FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap

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FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
FOR LOVERS OF BEER      SPRING 2020

  South Africa R40.00
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FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
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FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
From The Editor
                            Hopping through history

I
     am often asked how I ended up being a            Africa’s oldest microbrewery, Mitchell’s (page
     beer writer in South Africa. It’s a long story   6), and then continuing through the 80s and
     that involves meeting a Canadian on the          90s, wandering around the microbreweries that
     rooftop of a budget hotel in Cairo, drinking     were way ahead of their time, closing before the
     some of the best homebrew I’ve ever had          term “craft beer” had actually been used in a
at the US army base in Seoul, and moving to           South African setting.
Cape Town for one year almost a decade ago,              We haven’t just kept it local though, tipping
serendipitously arriving just as the first ripples    our hats to global beer history with a look at
of craft beer were being seen here.                   some near-extinct beer styles on page 40 and
   I’ve always loved a good origin story, and in      asking our resident homebrew expert to recreate
this issue we’ve delved into the origins of South     an ancient ale on page 49. When it comes to
Africa's beer culture. Our focus on SA beer           ancient beers though, there was only one that
history was in part inspired by this year being       was going to be worthy of its own dedicated
the 200th anniversary of the Newlands Brewery.        feature. Check out what it is on page 43.
A whole book could be written on the brewing             We finish off the issue by asking our readers
history of Cape Town’s wettest suburb, but for        their origin stories – what happened to make
the moment you’ll have to make do with the            them the passionate beer lovers, homebrewers
feature on page 16.                                   or professional brewers that they are today. And
   Once we’d cranked up our virtual DeLorean          we’d love to hear your tales too, so drop us a line
to travel back in time and explore Victorian          on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and let us
beer culture, we decided not to stop with just        know which beer turned you from an occasional
one trip, packing enough proverbial plutonium         imbiber into the kind of person that reads entire
to visit the early 1980s for the launch of South      magazines dedicated to nothing but beer.

                                                                                         Cheers!
                                                                                      Lucy Corne
                                                                                              EDITOR
                                                                                          @LucyCorne

                                                                                       ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2020 |   1
FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
FEATURES
 16 200 years of beer                                                     You spend most of your time in taverns,
       Newlands Brewery hits a double century                             tasting rooms and craft bars looking at
                                                                        beautifully illustrated blackboards, offering
 20 Leading a historical British                                        a range of tasty craft beers, so we thought
    brewery into the future                                                you’d recognise a menu long before a
       Taking the leap from Castle to cask                                         ‘contents’ page. Enjoy!
 28 Fallen comrades
       Raise a glass to the SA breweries that were
       ahead of their time                                                                          SPRING 2020

     Fancy a
     cuppa?     36                                                     REGULARS
                                                                           06 Brewer Q&A
                                                                                  The godfather of South African craft beer
                                                                           08 Tell the bartender
                                                                                  Falling in love with local beer
                                                                           12 Brew news
                                                                                  Stories from the SA beer scene

                   28       Breweries
                            of yore
                                                                           24 World of beer
                                                                                  Biblical beer in Belgium              page 08

                                                                           40 Brewer's dozen
                                                                                  We open the history books on
                                                                                  12 near-extinct styles
                                                                           43 Style guide
                                                                                  Understanding umqombothi
                                                                           49 Homebru
                                                                                  Recreating ancient ales
                                                                           52 Brew reviews
                                                                                  Rating the latest brews
            The coolship
              explained    32                                              58 Mash out
                                                                                  Do you remember the sip that forever changed
                                                                                  the way you think about beer?

46   Beer, food, fire
                       24      Ales and abbeys
                                                              16        Happy birthday to South Africa's oldest brewery

20   Hopping over to England
                                    36       From picking to pairing - the full
                                             tea experience                                   43        Our heritage beer
FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
JHB 24764

                OUR
               BEER.
               MADE
               HERE.

            Enjoy Responsibly. Not for Persons Under the Age of 18.
FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
Editor
                      SPRING 2020                                                                   Lucy Corne
                                                                                                    lucy@ontapmag.co.za

                  CONTRIBUTORS                                                                      Publisher
                                                                                                    Andrew Thomas
                                                                                                    inhouse publications

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                             Anja van Zyl
                             Anja studied Food Science (BSc) at Stellenbosch University and         ontapmag.co.za
                             started homebrewing while she was a student. She kicked off her        Advertising:
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                             the second in command brewer for 3½ years. Anja is now the head        andrew@ontapmag.co.za
                             brewer at Hey Joe Brewing Company in Franschhoek.                      +27 (0) 82 604 5038
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                                                                                                    Rachel du Plessis
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                             Greg Gilowey and Karl Tessendorf
                             Greg and Karl of Beer Country work and play in TV, content             Design:
                             creation, social media, collab brewing, braai spices, recipe           Rachel du Plessis
                                                                                                    rachel@prycision.com
                             development, braaing, and a whole lot of beer drinking. They’re
                                                                                                    Prycision
                             currently working on second a book, following on from their recipe     prycision.com
                             book, Beer Food Fire. You can find them online @BeerCountrySA.
                                                                                                    Printing:
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                                                                                                    Lockdown Distribution -
                                                                                                    FREE
                                                                                                    For lockdown our
                             Jeff Evans                                                             distribution is entirely digital.
                             Jeff has been a professional beer writer for more than 30 years. His   We are spreading the beery
                                                                                                    love far and wide. Please
                             books include the Good Bottled Beer Guide, The Book of Beer
                                                                                                    share this mag on your
                             Knowledge and So You Want to Be a Beer Expert? He was editor           digital platform.
                             of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for eight years and is a former UK
                             Beer Writer of the Year. For more about Jeff, check out jeffevans.     On Tap is South Africa's only
                             co.uk or @insidebeer.                                                  beer magazine, a quarterly
                                                                                                    publication keeping
                                                                                                    homebrewers, pro brewers
                                                                                                    and beer lovers up to date
                                                                                                    with what's happening
                                                                                                    in beer on the African
                             Kamini Dickie                                                          continent and beyond.
                             Kamini specialises in the development and commercialisation of
                                                                                                    The views expressed in
                             beverage products including technical collaboration, sensory and       individual articles are the
                             consumer science. With 20 years in the global brewing industry         personal views of the
                             Kamini’s passion for beer has led her to contribute to many            authors and are not
                             industry-wide initiatives. Recently, she moved into another part of    necessarily shared by the
                             the beverage industry – tea, coffee and botanicals, focusing on        editor, the advertisers or the
                                                                                                    publisher.
                             cross-category product innovations.
                                                                                                    No articles may be
                                                                                                    reproduced in any way
                                                                                                    without the written consent
                                                                                                    of the publisher.
                             Marnus Hattingh
                             Marnus is the national motoring editor for Afrikaans newspapers.
                             When not sampling Belgian beers, you’ll find him in his Pringle
                             Bay garage tinkering on a DIY project. He has cycled from Lhasa
                             to Kathmandu, cooked a vegan meal for a British family in France,

                                                                                                     in
                                                                                                                     Published by:
                             and served as security guard at Castle Corner during a rather lively
                             cricket test match in Bloemfontein.
                                                                                                                      PUBLICATIONS

4   | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
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FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
Since we’re exploring beer history in this
            issue, there was one person we just had
          to chat to; a man who has been involved in
          South Africa’s microbrewing industry since
          the very, very start. We asked Lex Mitchell
           to tell us more about spending more than
                      three decades in beer.

