A College of Firsts and Thirsts

Photo by Aaron Lynett
Beers created by students at Niagara College’s Teaching Brewery are available for purchase at the on-site shop. Basic styles are available year-round, but students are always experimenting with saisons and international styles, too.
Head distiller and professor, David Dickson, watches as his student, Lokesh Khismatrao, pulls a sample from the fermenting tank for a specific gravity reading, a test that helps determine the alcohol and sugar content.
A wide selection of beer is on tap at Niagara College.
The Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College features a vineyard, a hop yard, culinary gardens, a greenhouse, a teaching distillery, brewery, winery and restaurant, Benchmark. As the newest addition to the school-to- industry programming, the institute built a 2,500-square-foot state-of-the-art distillery in 2018, and only 20 students are accepted into the program each year. In January 2019, the distilling program released its inaugural product — Eau-de-vie de Fruits, a fruit spirit.
Students in the winemaking and viticulture program undergo rigorous testing, including the tractor driving exam Heather Henderson is completing with her instructor, Gavin Robertson.
Students in the program tend to the school’s on-site vineyard, which comprises of a wide variety of grapes, such as Vidal. Every growing season, they must practise “leaf pulling,” which helps expose the grapes to light and air.