Since 2014, Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) Brew Lab has been making excellent beer, while students brew as part of their two-year Brewing & Brewery Operations diploma program at KPU in Langley, B.C.

Each year, approximately 20 students graduate from the program, having learned theory in the classroom and practice in the lab with over 950 hours of instruction. Class time covers everything from sales and marketing to reading a malt certificate of analysis. Lab time covers everything from brewing to operating quality assurance equipment. The first year is focused on the science of brewing while the second is focused on the beer and brewing industry. It is a comprehensive program, the only one of its kind in B.C., and the only one in Canada to be recognized by the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.

The program came about over 10 years ago, after KPU’s president and dean recognized that the craft beer industry was growing and would be in need of skilled people. Since then, the KPU Brewing & Brewery Operations program has added about 200 such skilled people to the industry, having learned from two full-time faculty, three contract instructors and three full-time laboratory instructors.

“The nice thing about our diploma program is we touch on everything,” said Dominic Bernard, brewing instructor and chair of the brewing department. “The first year is science-based, covering brewing and laboratory work, and the second year covers the brewing industry; everything from the Canada Revenue Agency to the Liquor Distribution Branch and regulations all the way to brewery management.”

Each semester involves improving the students’ brewing skills. The first sees students brewing one of KPU’s core beers, practice consistently make the same beer, learning the process and hitting original gravity, finishing gravity and other brewing targets. In the second semester, students are exposed to different beer styles, and in the third, they develop their own recipes. “Make your big mistakes on a small scale,” said Bernard of the program’s approach.

The two-year program culminates in students working in small groups in their last semester, releasing beers that will be commercially sold under KPU Brew Lab’s Student Signature Series. The beers are made on a two-hectolitre brewery donated by Newland Systems Inc. of B.C. (NSI has since been acquired by DME Brewing Solutions of Charlottetown, P.E.I. and then König Brewing Systems of Abbotsford).

Although it is a physically small brewhouse, it is a scaled down version of a four-vessel brewhouse, with touchscreen and other bells and whistles, not unlike those found at much larger breweries. KPU Brew Lab also has a 50-litre manual brewing system. “We teach for all sizes of systems,” said Bernard.

The nice thing about our diploma program is we touch on everything. The first year is science-based, covering brewing and laboratory work, and the second year covers the brewing industry; everything from the Canada Revenue Agency to the Liquor Distribution Branch and regulations all the way to brewery management.

Dominic Bernard, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Students must not only brew their Signature Series beer, but also design the label, develop a sales and marketing plan, register the beer and ensure everything is in accordance with regulatory requirements. The beer is then sold through the brewery taproom on the Langley Campus, in growlers or in cans filled through a Wild Goose Gosling 2.0 canning line. That canning line, obtained in September 2024, includes modern technology such as nitrogen dosing, allowing students to make lower carbonation, nitrogenated beers.

Given the small size of the brewery, the vast majority of its sales occur through the brewery taproom, which is open only on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The ever-evolving list of available beers sells quickly, and those interested in the program or seeing the brewery can pre-book a tour.

International exposure

Students in the Brewing & Brewery Operations program come from all walks of life and often come from abroad. Fifty per cent of the class is international students, hailing from China, Korea, Taiwan, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Hungary. It speaks to the reputation of the program that students from around the globe come to learn at KPU, and diverse perspectives also enhance the learning experience for all.

“We have everyone, from 19-year-olds that are just of legal drinking age to 55-year-olds starting a second career. We have students with bachelor of science degrees, and we have students with just their high school diploma,” said Bernard. “It makes for interesting discussions in the classroom.”

A decade of influencing the beer world

In its 10 years, the KPU Brewing & Brewery Operations program has produced about 200 graduates. Those graduates have gone on to various careers in beer, from joining existing breweries as brewers or lab technicians, to starting their own breweries, to working at Molson Coors.

“I’m very passionate about sustainability and I try to put that lens into our projects,” said Bernard. “We talk about how climate change is impacting the malting industry, and brewing is a water-intense industry, so we make sure that is part of the conversation.”

The department of which the Brewing & Brewery Operations program is a part of is also trying to increase diversity in an industry which has historically been dominated by white males. “We are accepting of all,” said Bernard. “We have awards and scholarships tailored to under-represented groups. We are trying to encourage more diverse applicants – [people] from all over the globe.”

Diversity in the student body exposes all students to different ideas. Bernard says students have made beers with special varieties of rice, hops and other unique ingredients because diverse students have brought their individual backgrounds and knowledge to the program. It makes for better beer and understanding of different manners of thinking.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the program, KPU Brew Lab made a collaboration beer. Students from every year came together to brew Odyssey Fresh Hop Pale Ale. The 5.2 per cent ABV beer was spearheaded by alumnus Sebastian Peterson, co-founder of Curious Creatures Beer, and made with Krush hops, a newly-named variety officially released in 2024 after 17 years of development.

“The most exciting thing is seeing graduates in the industry doing cool things. I’m very proud of our graduates,” said Bernard. “What I’m most proud of is to see how students build the industry after graduation. The most important thing to teach is a love of learning so that our students can continue to grow themselves and the community.”

How Beer Canada helps

“I think it’s great to see Canadian breweries united and having a unified voice,” said Bernard. “The challenges breweries are experiencing are across Canada and it’s important to see what breweries in other provinces are doing and what governments in those provinces allow.”

Through Beer Canada, Bernard is able to learn about the regulations in other provinces and what works and does not work in those other provinces. Empowered with this knowledge, Bernard and KPU Brew Lab can work with other B.C. breweries to affect change in local rules.

“By pointing out what is working in other provinces, it gives our voice more strength when speaking on behalf of our industry,” he said.