Hundreds of guests at the Vancouver Craft Beer and Music Festival had a taste of innovative brews created by Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) students.
The festival, which took place July 6, is known as Canada’s largest celebration of craft beer and featured over 150 breweries and cideries, along with the KPU Brewing and Brewery Operations diploma program.
The KPU brewing program, located at the university’s Langley campus, has participated in the festival as a vendor since 2015. Other vendors include Tofino Brewing Co., Ravens Brewing Co. and Mountainview Brewing Co.
“Some people already knew about the KPU brewery, and they’ve already tasted our beer and like it, but others were surprised to learn KPU has a brewing program and that the beers were created by students” says Simon Bai, a student in the program.
The KPU tent carried four different kinds of beer that the students had made — and the brews proved popular with festival-goers.
“There were four lines, and they were all full.” says Bai.
“Some of the beers I actually brewed myself. People kept coming back and just commented on how good the beer really is, and that made me really proud,” says student Lucy Chang.
The KPU Brew Lab is located on the Langley campus, 20901 Langley Bypass, and is open to the public for beer sales on Fridays from 1 to 6 p.m.
The KPU Brewing and Brewery Operations program is a two-year diploma program in which students learn the science, production, and business of brewing beer. The program combines a solid foundation in brewing sciences, including microbiology and chemistry, with hands-on practical learning in KPU’s award-winning brewery. New part-time learning options are also now available.