OnTap Magazine

ontapmag.co.za | Winter 2025 | 57 TWICE BLESSED, SAGGY STONE, AND FOOLS & FANS AFRO POP | 5.5% HAZY IPA BREW REVIEWS PANELISTS: Megan Gemmell, Brian Leopold, Troye May, Chris Roth, Olga de Smidt, Dion Van Huyssteen, Chantell Van Niekerk, and Puleng Zacharia. 3.7 Be sure to give this beer a gentle swirl before pouring—much of its character settles at the bottom of the can and deserves to be fully experienced. This Hazy IPA opens with subtle bitterness that lingers pleasantly after the first sip. Served ice cold, it presents with a crispness that's somewhat unexpected for the style, though it's noticeably less juicy than many of its contemporaries. On the nose, inviting aromas of lychee and watermelon take the lead, complemented by light cracker notes from the malt. This collaboration between Twice Blessed, Saggy Stone, and Fools & Fans is an easy-drinker – balanced, flavourful, and highly sessionable. A panel consisting of eight experienced individuals review beers for themagazine. Panel members do not necessarily review a beer for every issue, but all names are listed. Please Note: if any brewery would like a beer of theirs to be reviewed, they will need to contact On Tap editors directly (editor@ontapmagazine.com ). SHACKLETON GIANT PETREL | 6.8% CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA PORTER 4.6 Brewed in celebration of Shackleton's 8th birthday, this porter is a fitting tribute – and a delightful pint. Beautifully balanced, it showcases rich notes of cacao nibs and vanilla that really come into their own as the beer warms slightly. The subtle bitterness is malt-driven rather than hop-forward, adding depth without overwhelming the palate. The body is surprisingly light for a porter, making it highly drinkable, with a smooth, slightly sweet finish. It's a comforting companion for a slice of chocolate cake – or a brooding Cape Town winter's day. The beer is perfect on cask and in the can. RICHMOND HILL BREWING COMPANY MAD GIANT BREWING COMPANY/CAPITAL CRAFT FORBIDDEN | 7% ABV MILKSHAKE IPA THE CAPITAL DIPA | 7% ABV DOUBLE IPA 3.9 4.0 RHBC has gone and done it again by bringing us this fantastic creamy fruit bomb! The Forbidden Milkshake IPA has been brewed in collaboration with the Yeastern Cape Brewing Club, and they used passion fruit and mango puree to create this flavour explosion. The aroma is that of the puree used, but also has citrus notes such as naartjie and orange. For the flavour, the citrus notes drop off quite a lot, but the passion fruit takes centre stage with the mango more in the background and a touch of vanilla cream. Medium bitterness along with that vanilla cream really pull this beer together and give a flavour sensation for the palate. Definitely a drink that many will enjoy – and not only beer drinkers! The "last hoorah," so to speak, fromMad Giant is a collab done with Capital Craft by utilising the hops grown there. Eben and his team at Mad Giant have closed their doors for good. An extremely tough decision had to be made, and unfortunately the beautiful beers coming out of Mad Giant will be no more. Thankfully though, they left us with this fantastic flavourful double IPA that gives off tremendous bursts of passion fruit, guava, peach and a sweet litchi for both the aroma and flavour. The flavour is accompanied by a slight savoury sensation that really sets this beer apart from other DIPA's I've tried. The bitterness brings this beer together extremely well, allowing a perfect balance that makes this very easy to sip on and enjoy. I'm going to miss Eben and the beers coming out of Mad Giant as they have all been enjoyable and bring on good memories. Cheers Eben and team, and thank you for everything you did for the craft beer scene. You will be sorely missed. 3.8 400 BREWING COMPANY/AFRO CARIBBEAN BREWING COMPANY SNOWFLAKE HARAMBE 9 | 9% ABV BLACK IPA 7 The highly anticipated Harambe 9 is out and is doing what the typical Harambe does, going against the grain (excuse the pun). This version is celebrating Snowflake, the albino gorilla, and in doing so, a unique version of the series has been made creating a "white" black IPA. Other than the obvious appearance looking quite different from its style, the aroma and taste brought on unique additions as well. The aroma gives notes of espresso, grass, and raw hops which is somewhat similar to the category it falls under, and the flavour brings about the espresso predominantly with the grass notes in the background and a white pepper aftertaste. A very tasty beer with a medium bitterness and well-hidden alcohol level that went down so easily. A very different and very tasty variant that will be enjoyed by many, even those coffee lovers who wouldn't usually drink beer.