OnTap Magazine

62 | Autumn 2019 | ontapmag.co.za HOMEBRU Q: Why beer? What inspired you to take up the hobby of home brewing? I was invited to a brew day at Nick Reed's house; a man I had never met. Nick and my wife work for the same company and he mentioned to her that he was brewing that weekend. She decided, on my behalf, that I would love to be there. My wife basically arranged a play date for me. I reluctantly accepted. That weekend I did not fall in love with beer; that only happened about a year later. That weekend I fell in love with the technical aspect of it all: the brew system, the enzymatic activity. The alpha acids! This was not art, this was SCIENCE! Q: How have you benefited from being part of the SouthYeasters Homebrewers club? The SouthYeasters became a place where I could find inspiration, but at the same time learn not to be too critical of my own failures while I was still learning the ropes. Inspiration came from the "old guard" – guys who’ve been brewing a while and make beer that is technically perfect. As someone who is super critical of his own beer, to see other new members struggle and realise that you are not the only one that is climbing this hill of knowledge – it all helps to keep your head high and try again. Q: What value do homebrew clubs add to the South African beer industry? Homebrew clubs used to be the breeding ground where many of the commercial craft beer guys started. However, I feel the role has changed. The craft beer market is in a correction and breweries are closing down. We don't need the next 30 commercial brewers. We need homebrew clubs to educate and create the foot soldiers that will spread the word of beer and help grow the market. Q: What resource besides homebrew meetings have you found most useful when learning about brewing beer? Online research has played a big part and is great at building a solid foundation. Nevertheless, becoming part of the beer community outside of just the homebrew club is worth gold. One great example is when I started preparing for my BJCP tasting exam. The monthly review sessions held at Beerhouse not only afforded me a chance to meet with successful craft brewers and be able to ask them questions, but it also expanded my horizons on what beer could be. This is the first time I had a 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze and it made me fall in love with beer. It’s when I realised that spontaneous fermentation is where the science ends, and art takes over in beer making. Q: Tell us about your award- winning Gose which won last year’s National Home Brew Champs. Winter was coming to an end and I wanted to make a "summer" beer that was easy-drinking and would appeal to a wider audience. I ended up doing research on a historical style called Gose and decided this was the one. I first served it to friends at a braai and after one sip they announced that I absolutely had to enter it into the Nationals. The Gose ended up moving to the Best of Show where five certified BJCP judges selected their favourite. I was lucky enough that my beer was the last one standing. If anyone wants the recipe, they’re welcome to contact me on Facebook. Q: What next for Carel van Heerden? I do not have any illusions of grandeur and do not plan on going commercial. My next steps are to take a deep dive into beer by doing an IBD General Certificate of Brewing, just for fun of it. I have a few collabs/brew days lined up with Old Potters and Riot. Most of my "beer" time is spent helping out on the SouthYeasters committee and making sure the club goes from strength to strength. Want to know more about Gose? Read up on the style on page 42. Carel van Heerden took the grand prize in the 2018 SA National Homebrew Champs. Murray Slater sat down to find out what inspires him to brew. NATIONAL HOMEBREW MEETTHE 2018 CHAMPION