OnTap Magazine

DEVILS PEAK BEER CO. X MIKKELLER CAPENHAGEN 7 Another pivotal collab which brought together the biggest South African craft brewer with the Danish rockstar brewery Mikkeller. One of the first New England IPAs available in South Africa, this beer set the scene for a wave of international collaborations and the short-lived existence of Mikkeller in South Africa. FRONTIER BEER CO X HAZELDEAN BREWING CO. THE HAYMAKER 9 South Africa’s most successful ongoing collab beer takes place annually between Gauteng brewers Hazeldean and Frontier. The first two iterations of this barrel aged imperial stout took silver medals at the 2017 and 2019 South African National Beer Trophy respectively. The third edition of Haymaker went on to win gold at the 2020 competition, while Round 4 took a gold at the 2021 African Beer Cup. BREWER'S DOZEN AFRO CARIBBEAN BREWING COMPANY SPACE LLAMA 12 Another limited release and the overall winner of the 2021 African Beer Cup, this beer has set a precedent for beer in South Africa. This is a world class example of a notoriously difficult beer to put out commercially as a packaged product. This beer embodies just how far the industry has come in terms of quality, packaging, and the sophistication of the craft beer consumer. DRIFTER BREWING COMPANY OCEAN AGED TRIPEL 11 If you’ve ever encountered the Drifter Brewing Company team at a beer event you would know them as fun loving nautical themed scallywags. True to form, in 2017 they brought their own unique spin to the great Belgian tradition of bottle conditioning beer by sinking a batch of beer to age for a year on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. These barnacle-crusted bottles caused quite a sensation and the feat was repeated the following year. THE 400 BREWING COMPANY HARAMBE 10 Another now legendary annual release is the Harambe imperial black IPA from the 400 Brewing Company. Each edition of this beer aims to push the envelope in terms of alcohol level, brewing techniques and branding – as well as courting some controversy along the way. The 400 Brewing Company put the rock ‘n’ roll into our local beer scene and long may they carry on doing so. LITTLE WOLF THE SOUR PLUM 8 Sour mixed culture beers have become standard for breweries in other countries yet remain quite novel in South Africa. The tragically no longer operating Little Wolf built much of their reputation on the back of world class sour beers and this particular beer was the pinnacle. Winner of the gold medal in the American Wild Ale category at the 2019 African Beer Cup this was a near perfect example of everything good about sour beer. 46 | Spring 2021 | ontapmag.co.za