OnTap Magazine

It has been so encouraging to see how many craft brewers have switched to packaging in cans. It’s been said many times before in these pages but bears repeating: cans are absolutely the best packaging format for beer, and pretty much every other beverage, in every possible way. Even the winemakers are getting onboard! I hope to see even more brewers moving to cans in the next year. With the way that giant national brands have so comprehensively dominated most of the food and drink market in SA, regional specialties are not common across the country. With regards to beer, I would really like to see a shift towards more regional focus for breweries. Beer is at its best when fresh and consumed close to the source and I encourage everyone to support their local brewery. This style was widespread in the early days of the craft beer revolution but seems to have fallen out of favour in recent years. It remains one of my favourite beer styles with a great balance of rich malt notes and the burst of new world hops you expect from modern American beer styles. I really hope to see this great style back on shelves and taps next year. Supporting local brewers is important, but I also believe it is very important to have a good selection of imported beers available to consumers. Most often these are world class examples of beer styles and serve as good benchmarking for local brewers, as well as an introduction to some more interesting beer styles for adventurous drinkers. We have a great selection of Belgian beers available in SA and I hope to see some more great imported beers from other parts of the world.. To me, cask ale is the most perfect expression of everything I love about beer. I nearly died of excitement when Shackleton Brewing Company announced a cask ale festival back in 2018. Shackleton regularly have cask ale available in their tap room but very few other breweries have tried their hand at it. I would so dearly love to see more cask ale, especially up in Joburg, but more than that I would love to see another cask ale festival Collaborations between brewers are fun. Each brewer brings their own personality and brewing style to the table and what normally results is a beer that pushes stylistic boundaries, featuring interesting ingredients and innovative techniques. Collaborations also remind me of the spirit of comradery that makes this community special. More please! Beer is at it’s best when fresh and consumed close to the source MORE BEER IN CANS SUPPORTING LOCAL MORE AMERICAN AMBER ALE CASK ALE NEW IMPORTED BEER MORE COLLABORATIONS 44 | Summer 2021 | ontapmag.co.za