Michael Ferguson schools the Cape Town beer folk. And believe me, if Wolfgang can learn something from a beer conference, so can you.
I recently attended the marvellous Beer Boot Camp in Cape Town. As you’re probably aware, the one-day conference had an all-star cast, kicking off with the magnificent Michael Ferguson. He’s a master brewer, TV presenter and the kind of public speaker that can hold an audience’s attention from the moment he walks into the room. All of the Boot Camp talks were highly informative, but for me, Michael’s stood out because it was just so damn relevant to the South African beer scene. It was entitled ’12 Steps to a Perfect Brewery’ and above all it showed that there a lot of imperfect breweries in South Africa.
The talk covered a lot of common sense – keep things clean, know your audience, have the right tools for the job, never sell a bad beer… And so much of it rang so true for so many people – most were nodding along and indeed when Michael uttered the words “You made a beer, it didn’t turn out as planned, you put some apricots in it and call it a Berliner Weisse, right? NO!”, spontaneous applause broke out. But of course you’ll know all this because you were at Boot Camp too, weren’t you? You weren’t? Well if you’re a brewer or you work in the beer industry in pretty much any capacity (marketing folk, tap room managers, writers, and dare I say, influencers [shudder] I’m looking at you too) and you were one of those people that thought R1000 was too steep for a day of learning with international experts, then let me tell you this – you are part of the problem. (Homebrewers and general beer enthusiasts, you are excused. Foolish for missing out, but excused.) As Michael’s talk went on, and indeed as I listened to subsequent talks, the single biggest problem with the South African beer industry became more and more apparent. But this isn’t actually a blog post about Beer Boot Camp – that was just the inspiration for the post (in fact I came away with blog, feature and homebrew club ideas galore. You really should go to these things – they inspire you.)
Get some education
Credit where it’s due – some breweries even fly their staff around the country to attend conferences (Notties, Just Brewing, Mad Giant and Brewhogs, to name just a few)
So here it is – the thing that will stop our industry from growing and maturing. And it’s not a small problem. The issue, I believe, is that brewers/brewery owners are simply not willing to spend any money on their business. Now, this isn’t across the board of course – I can think of a few breweries that have dropped a few million rand into their business and more often than not, this shows in their beer. But we have around 200 breweries in SA these days and most just don’t seem to want to invest the necessary cash to make their beer great.
So let’s begin with education. Every year at these conferences I see the same brewers from the same breweries (you know who you are – buy yourselves a pint). I see the same homebrewers, most of whom have no plans to go pro. And every year there are dozens of brewers – well over 100 in fact – that simply don’t think that a conference or a boot camp or a powwow is a worthy use of their time and money. How can this be? How is it possible that someone launches a business and doesn’t want to leap at every opportunity to learn every single thing they can about that business, especially in a country where beer-related learning is still a fairly rare thing? Do they think they know it all already? Because, let’s tell it like it is – I’ve tasted the beer and they don’t.
But it’s not just conferences, it’s everyday training. How many brewers employ an assistant brewer but fail to empower them with the opportunity to learn more than “follow these steps in the brewhouse”? A brewer doesn’t just follow your recipe – he or she needs to know how to change and tweak and troubleshoot and indeed how to design their own beer from scratch. Beer education opportunities are limited in South Africa so I would expect every training session, every course to be booked up months in advance. Instead, I know that the likes of Global Beverage Systems and Brewster’s Craft often struggle to fill the seats in their courses. So here’s a wake up call – if you have never sent any of your staff on a training course of any sort, you probably need to get out of this business and make room for someone who actually gives a crap. Or y’know, start booking some training…
Tools for the job
Of course, not everyone can afford a Kaspar Schulz beer altar, but it might be time to chuck out those giant pots ‘n’ pans and invest in a proper brewhouse
But it’s not just education that so many brewers in South Africa are unwilling to spend their cash on. Let’s look at equipment. So many people still have cobbled together systems, poor cooling facilities, plastic fermenters (yes, I know that there are a few brewers making excellent beers using plastic fermenters – I will await your emails/comments…). If you don’t want to spend your earnings on a stainless steel fermenter or you don’t think a pH meter is a valuable investment or you’re not interested in upgrading the system you used to homebrew on, perhaps you need to question your commitment to this industry. Sure, we can’t all afford a Kaspar Schulz, but there are now plenty of locally made systems designed by engineers who know what they’re doing.
The same goes for ingredients. When beer labels are emblazoned with “100% local ingredients” or something similar, don’t be fooled into thinking this is a good thing. Sure it sounds great – craft beer should be all about supporting local after all. And I think it’s cool that there are breweries that want to utilise the best local ingredients and come up with local styles (Jack Black’s Cape Pale Ale springs to mind). But here’s a home truth – we do not produce the world’s best malt in South Africa. Not by a long shot. In fact, almost all overseas beer experts who have visited South Africa have commented on the malt profile (or lack of) in our beers. Local malt is, of course, a lot cheaper – but that’s not what craft beer is about at all. You don’t source the cheapest ingredients so you can sell on a distinctly average beer at a hugely elevated fee just because you’ve used the word “craft” on the label. The point of craft beer is that you make the very best beer you can make. And you’re not going to do that by using exclusively SAB malt (or even mostly SAB malt).
Quality control
Control your quality much?
