Father of Canada’s Craft Brewing Movement Visits KPU Campus

Frank Appleton talks beer, brewing, and revolution

The father of the craft brewing movement, Frank Appleton, visited Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Langley campus on Sept. 12 in support of his new book, Brewing Revolution – Pioneering the Craft Beer Movement.

Everyone was welcome to meet the legendary brewmaster, but the talk was held in Langley, as that campus is home to KPU’s Brewery and Brewing Operations program. Throughout the talk, Appleton read excerpts from his memoir and shared the story behind today’s craft brewing revolution.

Appleton earned his first job at a corn processing plant in Manchester before immigrating to Canada in 1963 at the invitation of his sister. Soon after, he found his first job at an O’Keif brewing plant.

Since then, Appleton has been a consultant brewmaster to twenty brewing operations, including consulting in brewery design, startup, and training. In 2009 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Craft Brewing from the Campaign for Real Ale Society of British Columbia Chapter Victoria. He is also a member of the KPU Brewing and Brewery Operations Diploma Advisory Committee and helped shape the program’s curriculum.

Appleton’s book talk was followed by a Q&A session, which opened the floor for all in attendance to ask the brewmaster about his craft and his experiences.

“If cleanliness is next to godliness then any brewery should be a temple to good beer,” said Appleton, in his talk. “It should be totally clean …You should be able to eat off the floors. You can do yourself a great disservice by running a messy operation.”

He stressed the importance of keeping a clean brewery and how it can be difficult to manage the various bacteria that are required to brew good beer. He also had a thing or two to say about how beer is mass-marketed.

“Let the product speak for itself. That’s the way to win people over. The big guys might be able to fool people with mass-market advertising, but you can’t fool their taste buds,” says Appleton. “Taste buds don’t have a brain, they just know what they like. And if you make a beer that’s satisfying for people and high quality, the best quality you can make, that is your best form of advertising.”

It was also revealed during the Q&A session that Appleton was given a tour of KPU Langley’s brewing facilities prior to the event.

“I’m very impressed with the standards in that small brewery, especially the quality control they create and get out of it. [It is] way beyond what most malt breweries have at their disposal,” he says. “I think it’s a wonderful resource and a wonderful facility that you’ve got here.”

Appleton concluded his talk with some advice for the aspiring brewmasters in attendance.

“You don’t have to have a science degree, but it helps,” he says. “If you have the right attitude that helps even more. Keep brewing and keep brewing good beer. Everybody will love you for it.”