if ordered in advance online via Eventbrite.
For beercationers, no trip to Niagara is complete without encouraging the brewing talent of tomorrow by visiting the Niagara College bottle shop where, for dark beer fans like me, a small batch gem is in the fridge while supplies last.
No Porter Given is a trickster. There’s no coffee among the ingredients, yet that’s the taste which greets your palate.
“It is purely done during the roasting process. The malt is from Malterie Franco Belge in France and is called French kilned coffee malt, they take a fresh malt and then roast as to the same process as a French roast coffee,” brewmaster Jon Downing said.
Among this porter’s fans were those attending a couple of recent college events, including Corks and Forks, where it won a friendly competition over wine.
No Porter Given is smooth and flavourful with only 3.7 per cent alcohol. I’m saving a can for the next time there’s chocolate cake in the house.
Where do Niagara College students end up?
Often, back home again, as is the case of recent grad Taylor McBain of Elgin County. He’s joined the brewing team at Railway City in St. Thomas, the same place he worked doing events and general duties before heading to college. Now, he’s a brewer.
“Working in events was great because it really showed me the sense of camaraderie between all of the craft breweries,” Taylor said.
“If you ever ran into any issues at an event, another company would gladly help you out. If you had a customer come to your booth and say that they really liked a particular style of beer, you would recommend another craft brewery that does that style justice. The friendliness I experienced, both within the brewery and between other breweries, was what really made me decide to have a career within the industry.”
Does that give you any career ideas?
College isn’t the only path to making good beer. Homebrewing is the path many have followed, turning a passion into a paying job.
Friendly competitions help develop skills, a fact acknowledged for years by Railway City where the annual Platform Home Brew Competition.
The winner will have a full batch of his or her beer brewed and released as a Railway City seasonal in July.
The entry deadline is April 30.