Coffee may fuel countless study sessions across campus, but for one Brewmaster student, it percolated inspiration for an award-winning beer.
Aady Sonalkar captured the coveted $4,500 Project Brew scholarship award for his ‘Nutoriously Hazelnaughty’ golden ale, which he developed as a final brewing project during his last term in the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program.
It was an experimental beer for Sonalkar, who described its dominant aroma of coffee followed by roasted hazelnuts, vanilla and a touch of cacao nibs rounded by a biscuity malt character.
“The hazelnuts get pronounced with a creamy mouthfeel,” he said, also noting its medium carbonation. “The synergy of specialty ingredients with the silky oat body result in Nutella smores flavours.”
When it came to deciding what type of beer to create, Sonalkar looked back on his first job in Canada at Nespresso where, he recalled, the popularity of their roasted hazelnut flavour.
“There was never a day when anyone disliked that coffee. That was a strong point for me to consider, to make something which beer drinkers and non-beer drinkers enjoy,” he said.
Sonalkar set out to create a unique experimental beer for his Project Brew and “wild thoughts translated to a glass.”
“In the end, I made what I loved and I could witness people love it too,” he said.
Each Project Brew beer from the graduating class – who were the brewers and organizers of the Project Brew Summer Down Under on-campus beer festival – was evaluated by a panel of judges. The winner was announced in front of a crowd of hundreds at the event where the public had a chance to sample unique student-crafted beers.
‘Nutoriously Naughty’ proved to be a hit with the guests and sold out before the winner was announced.
When Sonalkar heard his name called out on stage, it took his breath away – literally and figuratively.
“I am still flabbergasted about how all my hard work has translated into a winner beer,” said Sonalkar. “I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds after it was announced as the winner. All I could feel was happiness and a very strong sense of accomplishment.”
Originally from India, Sonalkar formerly worked in production at Pepsi and later gained experience in marketing for a cider brand, which he felt was more aligned with his personality.
Before enrolling in NC’s Brewmaster program, he became interested in the social aspect of brewing. He enjoyed connecting with people about how they felt about the beers he brewed.
As he pursued his studies at NC, the St. Catharines resident became a familiar face at the College’s Wine Visitor and Education Centre – where products from NC’s Teaching Winery, Teaching Brewery and Teaching Distillery are available on the shelf and behind the bar.
Sonalkar also took on the chair of Marketing role for Project Brew as he and his classmates organized the festival to cap off their studies. With graduation on the horizon, he is interested in jumping back into sales and marketing role at a brewery in the future.
In the meantime, he hopes to brew some stylistic beers before he graduates and plans to save his scholarship funds to invest in a beer project.
“It has been an awesome journey for 16 months,” he said. “I’m so excited to see what’s next.”
This term’s Project Brew scholarship award was sponsored by Linde.
For event info visit projectbrew.squarespace.com/
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