OnTap Magazine

community. The scene was founded on the backs of homebrewers, taking their desire for “something else” to different degrees of obsessions. Some became craft brewers, some stayed deliberate amateurs that supported the development of new brewers, some of whom would filter into the Craft Beer pool of talent. Helping to solve technical problems and giving tasting feedback But, as Picasso said, first you must learn the rules. This is where clubs like the South Yeasters in Cape Town and the much older Worthogs in Gauteng, played a vital role. Many of the “older” established craft breweries went through these “schools” of likeminded individuals helping to solve technical problems and giving tasting feedback, which resulted in many brewers willing to take the leap to go commercial. The second wave of breweries had breweries like Mitchells, Drayman’s and Boston Breweries ahead of them who paved the way in terms of regulation and piquing the curiosity of the South African marketplace. Without these breweries, perhaps the craft beer scene wouldn’t be where it is today. Natalie and Stephan Meyer were of this next generation of brewers, who owned an apple orchard, but struggled to produce good ciders. “Our first cider batches were horrible! Fortunately, the Worties sorted the issues out for us and even more fortuitously ignited a passion for brewing in Stephan.” They were members of the Worthogs club in Pretoria, lovingly referred to as Worties by the members. “We launched our first commercially acceptable cider in 2005 and being in Clarens saw an opportunity for an outlet in the village. We realised that we needed to offer more than just cider and decided to brew commercially as well and Clarens Brewery was born.” In the Western Cape there was a parallel, yet slightly later movement happening with the South Yeasters Homebrew Club and a few key future brewers came out of this club. Namely, Analize and Mark ter Morshuizen, founders of Honingklip Brewery in Kleinmond. They joined the South Yeasters around 2006, but the club had a history before that. South Yeasters Homebrewers Club started out as an email group on Yahoo “The South Yeasters Homebrewers Club started out as an email group on Yahoo and was initially called Western Cape Home Brewer's Association,” according to chair at the time in the South Yeaster’s Newsletter; the “Cape Argis.” “I remember our first meeting taking place at Boston Breweries,” Analize fondly recalls of their first interaction with the club. There were many other key players in South Yeasters, including Eric van Heerden, founder of Triggerfish Brewing. Fast forward a little and skim over the sudden explosion of new breweries, we have a large number of breweries that have come from the system, but that isn’t the only legacy left. In particular, there has been a growth of homebrew clubs throughout the country. A notable homebrew club formed in 2015, making Triggerfish Brewing its home; The Helderberg Homebrew Club. Eric van Heerden was a huge support in giving a space to a group of brewers looking to share homebrewed beers and learn the art of brewing, while also growing the community of craft beer enthusiasts. There are now clubs in the Free State, Durban, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and an expanded Worthogs club in Gauteng. And there are constantly new breweries coming from the homebrew circuit, albeit not always formerly from the clubs. Lethu Tshabangu, owner of Ukhamba Beerworx started homebrewing while working for Riot Beer. “My first beer was a Honey Blonde, I used local Fynbos honey but I over carbonated it badly,” Lethu recalls humorously. “My second beer was a stout and it was decent; definitely drinkable.” “I took over Riot Beer's space, as I had a good relationship with the owner, Marc Fourie, and when he had outgrown the space, he offered it to me and helped us settle in.” Even the bigger brands have respect for the quality of former homebrewers. Even the bigger brands have respect for the quality of former homebrewers Jack Black has recently taken on the former head brewer of the Red Sky Brewery, Ryan Behnken, who had started as a homebrewer and was a member of the Helderberg Homebrew Club during his time in Gordon’s Bay. They have also taken on Emma Freislich who started out homebrewing with her dad. “I loved drinking beer with my dad and after being gifted the kit we thought why not give it a go and after making some great and not so great beers, it turned into a hobby,” she says. “The very first beer I brewed was an amber ale, which at the time I thought tasted amazing. I can now see the numerous errors that were made, but I think for a first-time brew attempt it was a success!” Emma studied biochemistry and human anatomy and physiology. “I Brewers and fire-fighters at the Summer Beer Festival ontapmag.co.za | Autumn 2023 | 47