Friday beers: Spinal Tap Bar in Cape Town
I've been a bit remiss in not writing anything about Spinal Tap Bar, which launched in Cape Town just over a year ago. The bar belongs to Carl Nienaber of Harambe (black IPA) fame and his fabulously talented wife, photographer Marla Burger. It's a tiny but beautifully...
Beer Review: Afro Caribbean x Terrapin The Big Buchukowski
  Right, first up, let's address the name of this beer. The beer is a collaboration between Cape Town's Afro Caribbean Brewing Company and Terrapin Beer Co from Atlanta, USA. The founder and brewmaster at Terrapin Beer, Brian Buckowski (better known to all as...
It’s hop harvest time in South Africa – here’s where to get fresh hop beers
Of beer's four main ingredients, hops are the sexy one. Writers and beer lovers talk about hops and brewers experiment with hops on a different level to malt or yeast or water. Brewers often prominently list hop varietals on their labels and scream about their beer...
Friday Beers: Jack Black Brewing Co. in Cape Town
It has been a while since I last did a Friday Beers post. Which is not to say I haven't been partaking of the tradition. Indeed this past Friday I was indulging in a few beverages with my best drinking buddy Cam, and with one Robert Heyns, of League of Beers fame. It...
Is it beer clean? How a dirty glass can ruin a great beer
Imagine the scene. You’re at a restaurant and your much-deserved dinner arrives. You’re about to cut a slither off the perfectly cooked steak in front of you when, what’s this? There is a blob of something that looks like dried-on curry on your plate – something that...
How to become a qualified beer judge
As we're still in January I thought you might still be looking for some kind of goal for 2024. So how about becoming a qualified beer judge? There are various methods and sets of guidelines used in beer competitions around the world, but in South Africa we almost...
Six things I’d like to see in South African craft beer in 2024
January is traditionally a time to make lists of rash promises that you have no intention of keeping past the middle of the month. I've long since given up trying to convince myself that I'll be more organised or drink less or ever tidy the mountain of receipts and to...
Soul Barrel launches the strongest beer in South Africa
This weekend, Soul Barrel Brewing in Simondium is launching the strongest beer in South Africa. This perhaps reads a little like clickbait – a beer based on gimmick and sold with hyperbole, but I can tell you this beer wasn’t some flash-in-the-pan project to get likes...
Latest South African craft beer news
It's taken me such a long time to get around to writing this that most of the items here probably couldn't be classed as news any more, but here you go anyway - some things that have been going on in South African craft beer lately: 1000 Hills Brewing Co wins Beer of...
The South African Pilsner Project
There’s a set of style guidelines that’s used in beer competitions around the world. It’s curated by an American organisation called the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). It’s by no means the only set of guidelines in use, but the BJCP is the standard for both...
Yes it has bubbles and no it’s not served warm: the case for cask ale
If I had a rand for every time a South African had described English beer as "flat and warm", I'd probably have enough to buy a pint of English beer in the UK. And with the current exchange rate (and considering the prices in your average British pub), that is a LOT...
Beer for elephants: a visit to Okavango Craft Brewery in Botswana
Maun is known by its residents as ‘Dusty Donkey Town’, and on the day that Okavango Craft Brewery had its unofficial (re)launch party, it quickly became evident why. I’m not quite sure why I felt it necessary or smart to walk the 5km from my hotel to the brewery on a...
Brewery equipment for sale in South Africa
I get regular requests asking about used brewery equipment or complete businesses up for sale so I thought it might be useful to post this here and try to keep it updated. For every brewery that closes, hopefully another one recycles its equipment and starts up in its...

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