Niagara College’s student-brewed beers continue to collect accolades from across the brewing scene, with two of NC’s most popular brews taking home awards at the 2018 Ontario Brewing Awards on Sept. 13.
the awards celebrate the quality, variety and innovation of Ontario’s best brews, with entries from Ontario breweries evaluated in more than 40 categories by a panel of BJCP-certified judges. The awards ceremony, hosted by Taps Media, brought together over over 400 brewing industry professionals.
Beer 101 Bitter brought home the Gold in the English Ales category. Beer 101 Bitter was created in 2012 (as Butler’s Bitter) to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812. The English style Bitter has won numerous contests, most recently winning Gold in the Bitter category at the 2018 U.S. Open Beer Championships.
Beer 101 Strong also added to its medal count for 2018, taking Silver in the Scottish Ales category. The ale was first brewed at the College as a version of Brewmaster Jon Downing’s Christmas beer, Rudolph’s Red Nose Ale, which proved so popular it became one of the main Beer 101 offerings. The Ontario Brewing Award caps off a strong year for Beer 101 Strong, which also won Gold at the 2018 U.S. Open Beer Championships, and took Silver in the Scotch Ales category in 2018’s Canadian Beer Awards.
NC Brewmaster Jon Downing attributed the wins to the consistency in quality that is a hallmark of NC’s student-made brews, crafted under the guidance of head brewer George Eagleson and lead brewer Brad Barta.
Read the full list of winners here.
