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OLDS — Set amid fields that grow barley for breweries across North America, Olds College is producing the next generation of brewers for the country’s rapidly-expanding craft beer industry.

The sweet smell of boiling wort (the mixture of malted barley, hops and water that forms the basis of beer) wafts from the college’s teaching brewery, where 54 students in the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program get hands-on experience making beer in addition to classroom training that covers just about every aspect of working for a brewery.

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“We have no doubt that every single one of these students will find work upon graduation,” said Peter Johnston-Berresford, the program co-ordinator.

It’s a bold claim, but it’s supported by some impressive statistics. A recent study by the Conference Board of Canada estimated the country’s “beer economy,” which includes breweries, the industries that supply them and the businesses that sell beer, supports 163,200 jobs nationwide.