Fifteen years ago, the first class of Brewmaster students at NC rolled out the inaugural beer from Canada’s first Teaching Brewery. Today, current students from the same trailblazing program are bringing that original brew back for a limited-time throwback.
A small batch of First Draft Ale, brewed using the original 2010 recipe, has recently hit the shelves at the Wine Visitor + Education Centre. Brewed in September by first-term students from the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program, the special batch was released in time to coincide with the 15-year milestone of its original release.
“The first-semester class brewed their first beer on the pilot side; it was the original recipe of the first beer when we first opened 15 years ago, First Draft Ale,” said Brewmaster Professor Jon Downing. “The plan was to release it before the first day we released the first bottles of First Draft Ale on Dec. 10, 2010.”
Jon Downing holds up the original First Draft Ale, which made its debut as the College’s first beer release on Dec. 10, 2010.
While the original First Draft Ale has been slightly refined and is still produced as Beer 101 Pale Ale – a lighter take on the classic -the spirit of innovation remains.
“It’s basically the same beer but it’s a little lighter now as a Pale Ale,” said Downing.
NC’s groundbreaking Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program has grown alongside Ontario’s craft beer industry. It has become a springboard for budding Canadian brewing talent, continuing to raise the bar for the industry.
Student-crafted brews from the NC Teaching Brewery have earned 58 medals over the years and awards continue to pour in. Class after class of graduates have seeped into the industry over the past decade, with many going on to become brewery owners and brewmasters who craft their own award-winning beers.
Downing noted that, over the past 15 years, Brewmaster students have brewed thousands of beers – about 250 per year – and the program has produced hundreds of skilled graduates.
For Downing, the greatest highlight is watching students succeed – through winning medals or at each Project Brew event when they give the public a taste of their own unique brews. He finds it deeply rewarding to keep tabs on their progress, seeing graduates win awards for their own beers and go on to open their own breweries.
“It’s about teaching them from ‘not knowing anything about brewing’ to be able to produce a world-class beer before they leave here and go on to work in the industry,” he said.
The Teaching Brewery, located at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is a living laboratory where Brewmaster students gain essential hands-on experience producing beer on campus.
Student-crafted brews, from award-winning brands to Small Batch Brews from class projects, are available for purchase at the Wine Visitor + Education Centre (135 Taylor Rd., Niagara-on-the-Lake). Proceeds from sales support student success initiatives.
Cans of the First Draft Ale original recipe, created to mark the 15-year-milestone, will be available for purchase while supplies last.
Small batches of First Draft Ale, recently released in cans using the original recipe from 15 years ago, stand alongside bottles of the original First Draft Ale.
