Niagara College’s Research and Innovation division’s Tanya Hvilivitzky, authored a piece in the January edition of The Brewers Journal, the magazine for the Canadian brewing industry. The article, which spans three pages, covers the relationship between Toronto-based Royal Canadian Mead and NC’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute (CFWI) Innovation Centre. NC’s CFWI Innovation Centre provided research support for this innovative industry partnership to develop mead, a fermented beverage with ancient roots made of honey, water and yeast.
The CFWI Innovation Centre conducted exploratory research and competitive market analysis on the demographic who would enjoy the new mead. Faculty and student researchers in the Winery and Viticulture Technician, and Commercial Beekeeping programs assisted with recipe development. Four recipes made the short-list from nearly 30 product trials, resulting in four session meads: Hopped Buckwheat, Niagara Peach, Ontario Cherry, and Ontario Wildflower – all made with local to Niagara or provincially-sourced ingredients.
Matt Gibson, president of RCM, said of the collaboration, “We knew from Niagara College’s reputation that they had the experience and tools to help turn what was in our heads into a reality. We thought the College’s unique breadth of knowledge of honey, beekeeping, brewing and winemaking would all be useful tools to create our final product.”
NC research assistant Emily Royal assisted with the trials, noting the incredible learning opportunity of being part of this project as a student.
Read the full three-page article at this link.
