OnTap Magazine

40 | Summer 2024 | ontapmag.co.za W hen Harper Brewing Company entered the African Beer Cup in 2022, I think it’s fair to say that no-one had heard of them. Their pilsner won a bronze medal, provoking a lot of confused looks from those attending the awards night, as they glanced around the room wondering who was behind the brand. But the fact that they appeared from nowhere and promptly won a medal is only the second most intriguing thing about Harper. The most interesting is the fact that 100% of the profits are donated to local causes. “Our first target is to get to a point where we can give away R100,000 a year,” says Rob Harper, one of the brewery’s founders, although he acknowledges that they’re currently a long way from that goal. After that triumphant debut, Harper seemed to disappear as quickly as they’d emerged – until this year, when their social media channels lit up and the industry started to take notice of this unique charity- focused brand. BEGINNING BREWING Harper Brewing Company was a long time in the making. Rob was first inspired on a trip to the west coast of the USA in 2012. “The beer that made me want to do craft beer was Lagunitas IPA. It was the first craft beer I ever had,” Rob says. He started homebrewing that same year, jumping in with both feet. “We went to the Craft Brewers Conference in the US and saw the Brew Magic system made famous by Dogfish Head, so ordered one and had it shipped over,” he says. “At that time there wasn’t so much homebrewing equipment available in South Africa.” He quickly realised that brewing was going to become more than a hobby. Inspired in part by cousin Josh Littlejohn, who has launched a number of successful social projects in Scotland, the Harper family had long had plans to start some kind of social enterprise. Their family business, Reggae Products, is situated in a large building in Marshalltown, in Johannesburg, and when the 2010s gentrification trend started heading their way, it seemed the perfect time to get started. “At that time, Marshalltown was looking like being a mini Maboneng,” says Rob, referring to the nearby gentrified city district. “There was lots of regeneration, lots of projects in the area and there were plans to create a large arts precinct. We decided we were going to start either a bakery or a brewery, and in the end beer won.” The original idea was to build a taproom, but sadly the area never picked up in the way they’d hoped, so plans for a bar have been shelved, at least temporarily. TEETHING TROUBLES Instead, the Harper family built an impressive 1000-litre system on the third floor of their building. Most would be surprised to learn that Harper’s brewery was installed way back in 2016. But few would be surprised to read the list of issues that held the brewery back from launching. “Not long after having installed everything, we started getting issues with the municipality – billing errors, and demands from them for millions in water and electricity,” explains Rob. “They actually ended up cutting off our electricity in 2017. We managed to get them to reconnect us, but we had further issues and then load shedding basically became a permanent feature.” Follow that up with licencing issues, Covid and a few problems commissioning the brewery and you begin to see why it’s taken them such a long time to get brewing. The final missing piece was a brewer, and he arrived in the form of Gerhard Woest, who moved from X Brewing in 2022 following that brewery’s Covid-era closure. THE BIG PUSH With plans for a taproom on hold, Harper is now focused on two things: online sales and beer festivals. “We have started to build up some momentum with online sales and over the last month or so we’ve been pushing to get our beers on tap in a few venues,” says Rob. “These sales will cover our costs and then hopefully it’ll be the festivals where we’ll actually start seeing profits. I really feel like 2025 is going to be the big push for us.” Earlier this year, they attended their first event, the Benoni Beer and Gin Fest, and sales there meant that they could make their first donation to a local project, Dlala Nje. The social enterprise is based out of Ponte Towers and operates inner city walking tours and other events, including a monthly challenge to run to the top of the once-infamous tower block. Dlala Nje in turn supports various youth upliftment projects in the inner city. In 2025 the Harper team will be attending their first Clarens Craft Beer Festival as vendors, and later that year will be trekking to the Cape for Fools & Fans 8 to showcase their beers. The range includes five flagships and a seasonal lager – Pilsner in summer, Vienna lager for autumn, Schwarzbier for winter and Oktoberfest for spring. Year- round, you’ll find the blonde, a straight- up example of the style at 35 IBUs and 5% ABV, the beautifully balanced pale ale, the malt-forward amber ale and the IPA, an old-school West Coast brewed in homage to the beer that set Rob on this path. Rob will be at the festivals, along with his brothers Gareth and Andrew, to present their beers to the public. And he’ll no doubt be trying to ensure that the next time they win an award, everyone in the room knows exactly who they are, and why they’re here. HARPER BREWING COMPANY HOWTO HELP Buy beers and merch online at harperbrewing.co.za Find Harper Brewing Co. at festivals and buy a big round for all your mates. Follow, like and share: @harperbrewing Harperbrewing L-R: Jared Pakes, Amy Willemse, Gerhard Woest, Gareth Harper at the 2024 Benoni Beer & Gin Fest