OnTap Magazine

THE HEAD BREWER Head brewer and brewery co-owner Adam Foster was born in Durban in 1979. His stepfather worked for South African Breweries and piqued Adam’s interest in brewing by passing on one of their books, The Booklet of Good Brewing Practice. He enjoyed the bitterness of Castle Lager and was fascinated that SAB commanded such a huge market, but it did not occur to him that this was his calling until almost 20 years later when he founded Three Sods Brewery in London Fields with two fellow beer enthusiasts. He moved to the UK in 2007 and started brewing at home with friends David and Jordan on a 100-litre kit called “Betty”. After a few years they were lucky to be offered the basement of the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club to brew in, rent-free. The Three Sods Brewery was born. They sold their beer to the Working Men’s Club and the local pubs in Bethnal Green. After six years of slow growth, they moved to their current home in a London Fields railway arch. How does brewing in the UK compare with South Africa? If I had to compare the two, not that I know a huge amount about the South African market, first impressions are that the selection and availability of ingredients is not as abundant in South Africa as in the UK. And even if interesting ingredients are available, relatively they are quite expensive and so you tend to see a huge disparity at the till. When buying a four-pack of craft beer in South Africa you can probably buy a 24 pack of a mass produced beer for the same price and in that regard it appears that a very small percentage of the population will only ever buy craft beer which is a shame because beer is really for everyone. Does South Africa have an influence on your work today? Most certainly. Apart from the typical South African work mentality, which is generally to work very hard, we have named one of our core rage beers “Rooi Kabouter” which is a red ale and is an absolutely beautiful beer. What are your favourite things about the beer scene in South Africa? I enjoy the fact that the beer scene is current and thriving. The brewery setups are generally top class and people are passionate about their beer. They are always inviting too. I went to go see the guys up in 1000Hills and they were only too keen to showme around. That Brewing Co in Durban were equally accommodating and walked us around their brewery. I went to school at Weston Agricultural College and I remember the Nottingham Road Brewing Company. They were the original “craft ale” brewery in South Africa and it's strange to go back over 20 years later to find that they are still there and thriving. Their beers were excellent too. Have you or do you plan to return to SA and what would you drink? In a perfect world, I would like to take the skills I have learnt in the UK back to South Africa and open up our own brewery there one day. I have this idea about hybridising traditional beer styles across Africa with modern hop cultivars - who knows where it could end up? L-R Three Sods founders David Jonsson Buttery, Adam Foster and Jordan Kirrane www.brewcraft.co.za Contact us for the Worlds Finest Craft Brewing, Distilling, Wine & Cheese Making Products and Ingredients. LiquidCulture Your next brew is our passion! WORLD OF BEER