OnTap Magazine

From The Editor I remember it vividly. I had just come back from a brief trip to Botswana and was spending the night in Groot Marico when I received a phone call. “Who was that?” asked hubby. “ e reception was awful but it seemed to be someone wanting to start a beer magazine,” I replied. “Another one?” he asked. It was not the rst time I had been approached to work on a start-up South African beer magazine, but nothing much had ever come from the many meetings and calls. As it turns out this wasn’t just “another one” though. is time it was the one. I felt an instant rapport with Andrew omas, the publisher who had called me out of the blue. He had the sense of fun that beer inherently must elicit in people. He admitted he didn’t know much about beer, but he did know publishing. For me, it was the chance to achieve one of my lifelong goals – to become the editor of a magazine. And not just any magazine – a glossy, beautifully designed one dedicated to the thing I am most passionate about in this world. When On Tap launched in September 2016, I couldn’t have been prouder, although I did worry that there might not be enough stories to sustain a quarterly magazine while allowing me to continue writing my blog. Turns out I didn’t need to worry. anks to an innovative industry and plenty of enthusiastic contributors, we have never struggled for content throughout our ve years in business. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers, advertisers and contributors over the years, with a special shout out to Marcel Harper, who started the journey with us in 2016 and has contributed to every one of our 21 issues. And of course to Andrew, who had the vision to start this thing ve fabulous years ago and who can now admit to knowing a lot more about beer than he did then. According to Wikipedia, the fth anniversary should be celebrated with wood – something that no doubt causes all kind of mirth when it comes to wedding anniversaries. I shall be celebrating with a glass of something special, something aged in wood, something deserving of such a milestone in print publishing. I hope you’ll join me in raising a glass to the past ve years, and I look forward to spending the next ve sharing beers with you via the pages of South Africa’s only dedicated beer magazine. We’re five years old! Cheers! Lucy Corne EDITOR @LucyCorne ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2021 | 1