OnTap Magazine

LC: You were last in South Africa in 2006 when craft beer really wasn’t a thing here, but it has changed a lot since then. What are your impressions of the South African beer scene? GO: In some ways, it feels like it’s 1992 or 1993 – you guys are really at the start of your journey. But in other way it’s very much 2019. I’ve seen breweries putting out Belgian styles and sours and trying out things like brut IPAs, so there is certainly a variety that didn’t exist in the States in the early 90s. The South African brewers are keeping up with global trends and I’ve tasted some really good beers while I was here. LC: Have there been any stand-outs? GO: Loxton Lager certainly stands out, not only for the flavour but also for the degree of difficulty. Having tasted and learned a lot about fynbos during my stay, I can see that it’s a difficult ingredient to work with and they really nailed that flavour profile. As a classical, nicely brewed beer I think the Drifter porter that won the overall prize in the African Beer Cup was a very nice beer that could stand a chance of winning anywhere in the world in that category. I would happily sit down and drink a few pints of it. Soul Barrel’s Ale of Origin was a really nice example of something that really shows its surroundings. I like the idea of something having its own signature – he’s in wine country and the beer has some wine elements and is really nicely balanced. LC: There is a lot of talk about the need to develop a distinctly South African beer style. What would you see that as being? GO: That’s definitely a route you guys should follow. You’ve got to figure out what your contribution to the world of beer is – if your contribution is just copying another New England IPA then that’s not a contribution. I think the path is either using fynbos or sorghum – or maybe both. I think the sorghum saison collab that we did with Afro Caribbean is a good direction to head in, where it has some Belgian DNA and some traditional sorghum beer DNA. It would be great to end up with some recognisable characteristics of traditional beer. LC: You got to judge the final round of the African Beer Cup. Did you know much about what was happening around the continent before you came down? GO: In terms of craft, no, not at all really, though I have a great interest in traditional African beers. At home I’ve been working on the beer which uses fonio, a millet-type grain that comes out of Central and West Africa. The beer, Teranga, is 50% fonio. I know that Clement Djameh of Inland Microbrewery in Ghana is working on beers based on traditional sorghum beers which is very interesting. I was glad I got to taste some very traditional umqombothi while I was here. It was fascinating to see how it ripened and changed as I tasted it each day. LC: We treated you to a plate of mopani worms. You’re kind of the expert on food and beer pairing, so what would be the perfect pairing for them? GO: (Laughs) Well I think a saison would work really well. There’s not much flavour to the mopani worms themselves, more of a textural thing, so something dry and sharp and aromatic that works with the chilli sauce they were served with would be the way to go. They say you should never meet your heroes. Nonsense, says our editor Lucy Corne , who recently got to spend a week hanging out with brewer, beer author, foodie and general guru of all things malt, hop, yeast and water related, Garrett Oliver. 10 | Winter 2019 | ontapmag.co.za