OnTap Magazine

Brewers couldn’t brew, people couldn’t earn and soup kitchens couldn’t cope with the demand – lockdown has caused immeasurable problems nationwide. A growing group of brewers found a way to tackle a few of those problems by swapping malt for veggies and turning their brewhouses into giant soup pots. We chatted to Andre Viljoen (Woodstock Brewery), Nick Bush (Drifter Brewing Co.) Bruce Collins (Stellenbosch Brewing Co.), Niall Cook (Richmond Hill), Charlie Murray (Long Beach Brewery) and Trevor Gerntholtz (Old Potter’s Inn and Brewhouse) to find out all about the Brewers Soup Collective. OT: Where did the idea to make soup instead of beer come from? AV: We have big pots! We were sitting there with all these huge pots not being used and I was seeing images of hungry, desperate people. Over history, brewers have always provided in times of famine and disease, so it just seemed like the right thing to do. Other breweries have since joined us and now we have 11 brands on board: Woodstock, Drifter, Long Beach, Richmond Hill, Stellies, Old Potter’s, The Brewery at Hemel en Aarde, Hermanus, Bing’s Bru, Lakeside and Beerhouse on Long. OT: How many litres are you making per week? AV: Between us and Drifter, we’re making about 5,500 litres per day, six times a week at the moment. So far we have served about 600,000 portions. Some of the smaller breweries are just producing once or twice a week. We also get a donation of about 1,000 loaves of bread a day from Premier Foods/ Blue Ribbon which goes with the soup to ensure the meal is filling for our customers. NC: We are producing 1800 litres once a week and will continue to do so for as long as we have the funds to support it. OT: So what goes into the soup? NB: It varies a little depending on what we can get fresh from the market, but it’s all good, wholesome veggies. In a typical batch at Drifter we’ll use 350kg of potatoes, 250kg of butternut, 50kg of carrots, plus salt, cumin, onion powder and about 600 litres of water. We keep the seasoning quite light to make sure it’s suitable for all palates. All of the breweries are generally using the same base recipe. Then we rely on volunteers to help peel and chop all the veggies ready to go into the mash tun. OT: What’s the most difficult part of the process? AV: It’s a much easier process than brewing, although there is a lot of very heavy lifting involved. We did break our mash rake early on, when we mashed in with cold water. That was a pretty expensive error! TG: You have to watch for a stuck mash – a stuck mash with potato and butternut is no picnic! NC: For us at the moment it’s arranging the distribution, but I’m sure it will get better as we go along. OT: How is the soup distributed? NB: Each brewery has its own setup. At Drifter we are working with 10 local NGOs who collect the soup in huge flow bins and then distribute it via soup kitchens and other organisations in areas where there is a need. Most of the breweries are working with a team of local NGOs to get the soup to where it needs to be. CoCT Disaster Management and Premier Foods/Blue Ribbon, the bread donor, have lent the initiative trucks and drivers as well. TG: We’re a very small operation up here in Greyton. We’re Photo by: Shanna Jones 8 | Winter 2020 | ontapmag.co.za