      When you started Mitchell’s back in 1983,
    OT:                                                                always referred to it then) was of a cottage industry – green
    what was your vision?                                              and local without the need for massive infrastructure and
    LM: I remember in those first years, having recently visited       transport requirements. To some extent therefore, I think I
    the UK and Germany, I was fired up with the belief that South      did see the growth possibilities – after all, I had seen what
    Africa’s beer scene could become like those countries’. I          happened in the UK when craft breweries exploded from 7
    imagined the establishment of small breweries in many towns        to nearly 200 in a few short years. But in SA, from 1983 when
    in SA. I had the vision of beer routes throughout the country      I realised my dream, it just took so long! It was lonely for a
    and avid beer drinkers undertaking pilgrimages to sample           long time and then when I was starting to think I needed a
    them – each town offering something uniquely special to its        break (15 years with two weekend breaks!), things started to
    geography or history, even if it was just in a name. I saw these   happen.
    breweries as small, independent entities, fiercely promoting       OT:What have been your proudest/happiest
    real beer as opposed to the offerings of the megabrewery           moments over the past 40 years of your
    products which had for years dulled the palates of fellow
    beer drinkers in SA. I wanted to see brewers who were an           brewing career?
    intimate part of the tapestry of their towns, who engendered       LM: I think my proudest and happiest moment in my brewing
    pride in the citizens of the town because they could boast         career was opening my brewery in Knysna on 6 March, 1983.
    about having their own brewery, their own beers.                   It was the culmination of years of planning and much angst.
                                                                       We planned our opening in a restaurant in Knysna and sold
    OT:Do you think you ever imagined how                              tickets for R10 per head with free beer and snacks. We sold
    much the beer industry would change                                200 tickets and believe at least 300 people pitched! We gave
    around the world, and just how big craft                           away 400 litres of beer and ran out of snacks but everyone
                                                                       had a great time. Of course it was very late in the evening
    beer would become?                                                 when I finally started relaxing and realised that it was a
    LM: Did I foresee exactly how big craft beer was going to be       success.
    here and abroad? Possibly not. Certainly not that some of
    the “micro” breweries which have been established would              Are there any beer trends that have
                                                                       OT:
    appear to be pushing to catch up with the established              puzzled you?
    megabreweries! My vision of craft beer (or real beer as I          LM: What has puzzled me most is the size of some of the

6   | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
‘micro’ breweries which have been established. For me
a micro needs to be a hands-on operation, where your
customers should be able to share a drink with the brewer
around the pub. My definition of “real beer” is a beer which
is unfiltered, unpasteurised and naturally carbonated.
There are other requirements relating to raw materials,
specifically beer brewed adhering to the Reinheitsgebot
but this does not allow for some of the more esoteric
beers brewed by some brewers with weird and wonderful
ingredients and I guess if they are brewed by people
with the right ethics this is OK. I realise that I exist as an
anachronism and I resist change! I think that in 2014 at the
beer competition you referred to me as the Grandfather
of SA Craft Beer – perhaps that should have been the Old
Fart of Craft Beer!!
OT:Although you hadn't been involved for a
number of years, it must have been a blow
when the Mitchell’s Brewery in Knysna
ceased production…?
LM: The demise of Mitchell’s Brewery in Knysna was a
sad day for me even though I had not been involved for
a long time. I followed their fortunes from afar and tried
to convince myself that I was no longer involved and thus
should have no proprietorial feelings about the direction
they were following. This was made a bit easier by the
fact that the ownership kept changing, which gave me the
separation that I probably needed to ensure that I would
not be too badly affected by their closing up shop. Dave
McRae, who had been my right hand man and whose
support and constancy played a huge part in the growth
and success of the Mitchell’s brand even after I moved to
Port Elizabeth, stayed on with the various new owners and
finally when he left a year or two before Mitchell’s closed, I
felt that my connection was finally severed.
OT: What  have you been up to recently? Are
you still involved in beer?
LM: In 2011 I had my arm twisted by Gary Erasmus in Port
Elizabeth to join him in a restaurant and brewery venture
and this led to the establishment of Bridge Street Brewery
which mashed in its first brew on New Year’s Day 2012. We
were back to basics again – hands on in the brewhouse,
just Sue (my wife) and I, putting in a stout to christen my
new plant and to start a new chapter in our lives.
   This was a new lease of life for my brewing story and was
a lot of fun for nearly five years when Gary and I realised
virtually simultaneously that we were not restaurateurs
and began to consider selling. We were lucky to find in
John and Grant Davies, the ideal people to continue the
business and to ensure what Gary always wanted – for the
business to become an institution in PE. We sold in 2016
and I have remained as a consultant since then.
OT:Do you have any predictions for the
future of craft beer in South Africa?
LM: I think anyone in the brewing business worldwide right
now is going to have great difficulty predicting the future
of craft beer. I think that after the Coronavirus has hopefully
been tamed, it will take years for the craft beer world to
reset and rise to the heights it reached before the devastation
caused by the virus. Many small breweries will have been
forced to close after months of inactivity and lack of finance
to keep the doors open. I’m not sure how many people
will have the courage to rise from the ashes like a phoenix
and start again.

                               ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2020 |   7
FOR LOVERS OF BEER SPRING 2020 - On Tap
GOT A BEERY
                                                                                            TALE TO SHARE?
                                                                                                         Send it to

A LIFELONG                                                                                   lucy@ontapmag.co.za and you
                                                                                               might just see your name in

LOVE AFFAIR                                                                                  print. If your story is chosen for
                                                                                              publication, you’ll get a year’s
                                                                                              subscription to On Tap on us!
    LEIGH COOKE

