OnTap Magazine

ontapmag.co.za | Winter 2025 | 41 Megan started as a homebrewer, and then later became owner and brewer at Clockwork Brewhouse in KZN. Megan was asked to talk about how that transition came about – what challenged and facilitated the shift – and how it informs her view of craft’s position in the broader beer landscape now. • Megan got her start while still at university, in part with the support of the Intervarsitybrew program that was kicking off around that time. SAB donated equipment and sponsored ingredients for an on-campus microbrewery, which “for a poor student was really great.” • It was then that she realized how incredible the brewing community could be. The science community, she tells us, in contrast can be “quite unforgiving, especially in research.” • She and a few others started a homebrew club. They then got “ambushed” at a homebrew event about starting a commercial brewery: “We jumped at the idea; we didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be.” • The brewery was self-funded from the beginning. “We built our brewery using second-hand stainless-steel tanks…We brewed with what we had. We brewed beers specific to what our system could accommodate.” It was completely organic growth, no outside funders. “We found we were selling whatever we were making. When there was a bit of profit on the top, we upgraded our systems, and continued to grow. It worked for us. We love brewing diverse beers. I wanted to brew beers that I wanted to drink, thank goodness our customers love to drink them too.” • They knew if they had outside investors, they’d hear from themabout how tomake that money back and pay their investment off. “We didn’t want to be dictated to.” • “I am a scientist; I am not very good at marketing, or sales or social media; I’ve had to learn all these things along the way…” • Megan adds that they were lucky: “When we started, craft beer was very young, and we had a captive market. We were able to grow our customer base quite easily, and quite quickly. We had people keen for new stuff. Customers grew with us. We built our brewery alongside our customers.” • “I don’t know how easy it would be now; I think you’d have to hit the ground running with marketing and distribution. There’s a lot more of us now on the market. You can’t rely on brewing beer alone.” MEGAN: Jessi spoke to us about her road from arriving in Rwanda to do design work, to “accidentally” starting a brewery. She was also asked to touch on what Kweza’s priorities are in terms of incorporating traditional African beers and ingredients into the beverages it produces. • A landscape architect by training, Jessi initially went to Rwanda to design an agricultural campus for a six-week project. While there, she got desperate for “good beer” because all they had at the time were two macro lagers in country. She started brewing on the side. • Kigali is a small city, and word spread. Pretty soon she got a call from a brewery in Canada that had tried and failed to start a brewery in Rwanda two years prior. They asked if she’d be willing to help get it re- started. • “Design work is cutthroat!” she tells us. “But craft beer folks have been so welcoming and helpful. We built Kweza on the advice we got.” • They are the only craft brewery in the country, so the market is wide open. There are no other breweries they are competing with. However, that also means there are no supply chains, and there is no consumer awareness of what craft beer is. • To complicate matters, they decided to be women-owned and women- led, and to brew only using local products. • With a background in forestry, horticulture, ecology and agriculture, Jessi wanted to see how beer, business and biodiversity could all work together. • Sorghum is native to east Africa; it’s a part of Rwanda’s national crest: “Can we modernize this main ingredient into something that people want to consume today?” • Young Rwandans who don’t want to drink the traditional homebrew: “I want something modern. I want a ‘clear beer.’” • “Why would you want to sit in Rwanda and drink a German beer? Go to Germany where it’s good! So, we are trying to figure out: what is beer in Rwanda?” • Sorghum, millet, fonio, teff: these things are still considered an “alternative grain” – but this is Africa. It should be the main ingredient! Barley is the alternative! • For example, someone from Lallemand told her that “there is no commercially available yeast that has its origins in Africa.” That should be changed. • “Brewing is a $555 billion a year global industry and 97% white male owned and managed. How do we re-diversify that?” Decision-making matters, wealth generation matters, so how do we start to diversify who is sitting in these seats. JESSI L to R: Charlene, Derek and Megan (Marla Burger Photography)