Table of contents for Summer issue 4, December 2023 in On Tap

Mind-blowing, memorable and unique best describes the Great American Beer Festival, organised by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association for small and independent American craft brewers. A beer lover's paradise, it's the largest public beer tasting event in America and has been dubbed by Thrillist as ‘the one beer festival to try before you die’. It takes place every autumn at the cavernous Colorado Convention Centre in Denver and attracts approximately 40,000 attendees, 1,800 beers and 500 breweries. The Great American Beer Festiva competition takes place before the Festival and last year attracted 9,300 beers from 2,033 breweries judged over three days by 250 beer experts. There were 303 medals awarded in total to 263 breweries. Winning beers are poured at the Festival and create a huge buzz as…

FEATURE A SOUTH AFRICAN WALKS INTO THE GREAT AMERICAN BEER FESTIVAL… TROYE MAY The question I get asked the most is, “How was your trip to the United States?” and my standard response, with a reminiscent smile on my face, is: “It was amazing.” I really do wish I coulde laborate further, but there is simply no way to describe the heightened emotions and the aura that come with attending the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Similar to most things American, it's bigger and louder than other beer festivals around the world. It has most of the well known American craft beer brands and a range of their beers to choose from. I could go on and on, highlighting some impressive stats, but I'd rather leave you with my own…

NOSTALGIA Recently, a hot brew day was interrupted by the jangly, disjointed jingle from the valley: an all-familiar sound from my childhood. Despite the chaotic, sharp notes, the sound only brought excitement. And just as I did as a child, I scurried straight to the gate to catch the ice cream truck's attention before he zoomed past. Even though it was mass-produced soft-serve, it was, and still is, a day that makes me smile. As you can tell, I love ice cream. So much so, in fact, that I dabble in making my own from time to time. Much like brewing, experimenting with new flavours and ingredients is part of the fun; and I seldom make the same ice cream twice. I have even gone as far as making ice…

MEET A After completing his matric across the border in Zimbabwe, a young Lazarus moved to Maputo to pursue his first love: music. A difficult industry to break into, Lazarus soon found himself needing to put food on the table in a more reliable way. Bartending eventually led to the start of a career in hospitality. Over the course of 15 years he went from bartender to restaurant manager, to resort coordinator. Finally, with South Africa hosting the World Cup in 2010, Lazarus thought it was time to make his way to the Mother City. Moving to the Mother City Remembering a woman he had met during his resort coordinator days who had said, “If you are ever in Cape Town, give me a call…” he did just that, which…

“I'd love to try the Back Home Beer company's Persian Lager because 1) my niece wrote an article about its founder and the beer's origins, 2) it springs from rich family memories and regional traditions, and 3) it's made in NYC – my home town.” “When I started homebrewing, I read how spruce tips were used as a bittering agent before hops became most common. Reportedly fresh and resinous, I even looked into buying tinctures, but to date have never tried a beer with spruce!” “I am happy to try any beer my sister brews!” [Editor's Note: This is not a paid advertorial.] “A style of beer that I am dying to try is the Grisette. I made a low-alcohol Saison (won second place in the nationals in 2022) and…

Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela is a Brewmaster with 15 years practical brewing experience in both micro and macro brewing industries. She is also an internationally recognised beer judge and the founder of TolokaziBeer. Craig Claassen Craig started his journey in beer as a homebrewer in a London bedsit in 2004. He is a partner at Neelsie Travel and it was in 2017 that he fused his passion for tourism and craft beer to create the Beer Route, an organisation set up to promote craft beer tourism in South Africa. He is also the co-founder of Lunar Brew and current chairperson of the Helderberg Homebrew Club. Checkout Beer Route at www.beerroute.co.za. Lotte Peplow Lotte is a Certified Cicerone, accredited Beer Sommelier, international beer judge and beer writer who conducts talks and…

Fruit Syrup 700g fruit (this can be your preference, go more berry-based, or use plums for extra tartness or peach & apricot) 440ml of your favourite fruited sour beer Reduce on a low flame until it becomes a thick syrup, and set aside to cool. Ice Cream 500ml whipping cream 1 tin condensed milk 3 eggs, separated 1 tbsp. icing sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence/extract Method 1. Set up 3 bowls. 2. In the first bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. 3. In the second bowl, whisk cream and icing sugar until they form soft peaks. 4. In bowl three, whisk condensed milk, vanilla essence and egg yolks until creamy. 5. Gently fold the three bowls together, as well as the fruit syrup but be careful…

HOMEBREWER OT: When and why did you start brewing? MM: I started brewing (beer) in early lockdown when happened upon a copy of John J Palmer's book How to Brew. I'd previously made Tepache [a pineapple brew], Mahewu [a fermented porridge common in Southern Africa], and other non-beer fermented traditional drinks. I've been a fan of fermentation (sauerkraut, kimchi etc.), liqueur making, and bread baking for about a decade. Beer-making seemed like a perfect addition to my DIY hobbies. OT: What's the best beer you have ever made? MM: This is a tough one. I've made a few crowd-pleasing American Amber Ales, but what I've enjoyed the most was a Scottish Ale-based Chilli Beer with two former Guinness hottest-level chillies (Carolina Reaper and Ghost Pepper). I made it after being…