                                                                                                               WIN

T
             he relationship I have with beer kicked off many             Fast forward a bit and we arrive at the next chapter: craft beer. My
             years ago, not with the glorious taste and satisfaction first experience was tasting Jack Black on tap at a local restaurant. My
             you receive after the first sip, but more a fascination mind was blown and simultaneously filled with questions. This and
             with the process, the technology and the effort put intrigue grew to a point where I made the conscious decision to turn
             into creating this golden liquid.                         beer into a hobby – not the brewing, but the “researching”. I was
    My father worked for SAB for as long as I can remember and this fortunately in a position where my job required me to work all
drove a small but consistent culture of beer in our household. My over the country, where I embarked on a nationwide visit to all
father would always share the stories of work and travels around the these breweries.
world during his tenure at SAB, but for me it was the visits to the       From meeting the brewers or owners of 1000 Hills, Aegir
SAB World of Beer that were fundamental. As this was free for all Project, Agar’s, Clarens, Clockwork, Doctrine, Mad Giant,
employees, my father frequently took friends and family to enjoy this Old Potter’s, Stellies and That Brewing Company to name a
incredible demonstration and every time we visited, I was in awe of few, I discovered the incredible personalities and enthusiasm
the process.                                                                                        this industry has to offer. Now in
    As I passed through my adolescent                                                               complete love (my fiancée and I got
years, I forgot those beer-related times
as young boy. Beer was re-introduced
                                                      My fiancée and I got                           engaged during Clarens Craft Beer
                                                                                                    Festival to give some perspective)
to me at the age of 18 and if I had to             engaged during Clarens                           and with experience earned from
use one word to describe it, it would                  Craft Beer Festival                          over 45 different brewery visits, I
be disgusting! Perhaps not the word                                                                 finally started homebrewing.
you would expect after all those years                                                                  Over the past year, with the
of fascination. As a student, ciders and mixers were the poison of wisdom and sage advice imparted by many of the KZN Craft
choice but beer made a slow comeback largely due to the cost aspect Revolution members, I decided to purchase a 20-litre setup,
– terrible, I know. Still, this is where I learnt to respect my now develop my own recipes and commence full grain brewing. The
favourite beverage.                                                    feeling of creating your own special brew brings a new meaning
    At first we were driven towards Tafel and Black Label due to cost, to beer, where it is a natural fit in the South African culture of
but the occasional Grolsch, Guinness or Duvel (a particular favourite friends, family and “kueiring”. To all the authors, editors, judges,
of mine) would always be a welcome guest at a braai. Oh, the culture farmers, cultivators, owners, risk takers, brewers and investors
of setting up the braai, inviting every chom you know and exchanging who are involved in this industry, I raise my glass and say thank-
stories while sipping a cold beer. How could one fault that?           you for the incredible gift of beer.

8   | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
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COVID-19 LOCKDOWN:
          THE FALLOUT FOR CRAFT BEER
            As On Tap went to print, the South African liquor industry had endured a complete ban on alcohol
             sales for a total of 14 weeks. Add to that an additional seven weeks of heavily restricted trading,
          including a ban on weekend sales and on-consumption trading, and you can imagine what dramatic
              consequences this has had on the craft beer industry. CBASA recently conducted a survey of
            breweries, brewpubs, brand owners and suppliers across the industry. The results are alarming.

           31%                             12                             0%                                    56%
                                                                                                          of business have been forced to
           of businesses have        average number of           of businesses have been able to          retrench, with 53% of business
            decided to close       employees per business        access SMME debt relief finance        retrenching more than 50% of their
                                                                          scheme loans                staff, and 32% of business retrenching
                                                                                                            more than 75% of their staff

           16% 4/10 2 years                                                                                     25%
          of business have been     The aggregated outlook        the average expected recovery          of businesses that applied have
           able to secure some            is very poor           time of those businesses which           received full Government UIF
             kind of additional          (1 = very bad,                      survive                   payments for June and July with an
                  funding               10 = very good)                                                 additional 45% only receiving part
                                                                                                                    payments

           SURVIVAL STRATEGIES BUSINESSES HAVE USED TO
            SEE THEMSELVES THROUGH THE ALCOHOL BAN:
                                                                                     Negotiated
                                                                                      payment
                                                                                      deferrals
                                  Selling                                            or holidays
                                equipment                 Moved to                      (44%)                   Amalgamated
                                   (29%)                  cheaper                                               with another
                                                          premises                                                brewery
                                                            (9%)                                                    (5%)

   60%
    50%      50%
              40%   100%
                      40%
                       30%      90%
                                100%
                                 30%
                                  20%   80%
                                         90%
                                          20%
                                           10%   70%
                                                  80%
                                                   10%
                                                     0%   60%
                                                           70%
                                                            0%      50%
                                                                    60%      40%
                                                                              50%     30%
                                                                                       40%     20%
                                                                                                30%      10%
                                                                                                          20%         0%
                                                                                                                      10%      0%

                                               Changed                    Selling
                                                                                                    Producing
                                              recipes to                wort or raw
                                                                                                   non-alcoholic
                                              brew more                 ingredients
                                                                                                    beverages
                                             economically                  (29%)
                                                                                                      (21%)
                                                (12%)

100%
 60%   90%
        50%       80%
                   40%    100%
                           70%
                            30%     90%
                                    60%
                                     20%     80%
                                              50%
                                               10%    70%
                                                       40%
                                                        0%       60%
                                                                  30%     50%
                                                                          20%       40%
                                                                                     10%     30%
                                                                                              0%      20%       10%          cbasa.org
                                                                                                                            0%
BREW                                           PETE BROWN
                                                                       LAUNCHES NEW E-BOOK
                                                                       Remember at the start of            craft, before quashing each
                                                                       lockdown, when you told             definition. Whether you agree
                                                                       yourself you’d read more            with him or not – and you
                                                                       or exercise more or start to        often won’t – it’s a great read,
                                                                       learn a language? Well, while       peppered with Pete’s signature
                                                                       most people’s promises of           wit and ability to seek out some
                                                                       self-betterment were quietly        truly random information. The
                                                                       forgotten, one man put us           book is available on Amazon.

 THE YAKIMA HOP                                                        all to shame. UK beer writer
                                                                       and somewhat regular visitor

 HARVEST GOES
                                                                       to South Africa, Pete Brown,
                                                                       researched, wrote, edited and

 VIRTUAL
                                                                       published an entire book in the
                                                                       time the rest of us managed
                                                                       to finish reading a book. The
                                                                       loftily titled Craft: An Argument
                                                                       - Why the term 'Craft Beer'
 If you’ve always wanted to witness the US hop harvest, this           is completely undefinable,
 year you’ll get a chance to join in, if only from a distance.         hopelessly         misunderstood
 Hop supplier Yakima Chief is operating a virtual harvest              and absolutely essential, grew
 for the whole of September, with a range of live sessions             out of Pete’s popular talk on
 including farm tours, interviews with hop farmers, panel              the same topic, which he gave
 discussions and informative talks on topics such as                   at the 2019 Beer Boot Camp
 sensory analysis and hop breeding. All sessions are free              in Johannesburg. The self-
 – you just need to register at hopandbrewschool.com.                  published e-book delves into
                                                                       the oft-posed question “What
                                                                       is craft beer?” and comes up

            LOCAL BREWERIES
                                                                       with a host of ways to define

            EXPAND THEIR CALL FOR PAPERS:
             NON-ALC OFFERING
                   The ban on alcohol pushed many brewers to
                                                                       FOOD & DRINK
                   become increasingly resourceful, with some
                   launching non-alcoholic products to sell in         TECHNOLOGY AFRICA
                   lieu of beer. Brauhaus Afrika has released Hop
                   Lemon Hop Water: a fizzy drink made with             Industry experts interested in speaking at the 2021 food
                   water, yeast, hops and homemade lemon juice,        & drink technology Africa summit are invited to submit
                   and sweetened with stevia. Darling has released     abstracts. The event is set to take place from 13-15 July 2021
                   a whole range of non-alcoholic beverages,           at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Interested
                   including a traditional ginger beer, two hop-       parties should submit a brief synopsis of their presentation
                   infused zero-alcohol seltzers and Malt Cross, a     along with a biography and photo of the speaker.
                   toffee-flavoured shake that can be drunk warm        Abstracts can be emailed to Katy Van der Walt at katy.
                   or cold. Check out our reviews of the latest non-   vanderwalt@mm-sa.com, by Wednesday 30 October 2020.
                   alcoholic beer releases on page 52.                 Check out www.fdt-africa.com for further info.

