OnTap Magazine

ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2025 | 63 OCBREWERY,CAPITALCRAFT,CHOPPERONEBREWERY,YAKIMACHIEFCOLLABORATION THE HOPS MUST BE CRAZY | 6% HAZY IPA BREW REVIEWS PANELISTS: Megan Gemmell, Brian Leopold, Troye May, Chris Roth, Olga de Smidt, Dion Van Huyssteen, Chantell Van Niekerk, and Puleng Zacharia. 4.3 This collaboration brew between OC Brewery, Chopper One Brewery, Capital Craft, and Yakima Chief showed me why collabs are so important. This surreal hazy IPA initially drew my attention with its colourful label design, but then even more so when I smelt it. Hop-forward to another level, this drink brought on tons of tropical fruit notes! Papaya, guava, melon... but citrus and stone fruit weren't far away either. This beer gave my olfactory senses a full-blown party! Thankfully, the aroma pulled through to the palate so my tongue could enjoy this beer just as much as my nostrils. A very enjoyable beer that I found to be near perfect. It's a shame it was a limited release. A panel consisting of eight experienced individuals review beers for themagazine. Panel members do not necessarily review a beer for every issue, but all names are listed. PLEASE NOTE: if any brewery would like a beer of theirs to be reviewed, they will need to contact On Tap editors directly (editor@ontapmagazine.com ). AGARS BREWERY 8 BELGIAN DUBBEL | 8.3% 4.0 It's not often that I get to review a new beer by Agars as they have such a strong core range of beers that they seemingly don't need to bring out new beers. Thankfully though, the Belgian dubbel that they created is fantastic and makes for yet another great addition to their range! This beer is a great amber-to-red colour with a thin white laced head that retained itself very well. The aroma and flavour both bringing on dried fruits such as raisins and prunes, with additions of peach, naartjie, and white pepper. The alcohol was a tad high for the style, but very well-hidden throughout and the beer finished dry, which made for a very pleasant and balanced drinking experience. This is definitely the kind of beer to be had by a warm fire with good friends.