OnTap Magazine

In a year when closures could have become the norm, the South African craft beer industry has actually seen a lot of success. In fact, Juandre Jeptha, founder of Northern Bru Brewing Company, believes the lockdown actually had a positive effect on the brand’s launch. “We have a premium product that sells at a premium price,” he says. “The government’s prohibition of liquor sales during hard lockdown saw people willing to pay high prices for bootlegged liquor. In turn, this created a massive surge in demand. When we launched our first batch of Kuila Lager on Heritage Day this year, we sold out in a week, and sold out on our second batch within 24 hours via pre-orders.” Brewed under contract at Dematech in Cape Town, Northern Bru is the country’s first coloured-owned craft beer brand, something that Juandre hopes will encourage others. “It’s a move into a market that we’re proud of, and we hope that other entrepreneurs are inspired by our business,” he says. “We would love to see transformation in the industry and hope to see product innovation and development regardless of race. Beer is a common denominator between all races.” The brand launched with a malt-forward lager (see review on page 62), which will be joined by a Weiss and an IPA in 2021. And while the beer is currently contract-brewed, Juandre – who brews at home on a 50-litre Braumeister – has plans to open his own facility in the future. “It is in progress but we discovered early on that setting up your own brewery is a process, especially from the legality end. We have premises in Blackheath that will be dedicated to the brewery, where we will brew small-scale and speciality beers. We will outsource our large-scale brewing during our fundamental years.” The big goal for 2021 is to find a home for Northern Bru in Kuils River, where the brand has been met with huge enthusiasm. Northern Bru’s Kuila Lager is available online via Mother City Liquors, and can also be found at Barbaroozos in Kuils River, Cattle Baron in Saxenburg and Skilpadvlei Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. Keep an eye on northernbru.co.za for updates on new beers and stockists. Winners of the 2020 South African National Beer Trophy were announced on a virtual ceremony via Zoom, with Devil’s Peak’s Vannie Hout winning Beer of the Year. This year’s competition, which took place over several weeks in October and November, attracted 161 entries from around the country. There were 18 Gold medal winners and 29 silver medals awarded. The gold medal beers were: SA’S FIRST COLOURED-OWNED BEER BRAND LAUNCHES IN CAPE TOWN The seventh annual SA National Homebrew Champs were held in November in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. Judged by 25 qualified and experienced BJCP judges, the preliminary rounds were judged at Afro Caribbean Brewing Company in Cape Town and At Hops End in Johannesburg, with the final round of judging taking place in Cape Town. Cape-based Stephan Marais took the top spot for the second year in a row, with his The Ancient One Old Ale wowing the judges. Second place went to Free State-based Ali Pita for Chichewa Black Imperial Stout, while third place went to former Southyeasters president Cameron Gray for his Flanders Red. Honourable mentions went to Stephan Price for Monkey Business (Belgian dark strong ale), Harm Voster for More Malty Methanol Apples (eisbock), Lee Carpenter for BBM (imperial stout) and Wouter Cronje for ACronicle Festival (international amber lager). Lockdown had undoubtedly affected the competition, with just 54 entries in total this year suggesting that a lot of brewers had drunk their beers before they could submit them. The most popular style entered was speciality IPA, while the most unusual entry was an experimental 22% ABV eisbock aged for five years on heavily charred oak. CAPE TOWN HOMEBREWERWINS NATIONALS FOR SECOND YEAR RUNNING DEVIL’S PEAK TAKES TOP SPOT AT NATIONAL BEERTROPHY Devil’s Peak Brewing Co. Vannie Hout (Best Speciality Trophy; Beer of the Year) Mad Giant Brewery Urban Legend IPA (Best Hoppy Beer Trophy) Cape Brewing Company CBC Pilsner (Best Light Beer Trophy) Jack Black’s Brewing Co . Atlantic Weiss (Best Wheat Beer Trophy) Frontier Beer x Hazeldean Brewing Co. The Haymaker Round 3 (Best Dark Beer Trophy) The Franschhoek Beer Co. La Saison The Franschhoek Beer Co. Liberty Striped Horse Striped Horse Lager Old Potter’s Brewhouse Plaas Japie Jack Black’s Brewing Co. Skeleton Coast IPA Hoghouse Brewing Co. Warthog IPA Hazeldean Brewing Co. Apricot Sour Darling Brew BraaiPA Darling Brew Arrowhead Richmond Hill x Afro Caribbean Bring it Back Session IPA Cederberg Brewery Voetsek IPA Cape Brewing Company CBC Pale Ale Afro Caribbean Brewing Co. Pirate Porter 14 | Autumn 2020 | ontapmag.co.za