12   | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
NEWS
  TAPROOM OPENINGS KWEZA CRAFT BREWERY
  Nobleman Brewing launched a new taproom in Ilovo,
  Johannesburg in early August. It’s the brewery’s second
                                                                             BUYS FRASER’S FOLLY EQUIPMENT
  venue, with the original Magaliesberg location still
  operating.                                                                 The 650-litre brewhouse formerly installed at Fraser’s Folly in
                                                                             the Overberg will soon be taking up residence at Rwanda’s
                                                                             first microbrewery, Kweza Craft Brewery. The brewery, plus
                                                                             tanks, bottling line and other equipment will be shipped
                                                                             and installed at Kweza’s brewpub in Kigali. There’s still a
                                                                             long way to go before the brewpub is fully up and running
                                                                             with licencing hurdles to tackle before the brewery can be
                                                                             commissioned. Kweza’s managing director Jessi Flynn hopes
                                                                             to have the brewery up and running by mid-2021.

                                                                              NEW BREWS
                                                                                 Fraser’s Folly Wild              Richmond Hill Gimme
                                                                               Berry & Basil (4% ABV)               Shelter (6% ABV)
                                                                                  The latest in Fraser’s           When booze was banned
                                                                               Folly’s small batch series          but brewing was not, PE-
                                                                               is a “blended sour beer”         based Richmond Hill offered
                                                                                  with blueberries and          sanctuary to the members of
                                                                                fresh basil. It’s currently     the local homebrew club, the
  Mad Giant are also about to open a second location,                         available by the case from         Yeastern Cape. The result is
  this time in Blairgowrie. The taproom is due to open at                     the brewery’s online store.         this smooth and delicately
  the start of October.                                                                                            spicy elderflower saison,
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------     Saggy Stone Summer              available in 500ml cans and on
  In Cape Town, Lakeside Brewery is finally opening a                              Ale (3% ABV)                         tap at the brewery.
  taproom after many years operating as a distribution-                           Saggy Stone have
  only brewery. The new space will open at Imhoff Farm in                      ventured into light beer
  Kommetjie in late September.                                                  for the first time with
                                                                              this low-ABV blonde ale.

BREWER MOVES                                                                   The beer is available in
                                                                              cans and on tap at select
                                                                              outlets around the Cape.
Brewers seem to enjoy a little         Maun. Back in South Africa,
job-hopping and lately there           Michael Biljon, formerly of
have been several moves.               Gilroy Brewery, is now brewery
                                                                                 Soul Barrel Fresh
Little Wolf founder Stefan             manager at Brewhogs. And in
                                                                                 Nectar (5.2%ABV)
                                                                               Soul Barrel’s Nick Smith
Wiswedel is taking over as             the southern Cape, American-
                                                                                    promises a “juicy,
head brewer at Cape Town               born Ross Eaton, who moved
                                                                                   hazy pale ale with
brewpub Patiala, stepping              to South Africa last year
                                                                                explosive hop flavours
into the shoes of Murray               to brew at Drifter Brewing
                                                                               of candied clementine,
Stephenson. Murray, who has            Company, is now manning
                                                                               apricot, pineapple and
previously brewed at Jack              the kettles at Barrington’s in
                                                                                 guava”. Grab a pint
Black and Woodstock, will be           Plettenberg Bay. His first order
                                                                                at the brewery or find
heading to northern Botswana           of business was to add a bock
                                                                                 it in bottle from mid-
to work at the brand new               to the existing line-up of lager,
                                                                                       September.
Okavango Craft Brewery in              weiss and pale ale.

                                                                                                              ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2020 |   13
SOUL BARREL AND
          BREWSTERS CRAFT
          RELEASE SA’S FIRST
          UMQOMBOTHI HYBRID
                                                     This collab with Brewsters Craft is inspired by
te                                         of traditional
                                                  South Africa's amazingAfrican                beer
                                                                             beer culture. Think    of it as aand
re                                                  modern rendition of traditional sorghum beer,
eflects                                    modernUmqombothi.    craft.          The
                                                                    We've blended   European traditional
                                                                                                barrel-aging
                                                  techniques with African methods of sour mashing
                                           umqombothi
                                              and open, natural fermentationswasfor a brewed
                                                                                          first of its kind ale. in
                                                A batch of Umqombothi was blended with our mixed
.                                          February                  for        South
                                                        culture farmhouse ale and a two year old
                                                       barrel-aged brett beer. This finished blend   African
r                                                   was refermented and matured in an oak barrel.
                                           National                   Beer Day, then
                                              This beer is fascinating and unique. Flavors of cream pear,
 lity.                                     blendedcitrus & honeywith               Soul
                                                                     meld into a sticky              Barrel’s
                                                                                         barrel character,
                                               balanced by acidity and funky grain notes derived from
                                           mixed            culture             farmhouse      fermentationale

                                                                                                                        LOCKDOWN LEADS TO
                                                the wild sorghum      malt and spontaneous
he                                                                    with native yeasts.
k,                                         andIngredients:
                                                   a two-year-old barrel-aged
                                               • Malt: King Korn sorghum, maize, oats, pilsner, pale, local organic
                                           Brett
                                               • Hops:beer.
                                                        unmalted wheat
                                                                       The finished blend
                                                                                                                        BREWERY CLOSURES
nery.

            Wild African Soul
                                                        Cascade, S Spalt
                                               • Yeast: Native sorghum microflora, house wild mixed culture,
                                           was• Water:
                                                   refermented
                                                        Simonsberg Mountain water and matured
                                                        brett brux, champagne

                  Umqombothi Beer          in anDon’toak drink barrel.
                                                                and walk on the “Think
                                                                                   road, you may  ofbe itkilled.
                                                                                                               as a
 ccur.                                     modern              rendition of traditional
                                               Brewed and bottled with soul at:
                                               Soul Barrel Brewing
                                               R45 Simondium
                                           sorghum                   beer,” says                           Nick.      In a recent survey from CBASA, 21 brewery owners said
                                               WC
                                               www.soulbarrel.co.za
                                                                                               340ml                  they had decided to close their businesses permanently
                                           “We've blended European
                                           barrel-aging techniques with                                               since the start of lockdown. Due to the anonymous nature
          Soul Barrel’s Nick Smith         African methods of sour                                                    of the survey, the details of these closures are not available.
          and Brewsters Craft brewer       mashing and open, natural                                                  However, a number of breweries have confirmed that they
          Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela have        fermentations for a first of its                                            have ceased trading, with some advertising their equipment
          joined forces to produce the     kind ale.” The beer launches on                                            for sale. Closures include Sir Thomas Brewing Company in
          first commercially available      Heritage Day (24 September)                                                Stellenbosch, Stone Circle Brewing in Cape Town, Owl &
          umqombothi hybrid beer.          and will be available on Best                                              Hare Craft Brewery in Wakkerstroom, Robertson Brewing
          Wild African Soul (6.5% ABV)     Craft Beer as well as from Soul                                            Company in George, Red Rock Brewing Company in
          represents a coming together     Barrel’s brewery in Simondium.                                             Johannesburg and Odyssey Craft Brewery in Durban.

