A whopping 25 judges, made up of BJCP-qualified tasters, SAB brewers, industry players and beer enthusiasts, met in Johannesburg last month to judge the third annual South African National Craft Brewers Championship. Judges had to be shipped in an the last minute to cope with the high number of entries – 125 beers and ciders, compared to 75 in 2014.
And now, after a couple of weeks of auditing, the finalists have been announced. It’s a very interesting list, with lots of newbies featuring alongside some of the SA beer scene’s top players. Here are the finalists (in alphabetical order:
Beer
Basset Breweries – The Dogfather
Cape Brewing Company – CBC Pilsner
Devil’s Peak Brewing Company – Lager
Hopping Frog Brewworks [Brewers Co-op] – Rambunctious Rye
Long Beach Brewery – Green Room
Riot Beer – Valve
Striped Horse – Striped Horse Lager
SMACK! Republic Brewing Co. – Newton Nemesis
Ukhamba Beerworx & HopHazard Brewing collaboration [Brewers Co-op] – The Red Brick Shit House
Woodstock Brewery – Californicator
Cider
Bridge Street Brewery – Bowman Cider
Bridge Street Brewery – Pink Lady Perry
Garagista Beer Co – Barrel 94 Oak-Aged Cider
HopHazard Brewing [Brewers Co-op] – Bitter Spring Cider
HopHazard Brewing [Brewers Co-op] – Outcider
Little Wolf Brewery [Brewers Co-op] – Hibiscus Cider
Congrats to all the finalists – can’t wait to see who came out on top! Winners will be announced on December 3rd. For all the details on sponsors and prizes, check out this post.
Well done to the “little” guys at Brewers Co-op. Hope one of them gets a top placing.
Hate to be pedantic, but not at all clear from this or previous prize detail post who has won what for what? Or am I just being stupid and, well, pedantic? Also be interested to know who won Journalist’s prize and Brewer’s Prize too… Perhaps there is more detail to come!?
Hi Giles
The final results aren’t out yet. These are the finalists, then the top three, plus the journo prize, will be announced on December 3rd. Watch this space!!!
And, as with all awards, it all depends on what was entered as to what wins… so be interesting to know who entered too – but at an impressive 175 entries, I can see that might be TOO much detail. Maybe a list of breweries who entered at least?
Not sure if they will release that list, but will ask!
Apologies – I should read the posts more closely. I will now hold myself in check until the 3rd December…