Varsities brew up beer storm

– Students will be on the other side of the bar next month as they pit their brewing skills against each other at the intervarsity annual beer brewing challenge.

South African Breweries (SAB) said microbrewing teams from 15 universities across the country would go up against each other at the final of the competition on September 10 at its Cyril Ramaphosa World of Learning venue in Johannesburg.

The team to beat is last year’s winners from the University of Cape Town.

SAB’s chief brewer Petr Vesely said South Africa’s innovative and energetic tertiary student fraternity had an important part to play in driving and building a strong culture and passion for beer in the country.

“It is in the halls of these institutions where experimentation is key to academic success that the foundation of a strong industry can be developed,” said Vesely.

“Providing students with the expert knowledge and skills in beer brewing by means of the SAB Intervarsity Brewing Challenge will ensure quality is never compromised.”

The students’ products would be judged by prominent independent and accredited craft beer tasters under the categories: Castle Best Bru (overall winner), Carling Black Label Lager Award, Redds Best Cider, No 3 Fransen Street Best Speciality Beer, Hansa Pilsener Best Pilsener Light, Castle Milk Stout Winter Warmer and Best label design. Each carries a prize of between R10 000 and R25 000.

SAB has, over the years, helped universities in building the infrastructure of their microbreweries, where students brew, ferment, condition and package their beers ahead of the final stages of the competition, when they are tasted by independent and accredited craft beer tasters.

Competing universities include University of Limpopo, University of Potchefstroom, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Peninsula University, University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville Campus, University of Cape Town, Pretoria University, University of Pietermaritzburg, Central University of Technology Free State, Rhodes University, University of Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, University of Witwatersrand, University of South African, and 1000 Hills Chef School.