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GrainsWest:
Your academic background and your current
profession in brewing seem to be worlds apart. How did you
transition from your PhD to brewing beer?
Jason Popesku:
I didn’t transition immediately from academia
to brewing. After I finished my PhD at the University of Ottawa
in 2009, I did a post-doctorate fellowship at the University of
British Columbia in Vancouver. During that time, I started
home brewing. That’s when it dawned on me that what I really
wanted to do was make beer.
GW:
What got you into home brewing when you were in
Vancouver?
JP:
I’ve always been into craft beer. The “mainstream” beers
just didn’t do it for me—I was looking for more. Once I started
drinking craft beer, I realized that it’s the small-batch, flavour-
ful beers that have a lot more character.
GW:
What were your first few home brewing experiences
like? Did you settle into it easily?
JP:
Honestly, it was anti-climactic. I started out with kits, like
the Coopers Canadian Homebrew kits. Basically, it was beer for
beginners. The flavours weren’t there—they were dulled and
muddled and boring. I did that with two different kits from two
different companies and it was just very underwhelming.
GW:
It sounds like you were ready to take your brewing to the
next level.
JP:
Yes. In 2013, the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations
Management program at Olds College was just starting up. I
applied on a whim—I thought that perhaps with a PhD I might
be overqualified for the program. During the interview process,
Olds College was looking for people who were very passionate
about making beer and wanted to really do something with a
diploma in brewing.
I was accepted into the two-year program that started in the
fall of 2013. I was one of 24 students to go through the pro-
gram’s first-ever year.
GW
: Why did you choose to apply to the brewmaster
program?
JP:
The main thing was the program itself, but also the opportu-
nity to use local products. We have definitely used local
The Food Issue
2017
grainswest.com21
BY KARIN OLAFSON • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB MCMORRIS
Olds College brewmaster’s love of science helped
to fuel his future
FROM BEAKERS TO BREWING
JASON “JP” POPESKU IS A LOVER OF BEER, BUT ARGUABLY, HE WAS A LOVER OF SCIENCE FIRST. AFTER COMPLETING HIS
undergraduate degree in biochemistry and biotechnology at the University of Waterloo in 2001, Popesku decided to pursue a master’s
degree in microbial biotechnology and fermentation science at the same institution. From there, he went to the University of Ottawa
and completed a PhD in molecular neuroendocrinology.
Popesku is a highly educated, science-minded guy, but he’s also the kind of guy you can have a beer with. And that’s easy to do,
considering how much time he spends around beer these days. Popesku is now the head brewmaster at the Olds College Brewery, and
the first person to hold that distinction who was educated through the Olds College Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management
program. Today, Popesku oversees all the beer the college brewery produces, while still finding plenty of time to enjoy a good Kolsch,
his favourite style of beer.