                                                                                                                      Visit our Cape Town showroom store
                                                                                                                      and browse our latest craft brewing
                                                                                                                      products & consumables!

                                                                                                                      Chat with our experienced brewmasters
                                                                                                                      who are happy to guide you through
                                                                                                                      your homebrewing journey.
          TAPS & TOWERS         GROWLERS                    KEGS & FERMENTING
                                                                 VESSELS                                              We offer repackaged malt & hops as
                                                                                                                      well as liquid yeast.

                                                                                                                      View our dispensing equipment and
                                                                                                                      wide product offering to suit any home
           PARTY KEGS         MALT, YEAST, HOPS                BREWING EQUIPMENT                                      or craft brewer.

            LIQUID YEAST        CROWN CORKS                         LAB EQUIPMENT
IN BRIEF

  After a brief period of            A new app focusing on
 closure, Pretoria-based          craft beverages launched in
Bernie’s Brewery is under         August. Craft Craze doesn’t
 new management. The               only focus on beer, but all
new owners are working              artisanal beverages. The
   on a rebrand and a               app allows you to browse
revamp of the taproom.              products, purchase from
  Keep an eye on their             an ever-growing selection
 social media accounts             of beers, wines and spirits,
for details of the launch,          then rate and review the
   currently set for late           products. The app is free
       September.                  to download from the Play
                                     Store or check it out at
                                         craftcraze.co.za.

  Brewhogs is the latest              Nigerian microbrewery
  local brewery to invest              Bature has released a
   in a canning line, with          limited edition brew with
   their core range to be          a social message. Working
    re-released in 330ml               in conjunction with a
 cans from early October.           local NGO, The Consent
Following the huge trend              Workshop, the brewery
 in the USA, the Jo’burg-            launched Yes Means Yes
  based brewery has also           with the goal of spreading
 developed a hard seltzer,            more awareness about
Crush’d. The seltzer – AKA        sexual consent. All proceeds
alcoholic sparkling water –         from the beer, a coconut
will be available from early       cream stout, will go to The
         September.                     Consent Workshop.

                               ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2020 |   15
FEATURE

                               It is the cradle of brewing in South Africa, and home to
                               our country’s oldest brewery. Lucy Corne explores the
                                 beery history of Newlands and celebrates the 200th
                                         anniversary of its namesake brewery.

 16   | Autumn 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
L
            ooking back, they probably            is today the Montebello Design Centre.
            should have called it Brewlands.      Mensing approved of the site, largely due
            The Cape Town suburb has              to the pure, soft water that trickled down
            been linked with brewing ever         from Table Mountain. But despite his
            since there was a brewing             knowledge that good beer requires good
            industry in South Africa – in fact,   water, Mensing turned out not to be the
even earlier than that. And as with other         star hire the Company had thought, taking
brewing hubs around the world, there was          several years to get the brewery up and
a very good reason that Newlands quickly          running and then admitting that he “did
became the heart of beer-making in this           not know how to stop the beer from going
country: water.                                   sour”. But while his tenure as official Cape
    This year marks two centuries since           brewer was short-lived, the area in which
brewing first began on the current                 he started his brewery is still synonymous
Newlands Brewery site, but brewing in             with brewing to this day.
this part of the city actually predates that
by at least another 126 years. It was 1694        A BREWERY IS BORN
when the Cape’s first trained brewer was           Other brewers came and went over the
dispatched from the Netherlands by                decades, but the next to be immortalised in
the Dutch East India Company - Rutgert            historical accounts was Jacob Letterstedt.
Mensing. Whether it was the decision              Letterstedt arrived from Sweden in 1820       Entrance to the old Mariendahl Brewery, now
of then governor Simon van der Stel, of           and promptly married Maria Barendina          the reception area and gift shop
Mensing himself, or of some visionary             Bekker, a widow and Newlands landowner.
who goes unnamed in history books, it is          That same year, Letterstedt opened a
unclear, but the location chosen for this         brewery on her land, naming it Mariendahl
early brewery was a decision well made. It        Brewery in her honour. The name remains
was in an area known as Nuweland and it           to this day on a sign as you enter SAB’s
was chosen for its proximity to a clean and       Newlands Brewery to take the 90-minute
reliable water source – the springs fed by        tour of the historical buildings and to see
streams flowing from Table Mountain.               the modern-day plant in action.
    It had been almost half a century                Letterstedt, like other Cape brewers
since the Dutch first set up at the Cape,          of the time, brewed English-style pale
during which time the Europeans had               ales and a porter, which he advertised
made numerous attempts at brewing.                in the 1830 South African Directory and
Historical accounts talk about failed             Advertiser as “warranted to keep in any
efforts at growing barley, shipments of           climate”. By 1854, brewing was booming
rotting hops and batches of beer that             in Cape Town, with a census that year
were probably best used for watering              counting 13 breweries in the city, a number
the aforementioned barley plants, so the          of which were in Newlands.
arrival of a trained brewer must have been           Some       of    his    contemporaries’
very welcome.                                     businesses failed, but Letterstedt’s
    Mensing was given 30 morgen of land           brewery thrived. In 1859, he announced an
on a farm known as Papenboom, right               expansion, with “new utensils, including
in the heart of Newlands. Papenboom               some from Europe”. The notice also
included the section of Newlands Avenue           promised a “much improved quality from
now home to the Forrester’s Arms, with            the 1st April” when “any quantity of Cape
                                                                                                Pale ale bottle from a brew at Mariendahl
Mensing’s original brewery located at what        Ale, of all the best descriptions, will be    Brewery in 1860

 Newlands Brewery in the late 1800s - some of the structures can still be seen today

