Founded as an organization for students who share a love for brewing beer and other fermented beverages, UBC Brewing is UBC’s very own community of home brewers.
Since the early 2000s, the club has been bringing together students interested in learning the science and process behind brewing various beverages including beer and kombucha.
The club hosts regular brewing sessions on the first Sunday of each month, which cover the brewing and bottling process of different drinks. “We try to get members to participate in every step of the [brewing] process,” explained Zöe Neuhard, treasurer and head brewer.
While the main focus of the UBC Brewing Club is for members to gain hands-on experience with brewing, the club also “organizes tours to local breweries and [has] drink tastings,” she added.
What do I do as a member?
The UBC Brewing Club’s monthly workshops are free and open to all students, regardless of whether they are members of the club. Participants in the workshops can take part in every aspect of the fermentation process, from setting up the equipment to brewing and bottling the final products.
However, Neuhard clarified, “only members are allowed to take the fermented drinks home.” Members are asked to bring empty two-liter bottles, which are filled with the beverage fermented in the workshop. These can be taken home and enjoyed after one to two additional weeks of fermentation. “So it’s kind of a nice cycle, where you can say ‘This is how we did it, and I made it and I can enjoy it,’” she explained.
Additionally, students need to be 19 years of age or older to become members as some of the fermented beverages can be alcoholic.
One Highlight
Neuhard says her personal favourite part of the club is the sense of diversity in the community, as well as their multidisciplinary approach to a shared hobby.
“We incorporate engineering, physics … [and] history, instead of just focusing on one aspect of the food system.”
The club is also very much based on skill development — everything they do is scalable to home size, so you can go back and brew your own drinks at home as well!
For more information or to get involved, check out UBC Brewing on Facebook.