OnTap Magazine

SMALL BREWERIES, BIG IMPACT Despite their differing approaches to brewing, these ‘young guns’ share a common thread – they all bring youthful exuberance and a surprisingly large amount of experience to our relatively new beer scene. Without the barriers that were faced by the first wave of craft brewers in South Africa, they’re pushing the boundaries – brewing exciting beer styles, and shaking up the scene in the process. “We want to brew off-the-wall beers by using local ingredients and old school brewing techniques,” says Anja van Zyl, who is in the process of launching Hey Joe Brewing in Franschhoek with owner Gavin Magrath and Belgian master brewer and engineer Bert van Hecke. Anja, who spent three and a half years working under Wolfgang Koedel at CBC started, like most, brewing in the kitchen of her university digs. “We brewed with real basic home brewing equipment but we kicked off with an all-grain recipe and mashed in a cooler box with stockings! I could hear the fermenters bubbling away when I went to bed at night,” Anja remembers fondly. After graduating and cutting her teeth at one of the most well-respected breweries in the country, Anja was offered an opportunity she couldn’t turn down – helping to build and start up a Belgian-inspired craft brewery, Hey Joe. Planned for launch in spring this year, Anja and the rest of the team are designing the brewery themselves, from scratch. “My beers mainly have Belgian origins but with a South African twist - Hey Joe Brewing Company will merge the two countries’ beer styles,” Anja lexplains. “We are going back to basics with a 1961 copper brewhouse and a coolship (a traditional, open- top fermentation vessel), and will transfer to wooden barrels where further conditioning will take place.” Using her background in food science, and love for nature, Anja believes that she’ll be able to brew incredible beers with inspiration from Belgian styles. “I want the South African craft beer drinkers to learn more about Belgian beer styles and the different ways to brew beer. Sometimes less is more.” With that cryptic sign off, it’s clear Anja and the rest of the team at Hey Joe are looking to shake things up in 2018. Head brewer | Hey Joe Brewing Co ANJA VAN ZYL | Age: 26 5 WORLD CLASS CANNING & BOTTLING SYSTEMS Patented seaming & filling technology Intuitive touchscreen HMI Reliable volumetric flowmeters Controlled counter-pressure filling Easy pre-fill sanitation Versatile label application Sales@WildGoose-Meheen.com +1 720.406.7442 www.WildGoose-Meheen.com • Canning & bottling solutions for premium cra beverages • Shortest manufacturing lead time in class • Compact & custom built for virtually any can or bottle size • Over 1,900 systems installed worldwide Partner for Wild Goose – Meheen