                                                                                                       ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2020 |    17
FEATURE

 The old and the new working seamlessly together

 obtainable”. Some of the buildings from           stands on Cannon Street in Newlands –           Spring, and that no other brewery would
 the 1859 expansion are still standing today       and the Cloete Brewery (also known at           be supplied from it. Not that there were
 and form an important part of Newlands            the time as the Newlands Brewery), which        any other breweries left in the area at this
 Brewery’s landscape.                              was situated on Newlands Avenue, across         point, since he’d bought them all out
    Sadly, Jacob Letterstedt passed away           the road from the Forrester’s Arms. In 1889     and incorporated them into his own mini
 just three years later, leaving the brewery in    he also acquired Letterstedt’s Mariendahl       brewing empire.
 the hands of his daughter, Lydia. She made        Brewery, merging the four to become
 extensive upgrades in 1881, including             Ohlsson’s Cape Breweries Ltd. At the time       SAB TAKES OVER
 a move to gravity-fed brewing and the             it was the largest industrial enterprise in     Ohlsson ran his brewing company with
 construction of the tower brewery that still      the country outside of the mining industry.     great success, adding a lager brewery
 stands today. But despite some successes,            Perhaps the most important legacy of         in 1900, just a couple of years after the
 she ended up leasing and later selling            Ohlsson’s foray into the brewing world was      first lager had been produced in South
 the brewery to another Scandinavian               securing the rights to the Albion Spring        Africa. He retired in 1906, passing control
 immigrant, one Anders Ohlsson.                    in 1898. He had already secured water           of the brewery to his son Axel. Ohlsson
                                                   rights for his Anneberg Brewery in 1883,        senior lived out his remaining years at the
 OHLSSON’S EMPIRE                                  then when he purchased the Cloete and           Montebello residence he had acquired
 Norwegian-born Ohlsson was a shrewd               Mariendahl breweries he got additional          years before along with the Cloete
 businessman and politician. He first               water rights to the Newlands Spring.            Brewery. Shortly after his death, a new
 ventured into the brewing industry in                Ohlsson was a founder and major              lager was released in his honour, one that
 1881, founding the Anneberg Brewery               shareholder of the Cape Town District           bore his nickname, The Lion.
 in Newlands. Today, Anneberg Road                 Waterworks Company and when it                     Ohlsson’s Cape Brewing and Union,
 falls within the grounds of South African         was sold to the Suburban Municipal              as the company was then known,
 College High School and sadly nothing             Waterworks, Ohlsson is said to have             continued until 1956, when it was taken
 remains of the original brewery.                  secured a guarantee that his brewery            over by South African Breweries. The old
     Ohlsson went on to buy out the                would receive 175 000 gallons of water          brewhouse has of course been replaced
 Cannon Brewery – whose building still             free of charge each day from the Albion         and upgraded many times since then,

                                                   This 1940s delivery van is on display outside
 Early packing line circa 1900s                    the old malthouse                               Newlands Distillery and Brewery in the 1830s

 18   | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
but when tours of Newlands Brewery are         counts a couple of commemorative beers         requirements for the renovations. Part of
once again operating post-Covid, you           in its range: Jacob’s Pale Ale is of course    one wall, as well as the roof, had to be
can also take a peek into local brewing        named for the site’s founder brewer, Jacob     carefully removed in order to slide in the
history, including the malthouse and the       Letterstedt and is based on a 150-year old     brewery and tanks, then carefully rebuilt
19th-century building that once held           recipe found within the Newlands Brewery       under the watchful eye of the Heritage
Letterstedt’s brewery.                         archives, while Tribute Lager is brewed        Council. The finished product is a shiny
    In 2015 the old cellars, which date back   in honour of Anders Ohlsson, who saw a         brewhouse that serves as the perfect end
to the mid-19th century, received a revamp     spring and built a brewing empire on it.       to a tour through Newlands Brewery; a
when SAB installed a 2000-litre brewery to         Installing Newlands Spring Brewing         brewhouse where ales are once again
produce speciality beers under a separate      Co. was not without its difficulties. Classed   being brewed some 200 years from the
label. Newlands Spring Brewing Co.             as a heritage building, there were strict      very first time Letterstedt mashed in.

        THE FIRST
        NEWLANDS
         BREWER?
    Although Jan van Riebeeck tried his
     hand at brewing almost as soon as
      he landed at the Cape, his efforts
  were largely unsuccessful. One of the
    earliest mentions of another brewer
       in Riebeeck’s diaries was Pieter
     Visagie, a sailor from Antwerp. He
  began brewing at his farmhouse east
      of the Liesbeek River, using water
   from the river for his beers. Historical
    accounts suggest that the farm was
  in Rondebosch, although it’s possible
     Visagie was the very first brewer to
      set up in Newlands back in 1657.          Newlands Brewery staff in 1885

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FEATURE

                                    South African-born Rob Jacobson cut his
                                 teeth brewing macro lagers at SAB, but when
                                 the chance arose to work as head brewer in a
                                  historical UK brewery, he jumped on a plane
                                    and swapped Castle for cask. Jeff Evans
                                          quizzed him about the move.

 20   | Autumn 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
B
                ased in the quiet country        different roles, from technical through to    independent regional brewers produce a
                town of Devizes, Wadworth        management, I was quite keen on taking a      different style of beer – cask ale – which
                & Co. is as traditional a        broader spectrum of work – raw materials      you won't find as widespread anywhere
                British brewery as you can       right the way through to packaging. With      else in the world. To be able take on
                get. It brews mostly cask-       the way roles are specialised in SAB,         a more senior role with a much wider
                conditioned ale, runs its        that wouldn't have been possible at the       scope of work, and seeing the change
own estate of pubs and even has a team           time.” It seemed a good time to broaden       that Wadworth was going through, it just
of shire horses that deliver beer around         horizons. “I was recently married and,        seemed like the right decision.”
the town. It would be understandable             between myself and my wife, we were               Brewing cask-conditioned ale, which
therefore if Rob Jacobson had suffered a         very keen on the opportunity to travel and    contains live yeast and enjoys a secondary
little from culture shock when he arrived        work abroad,” he says.                        fermentation in the cask when it reaches
here as head brewer in 2018.                                                                   the pub cellar, is certainly a different
     Rob joined Wadworth from SAB’s                                                            brewing experience to producing filtered,
Newlands Brewery in Cape Town, having                                                          pressurised lagers, but Rob quickly
previously worked at the Rosslyn Brewery
in Pretoria. From a world of mostly
                                                      He's also pushing                        adapted. “In principle, everything's very
                                                                                               similar. For me it's around following a
huge-volume lager produced in a giant                   the innovation                         process and having systems is really
brewhouse, he now sits in the small head
brewer's office high in a rambling, red-                  button with a                         important. There was obviously some
                                                                                               learning but that was part of the
brick brewery built in 1885. The value of his        continuous series of                      excitement in the move. The team here
appointment to Wadworth, which has an
eye on the rapidly-changing beer scene in            experimental brews                        is unbelievable. I was received with open
                                                                                               arms and where I had gaps those have
the UK, is clear. “It was important for us not                                                 been filled really quickly.”
just to get a technically-qualified brewer                                                          So what changes has Rob brought
but somebody who gets the consumer bit                                                         to Wadworth? Well, a fresh eye on
and understands that what we brew has got                                                      procedures for a start. “Something we've
to be sold and be relevant to the market,”       OLD TECHNIQUES, NEW CHALLENGES                done over the last two years is look at all
says chief executive Chris Welham. But           They settled on the UK as the ideal           of our standard operating practices,” he
what was the lure for Rob?                       destination and things then moved very        says. “We would question if they are up
     “I had been with SAB for a number           quickly. “From a brewer's perspective, it's   to date. Could things be done better?
of years and was nearing a point where           really exciting to have done large-scale      How do we start challenging what we
I would take on a brewing manager's              commercial brewing but now to also be         are doing? This is always against the
role within a big brewery,” he explains.         able to work in a completely different        backdrop of how can we do that without
“Having been through a number of                 market space,” says Rob. “The UK’s            fundamentally changing what we are.”
FEATURE

                                                                                             A LITTLE
                                                                                             HISTORY
                                                                                           Wadworth is one of Britain’s
                                                                                       historic family breweries, based
                                                                                          in Wiltshire in the south-west
                                                                                         of England. It was founded in
                                                                                        1875 by Henry Wadworth, who
                                                                                       built today’s brewery in Devizes
                                                                                         in 1885. Its most famous beer,
                                                                                       6X, was first brewed in 1923 and
                                                                                       today Wadworth operates more
                                                                                          than 150 pubs, most of them
                                                                                       close to its home town. Charles
                                                                                       Bartholomew, a great-grandson
                                                                                       of Henry Wadworth’s brother-in-
                                                                                        law and business partner John
                                                                                       Smith Bartholomew, remains as
                                                                                        non-executive chairman of the
                                                                                                     company.

