LANGLEY — What if you could receive university credits for drinking really good beer? That’s soon to become a reality at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Beginning this September, KPU will launch a two-year diploma program for students who love craft beer — and lots of it.
The full-time brewing and brewery operations program, soon to be offered at KPU’s Langley campus inside a specially designed brew laboratory, will put students through classes and hands-on labs where they’ll learn the ins and outs of craft beer.
Classes will cover a range of topics from the history of brewing, to advanced filtration, and even product sales and promotions.
The program is the first of its kind in B.C. and only the third in Canada.
Elizabeth Worobec, KPU’s dean of science and horticulture, said the response so far has been “fast and furious.â€
“We were originally looking at putting together a bit of a wine culture-type program, but just in talking to local brewers, we knew we’d found a gold mine and a huge desire ... for high-quality staff to come into their employ,†Worobec said.
“It really was about noticing the huge increase in the craft brewing industry, not only in B.C., but in the (U.S.) Pacific Northwest — this really tipped the scales toward the brewery program.â€
According to the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch, microbreweries have seen an average growth in sales of more than 20 per cent a year since 2006.
Microbreweries, which have an annual production of less than 160,000 hectolitres, saw $169.7 million in sales between September 2012 and September 2013. That’s more than double the $79.7 million sold between September 2008 and September 2009.
Ken Beattie, executive director of the B.C. Craft Brewers Guild, is among industry experts approached by KPU in the early stages to be a part of an advisory board steering the program.
“Given the explosion of craft brewing in B.C., it was so encouraging to see how they went to the industry to ask what we needed,†Beattie said. “I think it justifies the work these small breweries have been doing.â€
The idea began to take solid shape in August, just as Liberal cabinet minister John Yap announced the province would be reviewing its liquor policies. By the fall, the program had been approved by the school’s board of governors.
“For us, it was serendipity,†Worobec said of how quickly things came together.
“To see the changes (in the industry) being made already is so, so encouraging.â€
Students in the program will have the chance to create their own signature brews and to have the fruits of their labour served in on-campus student restaurants and pubs — and down the line, possibly even in local liquor stores.
Program graduates will also have the option of building their brewing diploma into a business, science or trades and technology degree.
While much of the program is still being developed, Worobec said she hopes to have the first instructors hired beginning in March, and expects student applications to pour in soon after.
“It will be a competitive process. We do recognize we will get many, many applications,†she said. “That’s because we want to make sure whoever comes into the program will stay and (is) committed to the program.â€
Ontario’s Niagara College offers a similar program and in recent years, has seen more than 300 qualified applicants vie for 24 spots.
KPU’s program will begin with 35 students in September 2014 and if things go well, could expand in the future.
That’s something Beattie is confident will take place. He believes B.C., while already recognized for craft beer, is poised to become a much bigger player in the industry.
In 2007, there were a recorded 35 microbreweries in B.C. Today, that number is more than 70, with nine opening last year and another dozen projected to open in 2014.
“We’re in an unprecedented growth period right now and I don’t see it abating,†Beattie said. “I don’t think there’s a bubble to be burst, and it’s very encouraging.â€