OnTap Magazine

I t was a ballsy move when you think about it. Craft beer was so new that people were still pronouncing IPA as ‘eepa’ and the most common utterance at a festival was “give me whatever tastes the most like Castle”. But back in 2011, when there were hardly 40 breweries to be found across the country, Natalie and Stephan Meyer decided to start their own beer festival – and if that wasn’t risky enough, the chosen location was about 300km from the nearest sizable city and had a permanent population of less than 1000. Natalie never predicted what a hit the Clarens Craft Beer Festival would be. In fact, she’s extremely modest when asked about the festival’s popularity. “Thank you for considering it a huge success, I appreciate that very much,” she says. “It still remains a surprise and a thrill when the public continue to respond so positively. It does put a lot of pressure on us to keep the standard high and keep the event fresh, but that in itself is great fun.” The festival started as a coming together of craft brewers and homebrewers, inspired by the Wort Hogs annual beer festival in Pretoria. At the time a lot of South Africans didn’t know what craft beer was and the Meyers hoped to show the Clarens locals – and the town’s many visitors – just how awesome beer could be. It worked. In year one, 1100 visitors attended the event and by the fifth year, all 7000 tickets began to sell out in advance and accommodation became tougher to get hold of than a Justin Bieber concert ticket circa 2017. SPECIAL BREWS One of the things festival-goers love about the event is the special edition festival beers brewers are required to bring. “I think we may have been the first South African festival to include that and it has launched so many great beers,” says Natalie. “The public have become so au fait with this now that some only ask for the festival brews.” And it seems that those who love special beers will have plenty to look forward to in 2020. “The brewers will be challenged,” says Natalie, cryptically. “But we’re not saying too much about this right now. There will be cool memorabilia, fabulous 10-year edition glasses and some great activations. However, this event is all about the beer, and the public can expect to be treated to amazing offerings from the brewers.” There is more to Clarens than just the beer though. For me at least, there’s something of a youthful, carefree feel about the whole affair. It harks back to university summers when you had nothing to do but shoot the shit and drink beer with your friends in the sunshine. That’s why last year, a group of us decided that the weekend alone wasn’t enough. Most people make Two full days of excellent beer; lots of laughter, love and camaraderie Want to join us along the road in 2020? We’ll be carrying a few crates of Road Trip IPA to dish out along the way. ROAD TRIP MOSSEL BAY FEBRUARY 17: Come and join us at Kaai 4 where we’ll be unveiling the 2020 Clarens Road Trip beer and hanging out with our friends from South Cape Breweries JEFFREYS BAY FEBRUARY 18: After a collab with Brewhaha we’ll be chilling at their taproom all evening to talk and taste beer – and you’re all invited! CLARENS FEBRUARY 20: Pop into the Clarens brewery for a free hug! CLARENS FEBRUARY 21 & 22: Come and find the Afro Caribbean stand to taste the Road Trip IPA as well as other festival brews. We might even have some road trip merch for you. RICHMOND FEBRUARY 23: Dress-up party in the Karoo at the legendary Die Krip 2020 There's always time for a selfie, even on the long drive to Clarens ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2019 | 25