                                       CORONA CURVEBALL                            production of the core range of ales,
                                       One such initiative was the new tasting     and primarily the well-known best
                                       panel he has set up. “Within quality        bitter, 6X. But part of his remit is to
                                       assurance we didn't have a trained          respond to the market and so he's also
                                       taste panel. We had people who were         pushing the innovation button with a
                                       probably very good but not formally         continuous series of experimental brews.
                                       trained. I thought that was a great         “Something that we've done is put some
                                       opportunity to get people engaged in        focus on new product development,” he
                                       the brewery, so we looked also toward       says. “We did have seasonals but we're
                                       the wider support staff,” Rob says. A       really trying to supercharge that, so we
                                       team was selected and trained in            have what I call a feeder programme.
                                       sensory analysis. They now meet once a      Every month we produce some bespoke
                                       week to discuss and dissect the beers.      beer on the microbrewery that's two
                                       “From there, the brewers review and         and a half barrels (409 litres). That goes
                                       say 'Right, where are the opportunities?    down to one of our pubs for consumer
                                       How do we get better?' It's all about       feedback. We use different adjuncts,
                                       challenging ourselves again towards         different raw materials, potentially
                                       continuous improvement.”                    different yeasts. We've done a range of
                                           Earlier this year, Wadworth revealed    different things that we would have never
                                       plans to leave its ageing Victorian         done previously. What I'm trying to work
                                       brewhouse and move to a new purpose-        toward is creating a portfolio that we are
                                       built site elsewhere in Devizes. Those      ready to draw on so that when we see the
                                       plans have been placed on indefinite         opportunity to start launching new stuff, it's
                                       hold because of the Coronavirus crisis      there and ready to go.”
                                       but the equipment in current use, while         That's all part of the joy of brewing in
                                       in some areas getting a little creaky, is   England for Rob. While appreciating what is
                                       still totally functional.                   historic and traditional, he's very much part
                                           “We manage to produce some great        of the future of Wadworth, helping to take
                                       beers. We've got some pretty fancy          the company into a new age and securing
                                       silverware so it can be done,” says Rob.    its future, as he sees it, for the next 50–100
                                       “We've got amazing engineers and            years. That said, Rob continues to keep an
                                       amazing brewers and the combined            eye on what’s happening in his homeland.
                                       experience really gets us to a place        “My heart is very much tied to South Africa
                                       where we are able to produce great beer     and the friends and family who live there,”
                                       on a consistent basis. So where we do       says Rob. “I definitely keep a lateral eye
                                       have potentially some challenges with       on what’s happening within the industry
                                       old kit, we've got great people to make     and quietly drop into the odd taproom
                                       sure that we can manage that.”              to try out the beers when I’m back.” And
                                                                                   who knows, perhaps one day he’ll bring
                                       MARRYING INNOVATION AND                     his recently acquired knowledge from a
                                       TRADITION                                   historical brewery to introduce some new,
                                       Much of Rob's time involves          the    old concepts to the South African scene.

 22   | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
WHEN THE LOCKDOWN
                                                              ENDS, DRAUGHT BEER
                                                              QUALITY WILL BE TOP OF
                                                              MIND FOR CUSTOMERS
                                                              WHEN CHOOSING WHICH
                                                              PUB TO GO TO AND
                                                              WHICH BRAND OF
                                                              DRAUGHT TO DRINK!

       FINDINGS FROM RECENT RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN THE UK SHOWED THAT:

          94%*                              53%*                            70%*
OF ALE DRINKERS SAY THE               THE NUMBER ONE                OF ALE DRINKERS HAVE
   MOST IMPORTANT                  DRIVER OF BEER SALES IS          BEEN SERVED A STALE
 FACTOR IN CHOOSING A               QUALITY (UP 10% YOY)                OR OFF “PINT”
  PUB IS BEER QUALITY
*MARSTON’S ON TRADE BEER REPORT        *CGA INDUSTRY REPORT           *MARSTON’S EUREKA SURVEY
                                               2019                             2019
             2019

GAP DRAUGHT’S SMART DRAUGHT MONITORING SYSTEM,
ALREADY INSTALLED ON THOUSANDS OF DRAUGHT BEER
TAPS COUNTRYWIDE, CAN HELP YOU MONITOR AND
MANAGE THE FOLLOWING:

• Quality of your draught beer poured at pubs
• Sanitisation compliance by your service providers
  who clean the lines
• Volumes poured and the quality of pouring
• Stock-out’s and inventory levels
• Effectiveness of draught beer promotions

WWW.GAP-DRAUGHT.COM
WORLD
        OF BEER

                                      Coming from a country where he
                                considered Castle as king, Marnus Hattingh
                                    found an experience with European
                                  Trappist beers was a little like swopping
                                  his lunchbox sarmies for a Jamie Oliver
                                creation. We join him on a Belgian beer tour
                                        in search of some abdijbiere.

