OnTap Magazine

Patricia Pillay The past two and a half months have been exceptionally busy for the Beer Association of South Africa. We have participated in women empowerment events, we’ve travelled across the country to raise awareness about Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder in communities and have launched a brand new Brew Route in Tshwane. On top of this, we have also kicked off our campaign to see local craft beers being stocked in local supermarkets, alongside wine. Historically, alcohol legislation has only allowed wine to be sold in grocery stores. In order to support local craft brewers and provide them with the opportunity to sell their world class local beers to a wider market, we are lobbying for current legislation to be amended so that craft beer can also be sold in supermarkets. We have therefore written to provincial liquor authorities across the country to kick off discussions on how we can make this a reality. We are also proud to have celebrated women’s month in August, by partnering with the KwaZulu- Natal Liquor Authority to host two symposiums for women operating businesses in the alcohol industry. The aim of the symposiums was to provide micro-manufacturers and female-owned establishments with the support they need tobuild and expand their businesses, while addressing the many challenges they face in a male-dominated industry. We are exceptionally proud to share that over two hundred women attended these events, and we look forward to seeing their businesses grow – and flourish – as a result. On 1 September, the BASA team also joined the Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, on a tour of all South African provinces to raise awareness about Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder in communities. This was the second year that BASA partnered with the Department of Social Development on its 9-9-9 campaign, which seeks to educate women about the dangers of drinking while pregnant or trying to conceive. FASD is an entirely avoidable disorder and BASA remains committed to partnering with government with the aim of making South Africa a FASD free country. And last – but certainly not least – we launched the Tshwane Brew Routes at the start of September, which is tourism month in South Africa.. The Tshwane Brew Routes showcase six local breweries in the area, which beer lovers can visit. We encourage people to visit our interactive, online map, available at www. brewroutes.co.za to view this new route and find local craft breweries near them to support. We hope that you enjoy reading these updates. Be sure to follow BASA on social media for more regular updates as well. Our handles are: @BeerSA_org on Twitter, @BeerSouthAfrica on Facebook and @beer_southafrica on Instagram. Cheers! LETTER FROM THE CEO OF THE BEER ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICA 6 | Spring 2022 | ontapmag.co.za