A sad day for South African craft beer as Mad Giant announces closure
Mad Giant, undoubtedly one of Gauteng's finest craft breweries, has closed. The Johannesburg-based brewery made the announcement via social media late last night. "It is time to say goodbye," the post began. "For just over ten years, we embarked on a mission fueled...
A love letter to Banana Jam for their 25th anniversary
I remember the first time I went to Banana Jam Café. It was 2011 and we were broke – a freelance writer and a Master’s student saving for a wedding. We used to walk straight past the bright yellow façade of the Kenilworth-based Caribbean restaurant to drink pints...
SAB launches limited edition Carling Gold Label
It's not often that SAB launches a new beer. The last one that springs to mind is Castle Double Malt, which was released in 2021 and has seen plenty of success, both with drinkers and competition judges. Other beers, like Carvers Weiss and Castle Milk Stout...
End of an era as Jack Black founders Ross and Meghan McCulloch sell remaining shares to Heineken
It has been six years since Heineken acquired a minority stake in Cape Town based Jack Black's Brewing Company and today the founders, Ross and Meghan McCulloch announced that they have sold their remaining shares. "The long journey with Jack Black has come to an...
Eight places to celebrate IPA Day in South Africa
The first Thursday in August is celebrated by beer lovers worldwide as IPA Day. The day was started by beer writer Ashley Routson back in 2011 in the USA - you can read the full story over at All About Beer. As far as I can recall, the first IPA (India Pale Ale)...
Around Africa Series: Craft Beer in Namibia
There is something about Namibia that just says thirsty. There is not a patch of green to be spotted from the plane window as we fly from Cape Town to Windhoek, and the river beds are all dry. Inside the cabin though, I'm anything but thirsty. The drinks service is...
Beer Review: Darling Break Free Gluten-Free Lager
I am having one of those weeks where I strike things off my to do list. Specifically my February to do list. Why, just yesterday I replied to not one, but three emails that have been sitting in my inbox for four months. I am feeling very proud of myself and...
New craft beers around South Africa
Hey - remember me? I used to write semi-regular blog posts about beer around Africa. It's been a seriously busy few months, with the African Beer Cup and BeerEx Africa, but I'm back and ready to give the blog a bit of love. I thought we'd kick off with a roundup of...
Friday beers: Spinal Tap Bar in Cape Town
I've been a bit remiss in not writing anything about Spinal Tap Bar, which launched in Cape Town just over a year ago. The bar belongs to Carl Nienaber of Harambe (black IPA) fame and his fabulously talented wife, photographer Marla Burger. It's a tiny but...
Is it beer clean? How a dirty glass can ruin a great beer
Imagine the scene. You’re at a restaurant and your much-deserved dinner arrives. You’re about to cut a slither off the perfectly cooked steak in front of you when, what’s this? There is a blob of something that looks like dried-on curry on your plate – something...
How to become a qualified beer judge
As we're still in January I thought you might still be looking for some kind of goal for 2024. So how about becoming a qualified beer judge? There are various methods and sets of guidelines used in beer competitions around the world, but in South Africa we almost...
The South African Pilsner Project
There’s a set of style guidelines that’s used in beer competitions around the world. It’s curated by an American organisation called the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). It’s by no means the only set of guidelines in use, but the BJCP is the standard for...
Yes it has bubbles and no it’s not served warm: the case for cask ale
If I had a rand for every time a South African had described English beer as "flat and warm", I'd probably have enough to buy a pint of English beer in the UK. And with the current exchange rate (and considering the prices in your average British pub), that is a...
Beer for elephants: a visit to Okavango Craft Brewery in Botswana
Maun is known by its residents as ‘Dusty Donkey Town’, and on the day that Okavango Craft Brewery had its unofficial (re)launch party, it quickly became evident why. I’m not quite sure why I felt it necessary or smart to walk the 5km from my hotel to the brewery on...
Brewery equipment for sale in South Africa
I get regular requests asking about used brewery equipment or complete businesses up for sale so I thought it might be useful to post this here and try to keep it updated. For every brewery that closes, hopefully another one recycles its equipment and starts up in...
Seven Things I’m looking forward to at Fools & Fans 7
Huzzah and hooray - it is very almost time for the annual Fools & Fans Beer Festival in Greyton and I am excited. We don't really have any beer fests in the Cape Town region any more and while Greyton is a two-ish hour drive, this is a festival that's...