24   | Autumn 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
T
                        hrough an intricate            Today only a handful of monasteries still         It took some three hours to reach the abbey of
                        link involving Tintin,      brew their own beer on site. In fact, since          Maredsous, a large monastery set on top of a
                        the Aussie rock band        a set of rules was set up in the modern era          hill in the middle of a quiet forest. Maredsous
                        Midnight Oil, and the       to control what constitutes a Trappist beer          is not a Trappist brewery, but I stopped at the
                        historical connection       (very much like our own “estate wines” are           Gothic-like abbey to stretch the legs, walk in
                        between Afrikaans and       regulated), only 14 abbeys – all from the            the tranquil grounds, taste the pater’s cheese
                        Dutch, many years ago       Trappist order – qualify as makers of true           and, of course, sip on a Maredsous Bruin,
                        I became pen pals with      Trappist beer. And six of those are dotted           the brewery’s dubbel, full of dried fruit and
a guy from Antwerpen in northern Flanders,          across Belgium.                                      caramel flavours.
Belgium. And so, on a visit to his hometown,           When a recent work trip to Holland
we went out for a drink. Sometime later             provided an opportunity to stay behind in            ACQUIRING NEW TASTES
someone shoved a bowl-shaped beer glass             Europe for a couple of days, I got myself a          The road meandered further south into the
into my hand and uttered those immortal             car, brought out the paper maps and plotted          green hills for an hour, after which I parked
words of the late evening partygoer: try this.                                                           in front of an abbey called Orval, secluded
    I did, and was hooked. It was a Westmalle                                                            in a remote valley. It’s a big complex of
Dubbel, a highly decorated Belgian beer                                                                  buildings, and next door the shop is filled
brewed by monks behind the walls of                                                                      with souvenirs, while a modern cafeteria
their picturesque abbey rebuilt in the early                                                             provides a comprehensive menu including
20th-century. Dark in colour, with a rich
complexity, it was quite an awakening for                 Light enough for                               something sought after by beer lovers. Orval
                                                                                                         is famous for producing just one beer, but at
someone used to South Africa’s pale lagers.
    Belgium is very much a Catholic country,
                                                            a devout monk                                the abbey you can taste the patersbier, Orval
                                                                                                         Vert, named for the green glass it was once
and in some of the denominations it is                    to sip on and still                            bottled in. I preferred it to the classic Orval,
considered a virtue for the abbey to be self-
reliant. Of course, to live a quiet life and pray
                                                           continue his day                              whose characteristic dryness and complex
                                                                                                         tartness take some getting used to.
seven times a day is valued as well. But to be                of praying                                     Next up was the abbey of Rochefort,
self-sufficient – to grow your own vegetables,                                                           half an hour’s drive away. The abbey is less
tend to the chickens and pigs, farm honey,          a three-day road trip across Belgium, linking        commercialised and has no shop of its own,
and bake bread – that is the ultimate calling.      five of the country’s Trappist breweries,            but you can buy their beers from one of the
                                                    plus one of its most famous “abbey beers”.           cafes in the nearby village of the same name.
A BEERY PILGRIMAGE                                  Unfortunately the Achel monastery in the far         As with the famous Rochefort cheese, the
Beer has long been a part of monastic life.         northeast) slipped off my radar and agenda,          beer is an acquired taste, particularly for
With water from the local streams not               meaning I’m destined to recreate the in full         someone used to the simplicity of a light
always of the best quality, the monks treated       one day.                                             lager. I don’t mess around though and opt for
it with barley, herbs, a rigorous boil and of           I picked my car up at Amsterdam’s                a Rochefort 10, the 11.3% ABV quadrupel
course, a period of fermentation to make            Schiphol airport, then dashed on the highway         which is filled with aromas of dried fig and
it into something they could offer as safe          south, crossing the border into Belgium just         flavours of chocolate and caramel.
refreshment to visiting pilgrims. In some           north of Antwerpen, then headed all the way              My first beer stop the next morning was
abbeys, beers were even considered as part of       down to the Ardenne in the southeast of              Scourmont Abbey, where the Chimay beers
each monk’s daily ration, together with friar       Wallonia, Belgium’s French speaking corner.          are brewed under strict supervision of the
Bernoldus’ basket of eggs, honey and bread.         It’s a leafy, hilly, farmland area of the country.   monks, still using only water from two wells

  The stately entrance to the La Trappe abbey, where you can take a delightful beer tour                  Prayers to the left, pints to the right

                                                                                                                   ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2020 |    25
WORLD
        OF BEER

Orval's iconic bowling pin-shaped bottles waiting to be filled (image by J.P. Remy)                      Chimay beer and cheese tasting platter

                                                   within their grounds. I immediately order           beers has become as legendary as the beer
                                                   a Chimay Gold, the monastery’s patersbier.          itself. You can only buy their beers by first
                                                   Lighter than other Trappist brews, the              making a call to the paters to reserve a
                                                   patersbier was traditionally brewed for the         crate for you – and nothing more. Volume
                                                   monks’ own use each day – with an alcohol           is strictly monitored, and the monks only
                                                   level of around 4% ABV, it was considered           sell to individuals, as no shop may sell their
                                                   light enough for a devout monk to sip on and        beers. Plus you must come and collect it in
                                                   still continue his day of praying.                  person, providing the licence plate of the
                                                       The beer was good, but I liked their cheese     vehicle you’ll be driving in advance.
                                                   more. I opted for their smaller platter, which          Of course, there is a loophole, with the
                                                   featured four cheeses – Blue, Red, Vieux and        café across the road from the brewery selling
                                                   Doré. The Doré is the mildest of the four, so       six-packs of the three beers – the blonde, the
The Maredsous abbey has quite the                  I started with that, working my way through         10 and the legendary 12 – on a first-come,
playful character                                  the stronger Vieux and Red and finishing            first served basis. Sadly, it is a Friday when
                                                   with the Blue’s sharp and tangy taste. The          I visit and I find the café closed. Until my
                                                   Vieux was my favourite, as a Gouda lover,           next trip I will have to take it from beer
                                                   and I found it paired perfectly with the slight     lovers around the world that this beer offers
                                                   sweetness of a bottle of Chimay Rouge.              an other-worldly experience.

                                                   A BEER OF LEGEND                                    HOPPPING OVER TO HOLLAND
                                                   A two-hour drive west to the coast of West          With the disappointment behind me, it
                                                   Flanders followed. From French speaking             was time for the third and last leg of my
                                                   Wallonia’s beautiful greenery and hills to          Belgian beer dash. I headed northeast,
                                                   the flatlands of West Flanders’ coastline, the      back to Antwerpen, where I swung by the
                                                   views were bleak and uninspiring. Luckily           Westmalle Abbey for a glass of dark brown,
The Orval beerglass resembles a                    the Beemer ate up the kilometres in silence         fully flavoured Westmalle Dubbel: one of my
traditional goblet.                                along the gloomy road as I drove past large         favourites. The final drive took me across the
                                                   cemeteries filled with small, white crosses – a     border into the neighbouring Netherlands for
                                                   stark reminder of the trench warfare of the         a relaxing lunch and beer tour at the abbey of
                                                   First World War where thousands lost their          Koningshoeven, better known by the name of
                                                   lives in this corner of the world.                  its beer label, La Trappe.
                                                         As you drive through the village of               Both Westmalle and La Trappe have large,
                                                   Vleteren, a sign the size of a pencil case points   modern cafeterias serving food and beer and
                                                   you towards “Wes-Vleteren Abdij”. Zig zag           it is quite the occasion for locals in each
                                                   past suburban houses and you arrive at a            town to come out and have a brunch of beers
                                                   nondescript entrance. This is the Abbey of St       and wafels.
                                                   Sixtus, home of the Westvleteren 12, often              In a small country that produces over 400
                                                   hailed the best beer in the world. It is simply     different types of beers, the monasteries form
                                                   amazing and a tribute to the monks and their        an essential part of the Belgian beer culture.
                                                   quest for silent devotion and a renouncement        You’ve done the Cape Wine Route. Next time
                                                   of worldly things that the maker of the             you’re lucky enough to be in Europe, treat
                                                   so-called world’s best beer is virtually            yourself to something completely different
                                                   invisible in its complete absence of any            and sign up for a beer tour – just try and
Entrance to Scourmont Abbey, home of
                                                   advertising or branding.                            travel with a designated driver so that you
the monks that brew Chimay
                                                       The process of purchasing Westvleteren          can take full advantage of the brews.

26   | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za
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