OnTap Magazine

OT: WHERE DID THE IDEA FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL BEER TROPHY COME FROM? WR: My Father is French and mother is Belgian. So obviously enjoying beer, wine and the ‘fun’ things has always been a part of my life growing up. In 2015 I was studying marine biology and had no real idea of what I wanted to do. My father un- derstood my situation and approached me with an idea. He knew the Craft Beer culture in South Africa was still pretty young and saw an opportunity to create a competition that would cancel out the noise of a busy and experimental scene for a consumer that was yet to under- stand the beauties of craft beer. OT: PUTTING ON A COMPETITION IS NO EASY TASK; HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT SETTING IT UP? WR: At the time, I knew nothing of the beer world, I just knew that I liked beer I had done a trip through Europe with a close friend of mine and we spent some time with friends and family of mine in Brussels. But we got to work quickly, I read a ton of books on how to brew, attended brew- ing bootcamps to understand a bit more about what it takes to make beer and how to make different beers. We settled on BJCP (the Beer Judge Certification Program) as the foundation for our com- petition, registering it as an official BJCP event. OT: WHAT DID YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE BY PUTTING THIS COMPETITION TOGETHER? WR: Our vision was to focus solely on the South African market, to give South Afri- can drinkers guidance in this new world of South African beer. We wanted to em- phasise good quality beers. No one in the beer world had heard of either myself or my father, JV Ridon. As a result, con- vincing breweries to take part in the com- petition was quite tricky at first. OT: HOW MANY BEERS DID YOU HAVE IN THE FIRST COMPETITION AND HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT JUDGING IT? WR: In our first competition we had around 60 beers and they were tasted over the course of a weekend. Our judg- es comprised of industry names like Lucy Corne, (the Beermistress) Tim Godfrey (SAB brewer), Matthew Hurst (co-founder of the Helderberg Homebrew Club) and Murray Slater (partner at Beerhouse at the time). I remember being so happy when we were done with the competition, we were proud of ourselves and what a feel- ing to share that with my father. I will hold that moment close to my heart. OT: WHAT ABOUT THE STRUCTURE? HOW DID YOU ALLOCATE MEDALS? WR: We allocated medals based on scores, certain thresholds had to be reached for Gold, Silver and Bronze. OT: HOW HAS THE COMPETITION GROWN? WR: We now have between 150 - 200 lo- cal beers being judged every year. This is a handful with only three people in the team. Sofia Brandt, joined the team in 2022, which has made a fantastic im- pact on our peripheral organisation. Kim Williams has also been a part of the team since 2019 and both play a crucial role in the organisation. In 2023 we strengthened our existing partnership with the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA), who had, wanted us to organise a black-tie event for our prize giving. This allowed us to elevate beer to a “premium” sort of environment. OT: WHO WON THE 2023 COMPETITION? WR: 1000 Hills scooped up beer of the year in 2023 with their “The Fes” beer, a Belgian Ale. Doctrine Brew came in close second with their “Will-o'-the-Wisp” Pilsner-style beer infused with African Wormwood. OT: WHERE DO YOU SEE THE COMPETITION GOING IN THE FUTURE? WR: 2024 is the 10th edition of SANBT (time Flies!). Moving forward we would love to include traditional South African Brews as part of the competition, letting the country know that South Africa has been brewing for hundreds if not thou- sands of years and maybe bring some older styles of brewing back to the pub- lic. We are always trying to push the enve- lope and shine a light on this beverage, which is often overshadowed by wine. For more details SANBT, visit: https://sanbt.com Craft beer professionals mingling Cederberg Brewery team William and JV Ridon - founders of the SANBT ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2024 | 17