Graduating KPU brewing students create and sell their own beers on campus

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Second-year Kwantlen Polytechnic University brewing students are selling beers they created for the final project of their diploma program on Fridays until March 15 at the Langley campus.

The “Signature Series” serves as a culmination of everything students have studied and allows them to create a tangible product, says Dominic Bernard, KPU instructor and brewing operations program chair.

The process consists of students coming up with a recipe, quality assurance and food safety plans, costs, and marketing. They also brew their own beer as well as transfer, package, and sell it on Fridays.

“At the end of the project, the students are usually proud of what they’ve accomplished, and they’re proud to show their friends and family, ‘This is what I’ve made out of the two years that I’ve gone to brewing school,’” Bernard says.

Students Thomas Nickel and Rylan Dewick kicked off the series on Feb. 2 with their beer “ESB Chill,” an amber-brown extra special bitter ale. On Feb. 9, Su Kim and Harry Kim released their “Hey! Juicy” beer, a refreshing New England hazy India pale ale (IPA).

Julio Padilla Navarro and Gonzalo Marquez are selling their dark and tropical “Andes Stout” on Feb. 16, which has chocolate and roast notes with a touch of coconut aroma.

Marquez says while he is into hoppy beers, his partner likes bullion and dark styles, so the two decided to create a stout because they both enjoy that variety.

“It was a style that allowed us to add some ingredients from Latin America because both [of us] are from [there],” Marquez says. 

“Also we [found] that style was quite challenging because the fermentation, the yeast that we used, it’s not usual.”

He adds he and his partner were trying to create a beer that was exciting and challenging by using ingredients not common at KPU and taking into account all the parameters and processes to brew it.

Tyson Kauth’s strong “Ferry Friar” Belgian dubbel, which includes pomegranate molasses, will be available on March 1.

“It’s a style that’s been around for a couple hundred years. It’s brewed by monks almost exclusively in Belgium, so it’s rare to see North American versions of it,” Kauth says.

“I’ve always liked European-style beers and maybe a little bit stronger beers, too, so this one lined up with everything I wanted in a taste profile. They’re a nice, sweet ale and a little bit stronger.”

Although Kauth says people who know a lot about beer would be most interested in this style, he hopes those who don’t drink this kind of beer regularly will expand their horizons with his Belgian dubbel.

Benee Stevens and Dawson Boyd will release their “Spring Fizz” light-bodied saison on March 8. The beer features ginger, lemon, and honey-malted oats for complexity.

“The inspiration behind it was … since it’s coming out in the springtime, I really wanted it to be nice and refreshing and [have] a little bit of [a] fruit addition but nothing crazy, so that’s why we’re just doing lemon zest,” Stevens says.

Stevens adds while Boyd likes Belgian styles, she does not as much, but because saisons are light versions of Belgian ales, they went along and chose this variety.

Stevens hopes everyone enjoys her and Boyd’s beer, including those who are not overly into beer.

“My brother, he doesn’t drink beer, but he was able to drink it and really like it, so hopefully it helps people enter the beer industry,” she says.

The series will close on March 15 with “Happy Hoppy,” a refreshing New Zealand pilsner by Wilson Chu and Francisco Hwang.

Bernard hopes the series will help students when they go on to work after graduation.

“Ultimately, my hope is that they gain the skill set so they have confidence once they’re out in this industry to do that, say, ‘Hey, my boss is asking me to do a beer. I’ve done this before, so I know how to do it,’” Bernard says.

Beer sales will take place from 1:00 to 6:00 pm on each of the dedicated dates at the KPU Brew Lab on the Langley campus.

The Barley Merchant, a Langley restaurant, will also host two “tap takeover” events on March 14 and April 11, featuring special samples from the series, reads a KPU brewing Facebook post.

For more information, visit www.kpu.ca/brew/signature-series/.