Tuks Microbrewery making waves - or should we say beer

Lauren Harries

There are many societies and groups that form part of the UPstudent community, one being the Tuks Microbrewery. A group of students, guided by a few lecturers, have been competing in craft beer and intervarsity competitions around Pretoria and South Africa for several years. Their most recent event was the inter-faculty brewing competition which allowed each year of chemical engineering students to brew their own beer before they were judged by Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) certified beer judges.

The brewery aims to promote a responsible brewing and drinking culture among UP students and the general youth. This is done by developing practical skills and passion for the beer making process in students. The Brewery takes part in several different industry events. This includes home brew competitions; industry visits, such as their most recent visit to Heineken; and even an Intervarsity competition where the Brewery competes against several other tertiary institutions.

The Intervarsity brewing competition is hosted by AB-INBEV/SAB every year and is one of the Brewery’s favourite events of the year. A lot of preparation is put into the Intervarsity event. It is an excellent opportunity for students to get involved in all aspects of the brewing industry. The competition includes exposure to both the commercial and craft side of brewing beer and ciders.

The inter-faculty brewing competition held by the Brewery in collaboration with the Chemical Engineering faculty was also a great success this year. The final results of the competition included the final year chemical engineering students coming in first with their Candied Orange Indian Pale Ale (IPA). They were followed by the third-year students’ Bacon Beer. The second-year students’ Belgian Dubbel came in third and the first-year students’ Tuks Lager came in last. The judging of the beers and the accompanying braai y had a great turnout, as many of the chemical engineering students and their lecturers enjoyed a Thursday night of festivities.

The Tuks Micro-brewery is open for any UP student with a keen interest in brewing and the beer making process. You can be from any faculty and both undergraduate or postgraduates are welcome. If you are interested in joining the Brewery, send them a message on their Instagram account (@ tuksmicrobrewery). For those of you who are not interested in joining the Brewery but would love to keep up with what they do, follow their Instagram page to keep up to date on any events they will be attending and how to get your hands on some of the beer and ciders they have been brewing.