Otago University student Bridget Gould is the recipient of the inaugural Emerson’s Brewery JP Dufour Scholarship. Bridget will undertake research into the impact of yeast and hops interaction on beer flavour.
22-year-old Bridget has just completed her Bachelor of Science majoring in Food Science and will undertake the study for Emerson’s Brewery next year while she works on her Bachelor of Honours in Food Science.
Announcing the Scholarship, Emerson’s Brewery founder, Richard Emerson said “as a brewer I continually experiment and test my intuition about how different yeasts work with our hops and what this interaction means for the flavour of the beer. Having Bridget critically research and analyse this will provide me as a brewer with a definitive answer which can only help to improve the consistency and quality of the brewing process and its outcome – great beer!”
The scholarship honours the late Professor Jean-Pierre Dufour’s contribution to craft brewing industry and his valued relationship with Emerson’s Brewery. In memory of Jean-Pierre, each June Emerson’s Brewery releases a Belgian-style ale on the anniversary of his birthday. Simply labeled ‘JP’ the beer must be of a quality and style that the brewery would be proud to serve Jean-Pierre. Since the inaugural release of the ‘JP’ in 2007 Emerson’s has placed funds from its sales in trust to support the Scholarship.
While the scholarship doesn’t officially start until next year, Bridget has already begun working with the Emerson’s team. Next year she expects to visit the Dunedin brewery at least once a week to take samples and check on ferments.
Source: Emerson’s Brewery (http://www.emersons.co.nz/)
