Two British-style beers from Niagara College’s Teaching Brewery continued their winning streak with medals from the Ontario Brewing Awards.
NC’s Beer 101 Strong earned silver (Strong British Ale category) while Beer 101 Bitter picked up bronze (British Bitter category) at the competition’s recent award ceremony, which celebrated excellence in Ontario craft beer.
Both NC award-winners are among the most popular student-made beers from the NC Teaching Brewery. The recent OBA awards mark the 19th and 20th medals for Beer 101 Bitter and Beer 101 Strong, respectively.
“Awards for our Teaching Brewery’s student-crafted products are a win for our students and our College, as a testament to our leadership in beer education,” said Steve Gill, General Manager of NC’s Learning Enterprises. “They’re also a win for Ontario’s craft beer industry, as our highly skilled graduates bring their knowledge and skills into the workforce.”
Brewmaster Professor Jon Downing said the awards celebrate the skills of NC’s student brewers. Students from all levels of the College’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program contribute to the Beer 101 series. The fact that the two beers have won so many awards for more than a decade – even though they were brewed by different classes of students – demonstrates a high level of consistency and quality.
“The awards show that our students are not only learning but mastering the skills taught in the Teaching Brewery,” said Downing. “They are the ones learning while brewing these beers under the guidance of Head Brewer Ian Morrison.”
Beer 101 Strong (7.5% ABV) was developed from a very popular version of the Teaching Brewery’s annual Christmas beer, Rudolph’s Red Nose Ale. The 2013 recipe proved to be so popular that it became a regular offering from the Beer 101 series as Strong 101.
Beer 101 Bitter is an English Pale Ale (4.4% ABV), which started off as the multiple award-winning Butler’s Bitter – introduced in 2012 to mark the bicentennial of the War of 1812. It was later released in cans as Beer 101 Bitter, part of the Teaching Brewery’s flagship brand, while still available in bottles under its original name.
More than 100 awards in 38 styles were presented at the 2024 Ontario Brewing Awards event held on January 17, 2025 at the College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Judging for the competition was double blind and impartial, conducted by a BJCP-certified panel.
Several alumni from the College’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program – now at breweries throughout the province – were among the winners.
Head Brewer for the NC Teaching Brewery Ian Morrison (Beamsville) was happy to receive medals for the NC Teaching Brewery and was excited to see several other NC graduates at the ceremony. Morrison began working at the Teaching Brewery a year after graduating from the College’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program in 2022 and has been Head Brewer for almost two years.
“I remember when the College won awards for beers I helped brew as a student and now it is fun to see beers that I get to brew with students win those very same awards,” said Morrison. “I think the most rewarding part of my job is the continuous opportunities to learn new things and pass them on to others.”
Eric Mainville, from NC’s Brewmaster class of 2015, is President and Head Brewer at Brauwerk Hoffman Brewery in Rockland. He brought home several awards, including a gold and silver in the Pale Malty European Lager category, a silver in the German Wheat Beer category, and bronze in Monastic Ale.

Information about the Ontario Brewing Awards and list of 2024 winners is available at ontariobrewingawards.com/.
Beer 101 Bitter and Beer 101 Strong are regularly produced and available for purchase alongside student-crafted products from NC’s School of Wine Beer and Spirits, at the Wine Visitor + Education Centre (Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake) and online at ncteachingwinery.ca.
NC’s trailblazing Teaching Brewery is a living laboratory for students in the College’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program; both the facility and the program were the first of their kind in Canada. Launched in 2010, the program is part of the College’s School of Wine, Beer and Spirits – within NC’s Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division. Visit niagaracollege.ca/culinaryarts/events/.
Niagara College has a full-time enrolment of more than 10,000 students from over 100 countries, who study in 130 diploma, certificate and bachelor degree programs at specialized campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Niagara College is also involved in educational projects and partnerships around the world and is ranked Canada’s No.1 research college. Learn more at niagaracollege.ca.
Photo: Staff members from the NC Teaching Brewery were presented with a silver and bronze from the Ontario Brewing Awards on January 17. Pictured from left: Ian Morrison (Head Brewer), Jon Downing (Brewmaster Professor), Adam Marshall (Assistant Brewer) and Steve Gill (General Manager, NC Learning Enterprises). The OBA award ceremony event, held at NC’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, drew representatives from craft breweries across Ontario.