OnTap Magazine

From The Editor I ’ve lived in South Africa for 12 years now and I will admit I have done a pitiful job of learning any of the o cial languages, other than the one I grew up speaking in my native UK. I have taken a couple of beginner isiXhosa courses and have learnt enough Afrikaans to know when someone is insulting my mother, but on the whole my grasp of South African languages is shameful. I do however speak the local language of booze quite well. I mean, if you chatted to a Brit fresh o the boat and told them you had to call in the Little Green Ambulance because you’d overdone it the night before on the Zamalek, the Mampoer or the Klippies, they probably wouldn’t have a clue what you were talking about. Alcohol forms a part of most cultures and this issue, as a tenuous link to September being heritage month, we asked regular contributor Rob Cass to come up with a list of proudly South African beverages (with the caveat of no beer being allowed on the list). I think it’s the best piece he’s written for us so far – check it out on page 52 and let us know if you agree. Beer has a whole vocabulary of its own and deciphering the relationship between OG and ABV, or how making a DDH IPA will a ect its IBUs can be a little daunting. at’s why we introduced the Beerginner’s Guide – a column that demysti es some of the jargon surrounding craft beer. In this issue Carl Nienaber focuses on hops – the best known and least understood ingredient for craft beer newcomers. Whether you’re just getting interested in beer or have been brewing (and drinking) for years, we hope you’ll enjoy the spring issue of On Tap. Find us on social media and let us know which articles you enjoyed the most – and if you learnt any new words while reading. Learning the language Masiseleni! Lucy Corne EDITOR @LucyCorne ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2022 | 1