Winners of the 2019 Brewmistress South African Beer Awards
It's a few days late, but I figure you've all been busy eating your own weight in mince pies and braai meat and testing out various hangover remedies thanks to a little festive (over)indulgence. Or maybe I'm projecting. Either way, polls have closed, votes have...
Vote in the 2019 Brewmistress South African Beer Awards
It's the end of the year. The end of the decade in fact. People are already predicting what's going to happen in 2020 and beyond. But before we do that, let's look back at 2019. It's been a fairly quiet year for beer in South Africa. We are in the midst of a period...
CTFOB turns 10 – here are some highlights from the last decade
The Cape Town Festival of Beer has always been a special weekend for me. It's pretty much the anniversary of when I arrived in SA and more importantly it's an annual get together of a great big pile of awesome people, with an equally sizable pile of great beer....
Quiz: which day to attend the 10th Cape Town Festival of Beer
Do you remember your first CTFOB? Do you remember any of them? Perhaps you've never been to one, or maybe, like me, you've attended all nine. This year marks the 10th Cape Town Festival of Beer and the three-day fest is looking bigger than ever. You'll have around...
Why the Gugulethu Craft Beer Festival was cancelled
Early in September, I launched a new Facebook page. It's something people in the industry had been discussing for a while and something that I somehow got involved in a few months back – the Gugulethu Craft Beer Festival. It began when I was contacted by Vuyani...
Beer review: Hey Joe Lavender Honey Saison
For some reason I'm not aware of, I haven't written anything about Hey Joe Brewing Company on the blog yet. After a few false starts and many months of anticipation, the brewery opened in Franschhoek in April. If you haven't visited yet, put it on your summer to-do...
Welcome back to South Africa, Pilsner Urquell
When ABI took over SAB in 2016, the local beer industry was filled with questions: would they decide to crush craft? Would Budweiser replace Black Label as South Africa's favourite beer? How many jobs would be lost? And perhaps most worryingly of all, how would I...
A note on South Africa’s drink-driving problem
South Africa has an issue with drink-driving, and I am a part of the problem. I’m pretty sure you are too. Don’t get me wrong. I’m really careful when it comes to not driving after a night in the bar. I almost always Uber to any beer-related event and on the rare...
Win tickets to the Capegate Craft Beer Festival
People of the Northern Suburbs - listen up! I know you sometimes feel a little left out in the whole craft beer thing, so here's a post especially for you (which is not to say that it's not for everyone else as well, of course). This weekend, August 30 and 31, the...