OnTap Magazine

20 | Autumn 2019 | ontapmag.co.za Dave and Brandon Auret ‘met Uys’ DAVE A PINT WITH T his edition, Dave sits down with TV and movie actor Brandon Auret at Mad Giant, where they join brewer and owner Eben Uys , for a beer and a fantastic meal. DL: So Eben, do you make the beer we are drinking? EU: I do, but less and less now because I have a very good team and my main focus these days is growing the business and brand and speaking to customers. DL: So what are we drinking today? I have a tasty Urban Legend IPA. BA: I am drinking the Super Session Cannabis Ale – and I like it, there is definitely a hint... DL: Cannabis beers are starting to catch on in South Africa. How do you get around the legislation of CBD? EU: We don’t claim CBD, we use hemp seeds – the whole seed. It’s quite a tricky thing because if you put oil into beer you won’t get head retention, so we have a way in our filtration process to not get the ‘oily bits’ – this is of course a closely kept secret. DL: What is the reason for the cannabis based product? Because of the fad or a fun and topical South African thing? EU: For me it’s a couple of things. I am an eternal optimist - believing that the world can be a better place - so we started last year moving away from plastic, in our packaging, processing and labels because of the amount of damage it causes. I likewise see hemp as a real positive for South Africa if you look at it socio-economically. The hemp farming industry is certainly going to help with job creation. Eventually it closes the loop in a lot of ways, whether it’s what you eat, what you package with or what you wear. I believe cannabis will also provide a lot of solutions for the farming industry in the future as well. DL: So Brandon, I hear that you will be going more into cannabis farming, tell us more. BA: Without saying too much, there is an opportunity with a team of growers to set up a legal grow in Lesotho. On the note of investment into farming, one of the only areas that large investments are being made into farming now is in cannabis farming. In fact the first Canadian growing company has been listed on the stock exchange. DL: Nice to see you branching out from the movie business. How long have you been acting? BA: I have been in the industry for 26 years but in film for 12, it started with children’s theatre and then musical theatre. I toured with the Buddy Holly story for three years and learned to play double bass for that. People often think that you get into the industry and the first gig you get is Isidingo. I have done 32 feature films, including District 9 and Chappie , and seven short films. DL: What was your favorite movie of the 32 – what are you not embarrassed to watch? BA: I really enjoyed Chappie but there are things I like about all of my characters, living out little fantasies. DL: And what’s your most recent movie? BA: Last Days of American Crime – Netflix’s latest big movie. DL: And what part did you play? BA: What am I always Dave, I played the bad guy. DL: So we have the bad guy and the good guy around the table, talking about cannabis over beer, this sounds like a good plot to a movie… maybe something to think about. Check out Mad Giant’s new seasonal menu featuring a range of beer-friendly dishes using ingredients all sourced from within a 150km radius