OnTap Magazine

48 | Autumn 2026 | ontapmag.co.za BREW REVIEWS PANELISTS: Megan Gemmell, Brian Leopold, Troye May, Chris Roth,Olga de Smidt, Dion Van Huyssteen, Chantell Van Niekerk, and Puleng Zacharia A panel consisting of eight experienced individuals review beers for the magazine. Panel members do not necessarily review a beer for every issue, but all names are listed. PLEASE NOTE: if any brewery would like a beer of theirs to be reviewed, they will need to contact On Tap editors directly (editor@ontapmagazine.com ). SAGGY STONE BREWING COMPANY HONEY LAGER | 4.5% 3.8 I haven't seen much new coming out of Saggy Stone for quite some time so I had to jump on this one for a review, and I'm glad I did as this lager went down a proper treat! Liam, who has been at the brewery since 2019, decided to try something new and added 30L of honey, sourced out of Swellendam, to a 1000L batch. The aroma of this beer gave me quite a bit of bread dough with light caramel and a hint of lemongrass (not much honey in the scent). The flavour gave me biscuits in place of the bread dough, and some light caramel yet again. The honey comes through more in the aftertaste and helps the finish of the beer rather well. The viscosity was also fuller than your average lager, due to a slight wheat addition which really assisted the body in a great way! What a tasty lager that was thoroughly enjoyable. 3.8 CANDY CANE/SHACKLETON HOPPY LAGER | 4% 9 Candy Cane and the Shackleton crew brewed up a superb hopped up lager for this limited edition in the Candy Cane range. The Candy Cane project aims to raise funds and awareness for cancer, namely by sending proceeds to individuals who are currently battling cancer, so be sure to pick one up when you see one for their worthy cause. On to the beer: the aroma gives off citrus notes such as orange and lemongrass, along with tropical fruits, those being melon and light guava. The taste is more malt-forward with a hoppy bitterness. Citrus comes through as well on the palate and gives a crisp flavour throughout. What an easy-drinking beer!