OnTap Magazine

16 | Spring 2025 | ontapmag.co.za our energies on distribution and [the] marketing of the beer.” To Ross’s own admission, he was not a very experienced homebrewer, his strengths lay in sales and marketing. THE BRAND: Ross grew up in South Africa, and as such was aware of the success lagers had experienced in the region. The weather in South Africa lends itself to the style and that was evident in the success of large multi-nationals originating in Southern Africa. “We didn’t have much money, when we came back.” he recalls. “I knew that coming back to this country and selling an India Pale Ale or any other form of beer, might be more of a challenge than a lager.” So, that’s how they started. Upon looking at the lager styles, attempting to bring something unique to the local market, they stumbled upon a style made between the 1900s and 1930s, known as the pre-prohibition lager. “This style was [traditionally] fermented at higher temperatures, using local hops from New York State.” Ross recalls. “We wanted to take on that style of a slightly fuller, richer, more flavourful lager, but still a lager.” This was the recipe they developed with the friend in Vancouver and at the same time started thinking about the name of the beer and brand around it. They looked through stories from the same time-period and found a fascinating tale about a family of hop farmers called the Blacks. John Black, the son and nicknamed Jack Black, was said to have brewed his own beer with the hops they grew on the farm. “Legend has it he distributed some of that to speakeasies during prohibition.” The connection to the selected beer style made for a nice tie-up and Ross says they decided to name the brand after Jack Black. “We kinda took on that persona: let’s have a bit of a maverick approach to it. [Let us] take on the beer industry in South Africa. We’re the small guys, but let’s give it a good go.” From a branding perspective, of course it was an easy name for people to remember, which worked in their favour. “A lot of the subsequent brewers took on some of the local elements, which we understand, but back in 2007 local wasn’t perhaps as relevant in the craft brewing scene. A lot of folks were drinking Stella or Peroni, international brands. We also wanted to give it some of that international flair.” GETTING STARTED: As Ross tells me of the early days, I can hear the excitement as he fondly recalls how they got Jack Black off the ground. “It was quite the undertaking to start a different line of work when we started the business and it was full on from day one.” Meghan headed up a lot of their marketing and brand direction, “That was her forte,” Ross explains. “I bought a little bakkie and I had to drive out to Hermanus and pick up stock. I did that two to three times a week, go out to Stanford and bring it back to a small warehouse a friend had rented me for a very low price.” Ross clarifies, “and I would store the beer there and deliver from that space.” And while I was out there delivering beer and installing draft equipment and doing sales, Meghan was marketing and [doing] administration.” They soon found they got the most traction selling their beer at markets, ice cold and fresh out of a barrel. “[We had a] tremendous reception there, lots of people having a good time drinking Jack Black, eating good food and listening to good music.” It was during this time they also noticed that beers from bottles did not sell as quickly as beers from tap. Whenever they installed a beer tap, the volumes would suddenly spike. This became central to their business model, and is still a very important component to Jack Black’s success in their brand home The state-of-the-art Kaspar Schulz brewhouse