OnTap Magazine

BREW REVIEWS REVIEWERS: Lucy Corne, Brian Leopold The latest releases from Devil’s Peak step out of the box and offer us something new: non-alcoholic IPAs. The popularity of non-alcoholic beer has definitely increased in the past few years and it's good to see a notable brewery giving us all something different than just a 0% lager. Let’s kick off with To the Sea – winner of a bronze award at this year’s African Beer Cup and for me, the better of the two. The aroma was hop-forward, giving off notes of orange and naartjie with a hint of Corn Flakes in the background. Initially, the high carbonation gives off a palate-engulfing soda water sensation, but the naartjie follows through quickly afterwards and brings the brew to life. – BL Devil’s Peak Beer Company TO THE SEA NON- ALCOHOLIC IPA (0%ABV) 3.5 This juicy IPA gave off aromas of orange and grapefruit, but I found it a little intense on the palate, mainly due to the high carbonation. These beers do kind of come across as watered-down versions of their beer-styles but for non-alcoholic beers they were easy to drink and gave more flavour than other non-alcs I've tasted. I'm sure these will be well received by the non-alcoholic market as they offer something different to what is currently out there. – BL Devil’s Peak Beer Company INTO THE MOUNTAINS NON- ALCOHOLIC IPA (0%ABV) 3.3 Dancing Hops Brewery is a new contract brand operating out of Johannesburg, with each of their beers named for a famous song. The brewer, Liam, once gave me a spiced butternut ale which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I was rather looking forward to this beer. The packaging lures you in from the get-go, and the tropical beach on the label seems to be a perfect spot for to crack open a Kokomo. The beer has hop- forward aroma with mango and peach working together harmoniously, but also a rich bubblegum note hits on the back end. The flavour brought about the peach again but with a ripe guava and good bitterness that balanced it off perfectly. It didn't have an intense juice-like profile to it which I find a lot of the beers in this category give you, and the bitterness level is too high for it to be stylistically accurate, but for me this all made for a much more sessionable drink that I can see myself having often in the future. – BL Dancing Hops Brewery KOKOMO HAZY IPA (5.5%ABV) 3.7 62 | Winter 2022 | ontapmag.co.za