Brewmaster students from Niagara College are brewing up a variety of unique and delicious beers for Project Brew: Augtoberfest to take place on August 9 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Market Square in St. Catharines will be the venue for the College's celebrated student-run craft beer festival. The event, held each semester, will feature 20 innovative and thirst-quenching beers crafted by NC students, and is a chance for the public to sample the small-batch creations of students in their final term of the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program. Local food, music and games are also on tap.
"Project Brew is the capstone of our Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program,
said April Tyrrell, faculty advisor for the event. "Students get hands-on experience crafting original recipe beers from scratch while also planning and executing a large-scale public event."
NC Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program student Garrett Saulis samples the beer he crafted for Project Brew. 'Mildly Mahgwan' is a dark-coloured beer with a toasty profile, fairly smooth body, and hints of maple sourced from his family's sugar bush.
For Brewmaster student Garrett Saulis and his fellow classmates, the Augtoberfest theme was inspired by the ethos of Oktoberfest. "We loved the idea of a Biergarten, and allowing people to mingle and socialize while sampling beers and discussing their thoughts on what they’re trying," said Saulis.
"It's definitely interesting when you're toying with the concept of developing a beer that represents who you are as a brewer," said Saulis. "Project Brew takes all of the knowledge we've gained from the program to be able to create the recipe, develop and oversee the steps for production, troubleshoot any problems that arise, and finish with what you hope is a quality beer that people will enjoy."
Students have brewed a variety of summer-friendly brews to appeal to beer lovers of all kinds, including a raspberry saison, a mango smoothie IPA, a wine-like grisette, a kettle sour, and some grassy IPAs. Other brews include a light Mexican lager, an experimental low calorie beer, and Saulis's own dark beer made with maple syrup from his aunt and uncle's sugar bush.
Saulis sees Project Brew as preparation for his career as a brewer. "It's a great way to get our foot in the door of the brewing scene, and add to our resumés that we have experience developing recipes and organizing a beer festival," he said.
Proceeds from Project Brew support the Matt Soos Memorial Fund, which awards a scholarship each year to the student who brews the best beer at Project Brew. Established by Muskoka Brewery and Railway City Brewing, the scholarship is in memory of Matt Soos who died at the age of 26 in August 2015, just a year after he graduated from the Brewmaster program.
Student beers will be judged on-site by the Soos family who will award a $4,500 scholarship to the graduating student who creates the winning beer.
"Project Brew has a very special meaning to us. We lost Matt four years ago and his dream is alive. What he wanted to do we are doing for him," said brother Dan Soos, owner and head brewer of Natterjack Brewing in West Lorne, Ontario. The Soos family opened their brewery doors in 2018, dedicated to Matt who dreamed of owning a brewery of his own.
For the first time, two NC Brewmaster students, Aiden Roos and Adam Weverink, had the chance to work with Natterjack Brewing on a special beer for Project Brew - a dark ale brewed with 50lbs of blueberries donated by local farmers in Elgin County.
"Cheers to another successful year of Project Brew, and cheers to Matt. He would have wanted to be right in there up to his elbows in spent grain coming out of the mash tun, joking and chatting with everyone," said Soos.
Fourth-semester Brewmaster students standing in the craft side of NC's Teaching Brewery. Students are pictured by the mash tun using paddles to mix the grain for an NC beer. From left to right: Mike Lounds, Clayton Berglis, Doug Rolfe, Collin Wareham, Aidan Roos, Garrett Saulis, George Eagleson, Max Saumure, Tim Miller, Doug Salloum and Woo Chul Sim.
Meet the brewers, get a sneak peek at the brews, order tickets and find more details at niagaracollege.ca/projectbrew. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the door.
*Must be 19 years of age or older. Valid photo ID required. Proceeds will be donated to the Matt Soos Memorial Scholarship.
NC's Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program was launched in 2010 as the first of its kind in Canada. The award-winning, two-year program offers extensive hands-on training at an on-site, state-of-the-art Teaching Brewery to prepare students for employment in the expanding brewery, microbrewery and brewpub industries. Located at the College's Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus, students learn from award-winning faculty and have access to on-site hop yard and local farm products to brew a full range of beer styles. ncteachingbrewery.ca
Niagara College offers more than 130 diploma, bachelor degree and advanced level programs; as well as more than 600 credit, vocational and general interest Part-Time Studies courses. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, media, applied health and community safety, supported by unique learning enterprises in food, wine, beer, spirits, horticulture and esthetics. For more information visit niagaracollege.ca.
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