OnTap Magazine

some saison yeast and managed to get it down to 0.5.” Even the style’s founder has struggled to perfect the process. Kim Sturdavant initially added the enzyme during fermentation, although has since experimented with adding it during the mash. Despite the struggles, For the Fools was a huge hit, with festival-goers raving about the beer in Greyton this April. If you’re really lucky you might nd a pint still on tap at the brewery in Franschhoek. NOT THE CHAMPAGNE OF BEERS Since then, Devil’s Peak launched Mistaken for Strangers, a 6% ABV brut IPA, while over in Durban, at Brewing Company released at Brut, available exclusively at their taproom, S43. But perhaps the most successful brut IPA to come out of South Africa is another collab, this time between Metal Lane and Saggy Stone. e marvellously named Champagne Citra Nova was rst released in December 2018 as a limited edition, but it quickly gained an avid following and has since become a seasonal brew, available throughout the summer. When it returns next summer though, you’ll have to look for it under a new name. Metal Lane’s Murray Middleton recently received a letter from the Comité Champagne in France requesting that they stop using the word “Champagne” on the label. “It’s interesting that some small brewery in South Africa caught their eye!” says Murray, impressed by the lengths the association goes to in order to protect their brand. It’s too early to say whether brut IPA will reach the heights of popularity that its hazy cousin has managed, or whether it will be led alongside black IPA as styles that never quite caught on. One thing that you can guarantee is that you’ll see more South African breweries experimenting with brut IPA this year. And who knows – maybe the next great innovation in the ongoing metamorphosis of the IPA will come from our shores. The key ingredient in the brut IPA is amyloglucosidase. Generally used in big beers like imperial stouts and triple IPAs, the enzyme breaks down sugars into small-chain molecules that are easier for yeast to munch on. This means that more of the sugars are eaten up, leaving a thinner, dryer beer. ENZYME ACTION