EASTERN CAPE BREWHAHA Jeffreys Bay Marius Deetlefs +27 72 071 6106 brewery@brewhaha.co.za brewhaha.co.za BRIDGE STREET BREWERY Port Elizabeth Grant Davies +27 41 581 0361 grant@ingoodcompany.africa bridgestreet.co.za RICHMOND HILL BREWING CO. Port Elizabeth Niall Cook +27 78 396 5485 niall@richmondhillbrewing.com richmondhillbrewing.com TABLE 58 BREWING East London Paul de Klerk +27 43 748 2815 info@table58brewing.co.za table58brewing.co.za FREE STATE APPOINTMENT CRAFT BEER BREWERY Kroonstad Rudi & Coal +27 82 371 3794 rudi@regalhq.co.za GAUTENG AGAR'S BREWERY Kya Sand Michael Agar +27 76 191 5331 michael@agarsbrewery.co.za agarsbrewery.co.za SWAGGA BREWERIES Henley on Klip, Meyerton Justin Goetsch +27 10 109 0388 pub@swaggabrewery.co.za swaggabreweries.co.za KWAZULU-NATAL BALLITO BREWING COMPANY Ballito Gary Wilby +27 84 512 5263 greatrailroadbrewing@gmail.com ballitobrewingcompany.co.za KWAZULU-NATAL DRAKENSBERG BREWERY Cathkin Park Nick Roberts +27 83 296 4552 info@drakbrew.co.za drakbrew.co.za LIONS RIVER CRAFT BREWERY Lions River Ronald McClelland…

UMQOMBOTHI BREWING COMPETITION 2023 The Umqombothi Brewing Competition held its fourth installment of their annual competition on the 30th of September 2023 in Thembisa. The event winner was 25-year-old Tsholofelo Senwelo from Hammanskraal; she was crowned Queen of Umqombothi 2023 and awarded R5,000. In second and third place were Diketso Naledzan and Nonzwakazi Modise respectively. This year saw 80 entries to the competition - although participation was restricted to Gauteng residents - which was an increase on previous years. The event was hosted by Fika Mokwana, Secretary General of Ekurhuleni Tourism and Heritage Association (ETHA), and sponsors included Tolokazi Beer Co., Mohope Premium, and King Korn. In addition to the prize money, the winner will be mentored by none other than Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela herself on the “art and business of…

FEATURE In brewing, it is easy to be fooled into believing great beer is a result of passion and inspiration alone. While being dedicated, creative and passionate is vital, without the foundation of a sound understanding of the science and best practice, they are unlikely to provide sustained success. One of the main problems as you develop as a brewer is that you don't know what you don't know, often until there's a problem with a brew. There is no substitute for getting your hands dirty and developing some bitter (and maybe sour) experience, but if you want to be a good brewer you need to develop your knowledge of the principles that underpin the process. Taking the correct path when developing a beer/process or solving a problem requires the…

ON THE HOP I will admit that my nerves were vaguely fried when my plane landed in Nairobi. My Kenyan visa had been issued within hours of my departing flight from Cape Town, resulting in a mad dash to get to the airport in time. But the five-and-a-half-hour flight was smooth and the customs line short, a travel feature always appreciated but especially so at 9:00 pm, and the transport company waiting for me outside was easily spotted. My husband had already been there several days, attending a conference hosted by the international organization he works for, which is headquartered in Nairobi. I was on my way to their campus on the west side of the city; I noticed that the expressway which had been under construction during my visit…

STYLE GUIDE There has been a lot of talk recently about the possibility of a South African beer style making it into the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP for short) Style Guidelines. It has certainly sparked a debate about what a South African beer style might look like; would it be something new, does it exist already, and would it be as simple as brewing with 100% locally sourced ingredients? Certainly, there is nothing wrong with the idea of being more environmentally conscious when picking ingredients, and with locally manufactured liquid yeast from Liquid Culture, it is possible for the small brewerto go completely local. After all, we already have access to local hops and base malts. But does the mere use of local ingredients qualify as a new style?…

This is a modified version of a rice beer from YouTuber DrHans Brewery. I tried it last year and it worked well the first time. It was crisp and is easy to modify to suit any homebrew needs. I halved his recipe to make a 10L batch. Base malts 1kg Pilsen Malt 0.5 kg Munich Malt Adjunct grain: 2 cups Thai glutinous rice (or any white rice you can fi nd). It needs to be cooked fully to add to mash. Specialty Malts: 100g Cara Ambra 50g Acidulated Malt Hops Magnum 7.5g @60min, Tettnang 15g @50min; and Tettnang 8g + Saaz 6g @5min Yeas Safale S-33 Mash & Boil 2 step sparge 60 min boil I primed the beer to carbonate to 2.4vol Co2. (I only bottle condition with my…

For this first installment of the Editor's Library, I'd like to recommend a book that changed my understanding of beer's ancient history, and introduced me to the important role that spirituality played in early fermentation. The book is called “Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation,” written by Stephen Harrod Buhner. Here is a quote to whet your appetite: “The ancient beers came from cultures that, on every continent on Earth, say that human beings did not discover fermentation at all. They say it was given to humankind through the intercession of sacred beings, and they insist that these ancient beers contain within themselves some of the essence of the sacred source from which they come. So when we look beneath the surface of ‘beer’ a world…