Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is mostly desert, so it was not
unusual for a young Marine named Jimmy Bass to ponder the
refreshing glories of beer while standing post.  "I was
thinking, 'I can't do this for the rest of my life,' " said
Bass. Off duty, at a computer in Camp Dwyer, he searched the
Internet for signs of his future.  The tattooed ex-corporal
found it at Niagara College Canada, a community college in
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., that has established the first two-
year brewmaster program in North America.  "They say take
something you love and make it a career," said Bass, "and I
started thinking -- I've always loved beer, and always wanted to
start brewing."  With the craft beer industry expanding swiftly
in the United States and Canada, Bass and the 35 other first-
year students in the program can expect a welcoming job market.
In fact, several students working summer brewery internships
already have job offers waiting when they graduate, said Jon
Downing, a veteran brewmaster who helped develop th