OnTap Magazine

I will admit that my nerves were vaguely fried when my plane landed in Nairobi. My Kenyan visa had been issued within hours of my departing flight from Cape Town, resulting in a mad dash to get to the airport in time. But the five-and-a-half-hour flight was smooth and the customs line short, a travel feature always appreciated but especially so at 9:00 pm, and the transport company waiting for me outside was easily spotted. My husband had already been there several days, attending a conference hosted by the international organization he works for, which is headquartered in Nairobi. I was on my way to their campus on the west side of the city; I noticed that the expressway which had been under construction during my visit the year before was now complete, making such cross-city journeys much faster. I ask the driver, Daniel, about this and he tells me that the new roadway had indeed improved congestion in the capital significantly, addressing a frequently heard complaint from those who live there. Daniel also tells me that there are two things I simply must consume while I am in Nairobi. The first is “Nyama Choma,” which translates roughly to grilled meat, and the second is a Tusker, Kenya’s most recognizable commercial beer brand. Owned by East African Breweries Limited (EABL), Tusker is “the largest African beer brand in the Diageo group,” per Wikipedia. Luckily, my husband had a cold one waiting for me once I had settled into the hotel on campus. A pale lager coming in at 4.2% ABV, it was a refreshing end to a stressful day. GETTING A LAY OF THE LAND I had my sights set on visiting the 254 Brewing Co. who I remembered from the Africa Beer Cup earlier in the year. They had won two awards: a silver in the Strong Belgian Ale category for their Muratatu, and a bronze in the IPA category for Sand Trap. I thought they could give me a sense of the beer-lay-of-the-land, in part because a Google search had definitively not. So, the following afternoon, hubby and I headed over to their brewery’s taproom, located in Kikuyu, a town slightly further northwest of the city. The 10km drive there from campus took longer than anticipated, largely because once we exited the main road, we found ourselves on winding mostly-dirt roads lined with a surprising number of speed humps. It was a cool, slightly overcast day, which only accentuated the verdant nature of the hilly landscape, one that was – to my immense pleasure – dotted with flowering lavender Jacaranda trees. As we neared the tap room we did start to wonder if we were in the right place. The area looked both rural and industrial, and the route felt increasingly like side or private roads. Eventually, we approached a car park of what looked like shared business space, with no visible 254-related signs. When I asked the guard outside with some skepticism if this was the 254 taproom, he motioned for us to pass through the gate and sure enough, just around the bend and tucked cozily into the corner was 254 Brewing Co. Saturday in TBD is gonna be bonkers The taproom itself is modest in size, but they have strategically optimized outdoor seating in front with a small porched area surrounded by potted plants, as well as a beige-tarped awning on the pavement of the parking lot suspended over painted metal barrels and black plastic high chairs. Inside, another smattering of tables, with one wall adorned in black and white photos of patrons enjoying their 254-branded beverages. Perhaps the most interesting sight is that of their actual brewingoperation, viewable behind glass as you walk down a hallway on your way to the bathroom. Hubby and I shared a flight of the beers they had on tap, which included the Niaje (a “Kenyan lager”), Muratatu (a golden Belgian Tripel), Sand Trap (IPA), and a Nitro Stout. My favorites were the Stout and Muratatu (although we stuck with a taster for the latter given its 10% ABV); my husband’s vote also went to the Muratatu. Looking around, as foreigners we were a minority in what appeared to be a local crowd familiar with the joint. This was far less the case at their second location in town. Known as “The Beer District” in the nightlife-friendly Westlands neighborhood, this bar-restaurant boasts not just craft beer, but “epic bar food,” live Kenyanmusic (enjoyedwitha“proper stage and sound system”), and of course sports- watching. In fact, the night my husband and I visited they were gearing up for the Rugby World Cup Final. When we arrived around 6:00 pm, the place was already busy and buzzing with a hip, diverse, dapper-looking crowd. I had reached out to Eoin Flinn, founder and CEO of 254 – originally from Ireland (his name, Eoin, is pronounced like ‘Owen,’ not ‘Ian’ or ‘Ewan’ as hubby and I argued on the cab over) – about scheduling an interview and in response he asked, “Do you want a mellow night or a mental one? Brewery on Friday will be chill… and Saturday in TBD is gonna be bonkers.” 254 Brewing Co. Taproom with beer flight 254 Brewing Co. Taproom in Kikuyu (Pic courtesy of 254) The crowd at The Beer Disctrict (Pic courtesy of 254) 40 | Summer 2023 | ontapmag.co.za