The Central University of Technology, Free State’s beer brewing team, CUTbrU have won the best IPA category and were also awarded as the Best Beer on Show, making them the overall winners of the Brewing and Tasting Intervarsity which is co-hosted by SAB and CUT, through CAFSaB in association with UFS.

The competition has been running for 13 years, and aims to get students excited about brewing and beer culture while participating in a competitive, learning environment about beer. The judging is done according to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guide.

“We brew because we love it. Beer is the most interesting thing that you can do research on, try to make and it’s not about drinking, it’s about beer culture,” said Dr Olga de Smidt, Deputy Director: Centre for Applied Food Sustainability and Biotechnology (CAFSaB) Research.

The team works together on all tasks, however, the national lockdown did affect their plans, which meant that they had a shorter time span to start fermentation, and try out the different styles and test it to perfect the recipes. And they achieved all this while working with the second most basic brew kit, which they modified, making the award even more special.

“I was in total shock, especially with the African Premium Beer. It was a tricky beer so getting recognised was exciting, and that is the one I appreciated even more as it was the most challenging,” said Puleng Zacharia.

“I was very relieved when we won because it was a stressful week leading up to the competition and now I’m excited to build on this because we need to set our sights on winning again next year,” added Janwillem Scheepers.

“When you start something you want to finish on a very high note and you set high standards. It’s quite amazing, Best of Show overall, really means that all the effort that was put in, all the frustrations and hours we put in was worth it, it is quite exciting,” said Lehlohonolo Qhanya.

“It is kind of surreal and I’m excited but also a little bit nervous because now we have to keep it up, and being recognised in every category except for the lockdown brew is something special. It’s not just about winning the best of show but also about the presence of CUT in the competition,” concluded Dr Olga de Smidt.

Caption

The winning team CUTbrU. From left: Lehlohonolo Qhanya, Puleng Zacharia, Dr Olga de Smidt and Janwillem Scheepers.