NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. — The Niagara College (NC) Teaching Brewery has received three silver medals at the 2022 U.S. Open Beer Championship for its Beer 101 Bitter, Ukrainian Golden Ale and Resist – Anti Imperial Stout.
Following the onset of the war in Ukraine, NC Brewmaster professor Jon Downing began to lead different classes of Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management students in the brewing of Ukrainian beers as a show of solidary and support. The Ukrainian Golden Ale was brewed using a recipe developed from Pravda Brewery in Lviv, Ukraine while Resist – Ukrainian Anti Imperial Stout was brewed using a recipe developed by displaced Ukrainian brewers, and shared by Drinkers for Ukraine, an international effort to raise funds for Ukraine. Beer 101 Bitter is a mainstay from the Teaching Brewery’s popular Beer-101 series.
As a result, the NC Teaching Brewery became the only Canadian brewery to achieve a medal in the two Ukrainian beer categories and $1,700 in entry fees were donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
“The situation in Ukraine may impact us in the short term, but will be a part of the fabric of Eastern Europe for a generation,” says Downing. “Brewers around the world, including us, have been raising awareness and funds for many months now, and this support needs to continue as long as the war does. I encourage everyone to do what they can to support however they can.”
“We’re proud of the continued success of our trailblazing NC Teaching Brewery, which continues to raise the bar for the industry as well as to raise awareness and support for important initiatives,” says Steve Gill, general manager of the NC Learning Enterprises. “The awards won by our Teaching Brewery offer a taste of the quality of education, training and experience that our students gain at NC and, in turn, bring into the industry in Ontario and beyond.”
