So we’re a little bit late getting out a ‘Reflection of 2017’ post, but hey we’re students – just cap us at 40%!
Last year saw Stu Brew hit the three years old, and it’s been amazing watching it still go from strength to strength. I could probably write my dissertation on all the activities and achievements Stu Brew has reached this year, but I don’t think you’d want to read it and I should probably be doing my actual uni work so I’ll just limit it to three.
With the help of @nclgovolunteer we managed to cultivate part of Cockle Park Farm to grow our own Cascade and Chinook hops, leading us to our first ever green hop beer – University Roots!* The brew was a labour of love, particularly since the hops need to be added ASAP after being picked if they’re going in green – but we can certainly say the effort was worth it.
Bizarrely, that wasn’t the only green beer we produced that year as we teamed up with @ScotBio to produce a special batch of Lab Session dyed with natural pigment phycocyanin harvested from algae, creating a special Green St. Patrick’s Day beer! This unique project gained media attention from across the globe and its popularity meant eight kegs worth were drained pretty quickly in @LuthersNUSU. If you happened to miss out getting a pint of this special brew or you’re not a student so can’t drink midday, all I would say is watch this space (and St. Paddy’s is a Saturday this year ;)).
If breaking down beer norms wasn’t enough, we broke America too – sadly we’re not announcing our candidacy for President just yet, we’ll leave world domination to the next committee! We sent one of our Sales Reps James to fight our corner in Philadelphia for the Reimagine Education Awards. Unfortunately we came a bitter second (new name for a beer?) in the Sustainability category (though in reality we’re still super proud) but managed to take top dog in the Enterprise Award! This is a huge achievement for us and its great to get the recognition for all the hard work that everyone involved with Stu Brew has put in at Newcastle University, NUSU and beyond!
Sadly its not all been joyous news as we’ve had to say goodbye to one of the original Project Leads, Red, as she starts a new adventure. For all those who’ve had the pleasure of working with Red will know of the passion, hard-work and dedication she’s put into Stu Brew over the last three years. We wish Red the best of luck for the future, although we know she’ll never really be that far away for a pint!
Finally just to say a massive thank you to everyone, both past and present, that has been involved in or supported Stu Brew along the way. We’ve got exciting plans for Stu Brew for 2018, certainly with new beers planned and old ones revised – and to our members, we’ll be back to brewing on the regular very very soon!
Cheers,
The Stu Brew Team 2017/18
*I still prefer the name ‘Blood, Sweat and Beers’ but can’t win ’em all.