OnTap Magazine

Greg and Shawn developed Afro Caribbean’s core range together. Some, such as the British Virgin Islands Bitter and Bacon Chilli Ale, have all but disappeared. Others, like Hopsession, Jungle Paradise, Coconut IPA and Pirate Porter have become flagships. But Afro Caribbean is these days known less for its regular brews and more for its experimental ales, seasonals and endless stream of once offs, a product of Greg’s untamed creativity and questionable attention span. In 2017, after two brewery upgrades and a number of awards on the wall, it was time to take on an assistant brewer. Rochelle Dunlop started off waiting tables downstairs, but had applied for the job with an ulterior motive in mind – to learn the brewing ropes. She quickly moved from waitron to assistant brewer and two years later, to head brewer, leaving Greg to spend more time surfing, beering and travelling. Shawn and Greg still worked together curating recipes, but Rochelle took control of the day-to-day brewing and development of new beers. Together the team won medals in varying shades from South Africa’s beer competitions. In 2019, Jungle Paradise won Beer of the Year at the South African National Beer Trophy and two years later Space Llama, a juicy double IPA, was crowned Best Beer in Africa at the African Beer Cup. NEW BREWERS, NEW BREWS Brewing in a small, creative space is a highly sought-after post and when Rochelle left to run the brew kettles of a Kenyan start-up, local brewers were scrambling to take her position, but the post was destined for Jake Sandenbergh. Well known on the South African beer scene, Jake has worked at Agar’s Brewery, Drifter Brewing Company, Devil’s Peak and canning company Tiny Keg, but in nabbing the Afro Caribbean head brewer position, he seems to have found his place in the local brewing scene. “I wanted to work in a brewery where I could create new recipes all the time and truly be creative,” says Jake. “And it doesn’t hurt that I can walk to work every day.” On the day Jake and girlfriend Veronica Pittendrigh (now the operations manager at Banana Jam) arrived in Cape Town from Johannesburg with a car full of their possessions, they didn’t head straight for their new home in Harfield Village. Instead they went straight to Banana Jam, 900 metres away, for a celebratory pint. Within a couple of years, both would be working there. Jake’s experience and Greg’s mentorship meant it didn’t take long to learn the ropes, and he also has the help of assistant brewer TJ Solomons. A product of Greg’s untamed creativity and questionable attention span A young Greg Casey pours imported Rogue beers in 2012 The Afro Caribbean party at Clarens Craft Beer Festival in 2019 Terrapin Beer's Spike Buckowski joins the ACBC crew for Clarens 2022 Rochelle and Greg celebrate their big win at the 2021 African Beer Cup. 22 | Summer 2022 | ontapmag.co.za