The best university brewers competed over the weekend, vying to boast the best varsity beer in the country.
The team of the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, won two awards at the annual Intervarsitybrew held from 19 to 21 October at the hotel school at the CUT.
A total of 17 teams converged on Bloemfontein to take part in the brewing and tasting challenge, which was held for a 16th year and has become a fixture on the calendar.
Competition coordinator Olga de Smidt, of the CUT’s Centre for Applied Food Sustainability and Biotechnology (CAFSaB), explains that it is mainly graduate students who take part.
The competition aims to encourage young people to pursue a career within the age-old tradition of brewing, with this year’s event co-hosted by the Beer Association of South Africa (Basa), the CUT, the CAFSaB and the CUT Hotel School, and also sponsored by Heineken Beverages, South African Breweries (SAB), the Craft Brewers Association of South Africa (CBASA), Lallemand Brewing, and the FoodBev Manufacturing Seta.
One of the judges, Lee Carpenter, said the standard of the beers ranged from very good to a few misses.
“Every year there are new teams, as students move on. Sometimes some team members overlap and help with their knowledge of the brewing process, with new team members coming with new ideas and creativity.”
All 17 teams were challenged to create brews in specific categories, evaluated according to the international Beer Judge Certification Programme (BJCP) guidelines.
The CUT team won in the category for best sour beer with its Champopo, a Berliner Weisse; also best aged beer with Grumpy Old Goat, an old ale.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) won in the catebory for best Indian pale ale (IPA) with a beer named Public OutCry, an American IPA.
Stellenbosch University (SU) made the best African wild ale with Chimera, an Italian grape ale.
The best lager was made by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN): SANDZ Lager, an American lager.
The team of the 1 000 Hills Chef School won the prize for the best low-alcohol summer beer, with its Ed Sheenan’s Foot, a Catharina sour.
The award for the best bottle label design went to Rhodes University (RU) for Inombe, a hazy IPA.
This year’s mentorship award went to Errol Cason of the University of the Free State (UFS) for the exceptional warmth and wisdom with which he motivates students. All teams have brewing mentors who guide them in the craft of brewing good beer.
Zoleka Lisa, board member of Basa and vice-president of corporate affairs at South African Breweries (SAB), congratulated all the winners.
“We celebrated while placing emphasis on responsible drinking, with everybody aware of how important mindful alcohol consumption is. It is all about creativity, innovation, moderation and bringing people together,” said Lisa.
Over three days the teams not only competed, but shared their brewing knowledge and experiences. Activities included tastings, lectures, presentations and career guidance. They study in the fields of food science, microbiology, biochemistry, biotechnology, environmental health and engineering and were all exposed to the impressive breadth of the beer industry.
Research shows the industry supports 248 000 jobs in South Africa in one form or another.
De Smidt thanked all the teams for their dedication.
“Although there is serous competitive rivalry, there is also always the sense of a beer community truly coming together to better their craft, make connections and have fun.”
