Operated by the Canadian Craft Brewers Association, the Canada Beer Cup is the country’s largest national not-for-profit craft beer competition. Competition Director Hilary Hoogsteen described it as the most technical in Canada and said the result reflects the attention to detail in the college’s program. Gary Torraville, Senior Director, Enterprises, called the award a testament to the hands-on education students receive and said it shows that the Brewmaster program prepares them to lead and set standards in the craft beer industry.
NC Craft Bitter is one of the Teaching Brewery’s most popular student-made beers. It has won 20 medals to date (six gold, nine silver and five bronze). That ties it with Beer 101 Strong for total medals, but it has more golds than any other beer in the program’s history. The English Pale Ale (4.4% ABV) was first launched in 2012 as Butler’s Bitter to mark the bicentennial of the War of 1812. It was later released as Beer 101 Bitter, part of the brewery’s flagship brand, and has remained available in bottles under its original name. In May 2026 it was renamed NC Craft as part of a rebrand that unified products from the college’s Teaching Winery, Teaching Brewery and Teaching Distillery.
The award-winning batch was brewed by third-semester Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management students together with the program’s 2026 graduates. Brewmaster Professor Jon Downing credited the result to the consistent quality of the students’ education, the expertise of the brewery team and the original recipe, which is now 14 years old. “The medal emphasizes the quality of the student experience, showing that what they are brewing and learning is up with the best in Canada,” he said.
Daily operations are led by Head Brewer Ian Morrison and Lead Brewer Adam Marshall, both graduates of the program. Marshall shared the credit with his own teachers and mentors as well as with the current students, and added that the team hopes customers keep enjoying the beers and “bring people together over a pint.” Second-year student Blake Hunt, who helped brew the winning batch, said she felt honoured and elated, and described the program as a community working toward a better industry.
NC Craft Bitter is regularly produced and sold alongside other student-crafted products from the School of Wine, Beer and Spirits at the NC Craft Beverage Centre on the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and online at nccraft.ca.
