OnTap Magazine

BASA UPDATE CELEBRATING OUR SOUTH AFRICAN HERITAGE WITH BEER Heritage Day on 24 September provides us with an opportunity to celebrate our diversity as a nation and all things proudly South African. This includes our vibrant local beer industry. We are fortunate to have a number of beers that celebrate our country through the use of local ingredients, ingenious beer names and through the look and feel of their brands. Castle Lager, a brand owned by the South African Breweries (SAB), is probably the most well known and most celebrated beer locally and abroad. The brand prides itself in playing a integral part in maintaining South African traditions, heritage and culture, as a synonymous brand associated with national sports events and the braais that precede them. SAB also makes use of many locally grown brewing ingredients. The Soul Barrel Brewing Company based in the Cape Winelands, has built a brand on championing local ingredients in their beers, whether it is yeast naturally harvested from the environment, local herbs and fruits or South African grains and hops. Their Cape Cone IPA is brewed with 100% South African barley and hops, showcasing just what can be done with our homegrown ingredients. Then there are brewers who have started exploring the use of traditional African grains to partly replace barley as their source of fermentable sugars during the brewing process. Ukhamba Beerworx, based at the V&A Waterfront, is probably the first local craft brewery to commercially release a beer brewed with sorghum malt – Utywala Sorghum Saison. Tolokazi Beer in Johannesburg has also released its own versions of a “modern mqombothi”– a Sorghum Pilsner and an African Pale Ale, both of which make use of sorghum malt and local hops. In a recent collaboration with Tolokazi Beer, the Soul Barrel Brewing Co. released a limited-edition brew; a fusion of European barrel ageing techniques with traditional African brewing methods. The result is a first of its kind umqombothi/ale hybrid called Wild African Soul. We also have a few breweries which like to explore the use of local herbs in their beers - Loxton Lager, owned by Human Brew in Johannesburg, uses fynbos, buchu and other indigenous herbs to evoke the thought and taste of our unique South African landscape. The Mountain Brewing Co in the Western Cape has a limited seasonal release Fynbos Ale. We then have the breweries who celebrate being South African through their beer label designs. YNG GNS Craft Brewery, based in KwaZulu Natal, recently won a platinum medal for their South African inspired labels at the International Craft Beer Marketing Awards. Tolokazi Beer, Amasiko Brewery and Nguni Brewing Co all make use of distinctively South African designs across their ranges too. Last, but certainly not least, we have the brewers naming their beers after all the things that remind us of what it is like to be South African. Mountain Brewing Co. released Loadshed Lager, while Ukhamba Beerworx celebrates its State Capture IPA. Zwakala Brewery in Limpopo has Weekend Special White IPA, a beer that evokes a dancing spirit in remembrance of the iconic Brenda Fassie. Smack Republic Brew has a range of beers that will take you on a walk through the streets of downtown Johannesburg, with their Braamfontein Brawler, Newtown Nemesis, Hillbrow Honey, Maboneng Maverick and Bree St Belle. This Heritage Day, consider celebrating what it is to be South African by heading on down to your local craft brewery to experience the range of diversity unique to our local beer industry. 14 | Spring 2021 | ontapmag.co.za