Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) brewing graduates have achieved significant feats, including becoming head brewers at some of B.C.’s top breweries racking up an impressive list of awards, provincially, nationally and internationally.
Now, KPU has invited these busy young brewers back on campus to create the first alumni collaboration brews.
The alumni teamed up with KPU brewing instructors Martina Solano Bielen, Jon Howe and Derek Kindret this summer to develop recipes and brew at the KPU brewery in Langley. The brewers, who were able to get as creative as they wanted, produced recipes such as a Salsa Piquanté Wheat Ale with mango and a Dry-Hopped Kettle Sour with Lemondrop hops.
The participating alumni brewers include:
Ashley Brooks, quality control manager, Four Winds Brewing, Delta (class of 2016)
Tom Morrison, brewer, Red Truck Beer, Vancouver (class of 2016)
Dan Marriette, head brewer, Ravens Brewing, Abbotsford (class of 2016)
Jonny Kostiuk, head brewer, Deep Cove Brewers + Distillers, North Vancouver (class of 2017)
Jacquie Loehndorf, head brewer, Faculty Brewing, Vancouver (class of 2018).
“We have so many alumni to choose from and we tried to pick from each grad class, so it wasn’t an easy task,” said Alek Egi, chair and instructor for the KPU brewing diploma. “The goal is to do a collaboration series every year during the summer break. It’s also a great opportunity for grads to come back and put their unique stamp on a KPU beer.”
The first collaboration beer, a Salsa Piquanté Wheat Ale Morrison was released on Friday at the KPU Brew Lab in Langley.
“It was great being back in the KPU Brew Lab and creating one of the first alumni collaboration brews,” said Morrison. “It’s a much smaller system than what I’m used to at Red Truck and it reminds me of how far I’ve come since graduation. For our collaboration brew, we made a Salsa Piquanté beer, which is a sessionable summer wheat ale with a few surprises - infused with mango and habanero pepper, but only has a tiny bit of heat to it. We wanted the flavour, not the shock factor."
Latest details of the available beers and their release dates will be shared via the KPU Brewing social media pages: Instagram - @KPUBrew; Twitter - @KPUBrew; Facebook - @KPU Brewing
For more information on KPU’s brewing diploma program, visit: kpu.ca/brew.
