Microbiology receives a microbrewery

POTCHEFSTROOM - Five honours students in Microbiology at the School of Environmental Sciences and Development on the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU) participated in the first national inter-university microbrewery competition and secured a R5 000 prize in the Best Label category for their product with the name Wernicken – liquid enlightenment. 

In addition to this, the team’s participation in the competition resulted in financial support to get a microbrewery installed on the Potchefstroom Campus. The NWU team was the only team among the six universities’ teams that tackled the competition of South African Breweries (SAB) in cooperation with the Foodbev SETA and the International Brewery & Distillery (IBD) without a microbrewery. In the meantime the Potchefstromers have received the green light from SAB to establish such a brewery as an extra facility at Microbiology.

The main objective of the competition is to involve universities in South Africa’s proud beer brewing culture and provide them with exposure to bursary opportunities. At the same time it is aimed at promoting talent among enthusiastic students and encouraging a career in the brewing industry.

The NWU participated against the Universities of Pretoria, Witwatersrand, Cape Town, Stellenbosch and KwaZulu-Natal. Each team was judged on the quality of its beer, bottle label and presentation. Lager, ale and a speciality beer were adjudicated by certified beer tasters, while bottle labels and the presentations were evaluated by representatives of SAB and Foodbev SETA and IBD Africa.

Mr Jaco Bezuidenhout, lecturer at the School of Environmental Sciences and Development (Microbiology), takes delight in the prospect of having a microbrewery on the Potchefstroom Campus. “It will enable the NWU to compete with other universities on an equal footing. With a microbrewery on the Campus our students intend bringing the Ben Lamaletie – IBD Legend floating trophy to Potchefstroom in 2009 with our Wernicken beer!”

? Tukkies’ brewers were rewarded with the Ben Lamaletie – IBD Legend floating trophy for their American Pale Ale and received a scholarship to the amount of R125 000 for applied studies in brewery and distillation-related topics. The team members also received R10 000 to share, while R10 000 was awarded to their Chemical Engineering department.

The microbiology students of the NWU who participated in the microbrewery competition are, in front, Andia van Niekerk, Abraham Mahlatsi en Simone Ferreira, and at the back, Jerry Lourens and Danie Brink.

The label of the microbiology students brought them victory during the microbrewery competition. The NWU team’s beer is known as Wernicken – liquid enlightenment.