Engineers are brewing beer for practical training

The North-West University’s Potchefstroom Campus focuses on giving students practical and appropriate training.   The School of Chemical and Mineral Engineering embraced this vision with enthusiasm by launching a beer brewing project by means of which engineering students could experience practical exposure to the fermentation process.   However, the practical application did not stop at brewing. Along with their scientific report on the fermentation process, the students also had to market their product effectively. After the adjudication of the different groups’ concoctions, a festival mood took over.   “This beer brewing process focuses on the biochemical aspects of the Chemical Engineering curriculum and practically twenty percent of all chemical engineers’ careers are focused within relevant biochemical industries,” says Mrs. Anka Oberholzer, lecturer at Chemical Engineering. Mrs. Oberholzer points out that the students displayed initiative and tackled an academic project in good spirit!   From very early in the morning the students swamped lecturers at the School with pamphlets and brochures in an attempt to introduce their products. There were even life-size posters of stars who would give their proverbial front teeth for a foretaste of the students’ wonder beer. Well-known restaurant managers and lecturers of the Faculty acted as judges and everyone was of opinion that the beer brewers maintained very high standards this year.

The “Spring Bock” team gained second place with their beer. Here are Marnie Meintjies and Urban Vermeulen at their stall.

At the end of the day “Akker Lager”, manufactured by Corlia Jonker, Lauran Groenewald, Lauran Airdien and Janco Bredenkamp, won the prize for “best beer quality”.   The manufacturers of “Bitter Lekker Bier”, Diaan Roode, Bart Saaiman, Lindi Combrinck and Niel Bouwer, followed hot on their heels. The team of “Spring Bock”, namely Marnie Meintjies, Urban Vermeulen and Stephan Louw, swayed off with the laurels on account of their first-rate marketing techniques in the category for “best marketing campaign”.   “I was really impressed by the students’ insight and the value driven professional manner in which they approached the day. It makes me realise with good peace of mind that we train engineers who are ready to make a difference in the work-place,” Mrs. Oberholzer said.

“Akker Lager’s” “Lekker deur die blare” won the prize for the best beer.