How to celebrate IPA Day in South Africa
Hops are awesome and so are IPAs. That's why IPA gets its own special day dedicated to its infinitesimal greatness. Started in 2011 by American beer writer Ashley Routson, better known as The Beer Wench, IPA Day has become an international event, seeing beer lovers...
Five ways to piss off a woman that drinks beer
It's women's month in South Africa, and I couldn't let it pass without some sort of comment on one of the questions I get asked most often - what's it like being a woman in the beer industry? For the most part, I'm very happy to say that it's awesome. Most of the...
South Africa is getting its own beer magazine: On Tap
We've got breweries, we've got a dining scene that now means you'll find at least one craft beer available wherever you eat, we've got active homebrewing clubs, annual beer conferences, a host of festivals, we've got beer bloggers and beer Instagrammers and beer...
Seasonal beers in South Africa
My fridge is currently full of porters. Everyone seems to think I drink nothing but IPA (and granted, I do heartily disagree with those who say things like "I like IPA but it's not the sort of beer you can drink more than a couple of") but like many beer drinkers,...
Book now for 50% discount on MicroBrew Symposium
How awesome it is to see the number of beer conferences and other networking/learning events rise in South Africa. This year we'e already seen the Craft Brewers Powwow and two editions of Beer Boot Camp. Next up is the MicroBrew Symposium. The one-day convention...
SAB launches new beer cocktails
Last week I spent the afternoon at Newlands Brewery, taking the tour and sticking around for beer cocktails in the rather awesome staff bar, now housed in the old malthouse. If you've never done the Newlands Brewery tour, I would highly recommend it. It's really...
Beer Review: Citizen Pacifist Winter Porter
I think one indicator that our beer industry is maturing is when brewers begin to experiment, when they step out of the comfort zone of their three or four regular brews and add something new to the range for a few months. Winter is the prime time for seasonal...
10 things I learnt at Beer Boot Camp 2016
I imagine those of you that didn't make it to Beer Boot Camp this year spent the last two weekends nursing your fomo and attempting to avoid Twitter. So for you I bring a little taste of the talks the conference gave us. For those that attended, this list should...
Battle of the Bocks: Urbock vs La Trappe
It's that time of year again. The time where I start to mentally berate Capetonian architects for their inability/failure to insulate houses in an appropriate manner. Yeah, yeah - the weather is warm for much of the year, but from May to August I sit shivering in...