OnTap Magazine

BREW REVIEWS REVIEWER: Lucy Corne BREWNEWS With South Africa enduring 14 weeks of prohibition in 2020 (at the time of publication), there has really only been one growth category in beer this year: non alcoholics. By the time you read this, you might be happily and legally drinking your favourite craft beer and thinking "why would I want to sip on a non-alcoholic beer now that we can legally purchase actual beer again?", but globally, the non-alcoholic beer category is growing and with South Africans beginning to develop a taste for it this winter, it seems likely that booze-free beer is here to stay. Best of all, with craft breweries entering the category, there is now a lot more variety available in our fridges. Featherstone Brewery GOLDEN MOLE NON ALCOHOLIC (0,5%) 2.9 This would be a great beer to test out your tasting abilities on, since its flavours and aromas are so very subtle. There is a slight – and I do mean slight – aroma of toasted bread and just a hint of spice, but other than that, this could be the cleanest beer you’ve ever sniffed. Like Devil’s Peak’s Hero range, Golden Mole is brewed to 0.5% rather than being brewed as normal and having the alcohol removed afterwards – a difficult and costly process. The beer is based on the brewery’s Golden Mole IPA and while it’s dry-hopped, the hop character is tough to pick up. Still, the beer is crisp and has a highly refreshing carbonic bite. There’s just enough flavour to know that it’s not carbonated water but perhaps not quite enough to recognise it as a beer. Hey Joe Brewing Co. NON ALCOHOLIC WIT IPA 2.9 Although the name is a little baffling, I do have to applaud Hey Joe for thinking outside the box with their first non-alcoholic offering. The use of wheat is smart, giving the beer a bit more body than some of its alcohol-free compadres, while the dry hopping gives it a decent fruity character. The beer kicks off with a fleeting zap of citrus which is followed up by a slightly tart taste – the same sort of tartness you except from a witbier although at a more pronounced level. Right at the end, a sweet, worty character takes over leaving you with a lasting, if not entirely refreshing finish. Triggerfish Brewing NOT GUILTY (0,5%) 3.7 The first thing you notice about this beer is the colour – it’s a beautiful, bright shade of copper and certainly has more going on visually than most local non-alc beers. Aroma-wise it’s also quite the wow moment – a prominent whiff of treacle toffee and a touch of toast. Rather than being brewed to 0.5%, Triggerfish’s non- alcoholic ESB is brewed as usual, with the alcohol being removed later. The result is a beer with a bit more body and a lot more malt character than many alcohol-free options and it might just scratch the itch for those who normally find non-alc brews to be insipid. The beer is set to become a permanent part of the range, with other experimental non-alcs to be found on tap at the Somerset West brewery. 52 | Spring 2020 | ontapmag.co.za