About the Intervarsitybrew™

This unique event challenges university students from local tertiary institutions to show initiative and embrace beer culture through participation in a fun and challenging competition. Student teams have to brew 6 different beers and design an original label. The event takes place over 2 days and features presentations by student brew teams, sensory training, blind tasting by qualified judges, as well as technical presentations by influencers and experts in the craft and commercial brewing space. Participants representing 17 universities and a chef school joined the event in Bloemfontein in 2025. The competition is open to all South African universities and aims to promote brewing science and beer culture in South Africa under the umbrella of responsible drinking.

Where it all began

This event has a 22-year history that dates back to the first SAB-sponsored microbrewery installed at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Pietermaritzburg campus in 2003. This partnership between academia and industry was driven by the now-retired SAB Senior Trade Brewer, Ben Lamaletie. The uniqueness of the initiative was for students to be educated and have fun at the same time while showing their skills in a national brewing competition. The first national Inter Varsity Beer Brewing Competition took place in August 2008 on the UKZN Pietermaritzburg campus. After the ABInBev acquisition of SABMiller, the competition was in jeopardy of being discontinued in 2017, but with passionate support from SAB Trade Brewer Anton Erasmus and CUT mentors, the competition was relocated to the Free State and became a joint venture between SAB and the Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein. The competition was rebranded in 2022 as Intervarsitybrew™: Brewing & Tasting Challenge and now includes support from the non-profit Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) and their partners SAB, Heineken and the Craft Brewers Association of South Africa (CBASA).

2026 marks the 19th consecutive competition

Intervarsitybrew ™ article written by Craig Claasen (Editor)

Best Beer on Show

Best of show 2025: University of Cape Town – Midnight Monarch – Imperial Stout (Aged Beer)

2025 Beer Categories

Student brew teams are challenged to create brews in predetermined categories that are sensorially evaluated according to the Beer Judge Certification Programme (BJCP) guidelines.