MiraCosta College Brewers are 2021 US Open College Beer Champions

MiraCosta College's BrewTech program has earned the Grand National Championship title in the U.S. Open College Beer Championship. First-time contender in the championship, MiraCosta College won gold medals for their Hefeweizen, Pale Ale, Spring IPA, and Stout, plus a silver for their Raspberry Berliner.

The Open College Beer Championship is in its fifth year with eleven colleges and universities from the United States and Canada participating. The U.S. Open is the only competition for beers exclusively from college and university brewing and fermentation programs. All beers submitted were judged according to the U.S. Open Style Standards allowing any number of gold, silver, or bronze medals could be awarded.

The MiraCosta beers were submitted by brewing instructor, Mike Stevenson, and were brewed on approved on or off-campus brewing systems. The MiraCosta students responsible for the school’s championship performance were Ron Bass, Kyle Breckenridge, Kelly Cardinell, Kellen Darnall, Alberto Espinoza II, Mike Hughes, Ricardo Mendoza, Garrett Perkins, Kaitlin Peters, Elizabeth Robles, Amy Still, Patrick Sullivan, William Vazquez, and Kristoffer Wheeler.

MiraCosta College BrewTech Program

MiraCosta College graduated the first class in its BrewTech certificate program in the spring of 2019. The 280-hour class includes industry relevant curriculum, state-of-the-art equipment, and job placement assistance. Classroom material covers the chemistry and biology of beer production and an introduction to equipment used in breweries of all scales. Topics covered include the brewing process, brewhouse quality control, yeast and fermentation processes and how they affect beer quality.

BrewTech is the only craft beer program in the region with a brewery on site and an 80-hour internship requirement. The program culminates with a graduation in which students serve their beers at a campus tasting room with industry representatives.