Students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University鈥檚 91原创 campus are brewing liquid gold with award-winning beers.

Brewing and brewery operations students from KPU won gold and silver medals in the 2017 U.S. Open College Beer Championship earlier this month, and placed second overall in the top three brewing schools in North America.

The U.S. Open College Beer Championship is the only brewery competition for beers exclusively from colleges and universities that have brewing programs to determine the best future brewers in North America.

Competing against 13 other post-secondary institutions from across the U.S. and Canada, this was the first time KPU brewed beer was entered for consideration.

First-year students Derek Kindret and Ryan Jurgens won gold in the Belgian category for their Witbier. Jurgens also took home silver in the Bavarian category for the Helles Lager he brewed with fellow first-year student Adam Chittick.

The beers were submitted by brewing program coordinator and instructor Alek Egi.

鈥淚t feels great to have our students win gold and silver medals,鈥� said Egi. 鈥淭his experience is invaluable for our students; building their confidence as they launch their professional brewing careers and earning them international recognition, and is an indicator of the strong talent coming out of the KPU brewing diploma program.鈥