“It’s fine, people are still buying my beer,” I hear some of you saying. But do they buy it twice? I have to tell you that when I enter the likes of a Roeland Liquors or a Hillcrest Tops, I shop with extreme caution. Every so often I gamble on a new brand and it’s a gamble I usually lose – the only winner is my thirsty drain. Why is that? How is it possible that, give-or-take, a decade into our craft beer revolution, so much of the beer is still sub-par? Well in part – a fairly large part – I would say, it’s down to a lack of quality control. Some brewers – many brewers – don’t have any sort of lab set up to do basic testing, nor do they send samples, be it of water, wort or beer, to external labs to be tested (too expensive? Believe me, destroying your brand will cost a lot more). Many wouldn’t even consider something as affordable as putting together an impartial, paid-for panel of beer enthusiasts/experts to give honest feedback on the beers. The fact that your friends, your parents or even quite frankly, your locals, are happily downing your beers isn’t quality control. There are some basic – and low cost – things you could be doing. Start with investing in an off-flavours pack and teaching your staff how to recognise a beer gone bad; keep a beer library of your brews stored at different temperatures; get together a panel of people whose tastebuds you trust – and pay them to be there. And yes, if you’re serious about this beer thing, please set up a lab and get someone in the know to head it up for you.
I could rant on like this all day, but we’ve already passed the 1500-word mark and I think you get the point. If you as a brewer are not willing to invest in staff, to further your own knowledge, to upgrade your equipment, to use the best – and not just the cheapest – ingredients in your brews or to put into place basic checks that ensure the beer is decent when it reaches the consumer, then quite frankly, you probably don’t deserve to succeed in this business. We’ve already seen a handful of breweries close this year, although many more have opened. Happily, plenty of brewers are upping their game and if you want to stay in it, you need to do the same.
Your thoughts?
Great article, thanks! And your point about risking new brands rings rather true. It has been a while since a new Jack Black/CBC/Darling Brew/Devil’s Peak/Woodstock/Aegir/Cederbrew (or whatever it’s now called) reared its head… perhaps there is only so much passion, quality control (and money) in what is getting to be quite a crowded market. But that list is still largely a joy to have around compared to a decade ago… onwards and upwards!
Very true Giles – we’re getting there, slowly slowly. Keep drinking the good drink!!!
I could not agree more with all the points you made Lucy – thanks! Investing in staff and stuff (brewing equipment) is the best way to spend Rands as a brewer. But here is the point: it all costs a lot of money, which usually can’t be found in abundance at family run breweries.
In fact we were pouring beer in Somerset West on the day of the boot camp to make some cash and to bring out beer to our greatest assest we have – the beer lovers! The other half of the staff was overseas to source hops and malt directly from the supplier.
I am hoping that our team will make it to the next boot camp. That depends on the day of the next camp and how much money we might have made in the meantime…
Prost
jan
Hey Jan
I totally appreciate that you guys were busy on Boot Camp day, but what I mean is that there are breweries who never go to conferences, training days, off-flavour workshops – hell, even homebrew meetups, where you can really learn a LOT (in my experience, many of the homebrewers in SA know more than the microbrewers!). Sadly, I don’t think there’s going to be a Boot Camp next year, due to lack of support from the industry – a true travesty! But there are plenty of other chances to learn…see you there soon!
Lucy
I did enjoy boot camp and got a wakeup call on a number of points and I agree brewers should get use every opportunity to learn from others in the industry. I did, though, say wakeup call and not any major revelation. Passionate brewers who spend the time, between 10pm and 4am if they have a family, have access to all the information you are speaking about on line and from books (some of which you may have seen for sale at the boot camp). Conferences and courses are a nicely packaged way to get a cursory overview of what you should be studying and applying in detail. If you don’t get back in the business and apply it at a detailed level (which cannot be shared in a day) you’re wasting your money.
Quality and is a mind-set, maybe even a character trait, and comes easier for some. When you’re starting a brewery, even in plastic, and you’re willing to toss any bad beer, economics will force you to find the problem and fix it. If you don’t, you won’t have a business.
I have more respect for brewers starting small and continually improving while running a profitable, organically grown, business. If you don’t have the money, you can’t spend it.
Flashy, spend millions of other people’s money, breweries making insipid beer and no profit are probably not going to last either. Brewing to a carefully researched business model and ticking all the boxes and may, one day, show ROI but desperately lacks soul. This shows in their flawless perfectly filtered and pasteurized beer.
Feel free, rant all you want but don’t think that you understand what it’s like starting a brewery from scratch, with your own money, and as your only source of income until you’ve done it. Sometimes there’s just no time to not work and rub shoulders with the hobnobs even if you’ll be learning a lot. It takes a lot of money, sacrifice and hard work to start a brewery but the rewards (not money) are worth it.
If you’re passionate about brewing, not about owning a brewery, and want to brew for a living:
– Start brewing, learn all you can as a home brewer
– Read, read, read! then read some more
– Don’t be afraid to ask, learn from others
– Build the brewery you can afford
– Don’t get into debt
– Never ever sell bad beer!
– Be modest
– Persevere and enjoy the journey!
The “like” button is missing here…. 🙂
Keep on with your passion Eric – that passion can be tasted in every sip of your beer!
Hi Eric
I agree with you on many points and I think that starting small and working up is a truly amazing way to start a business. As long as everyone is working upwards…the issue is that many people start with their cobbled-together systems and their “I once won a homebrew comp” accolades but fail to move with the times. We’re not a fledgling industry any more and everyone in the industry needs to realise that this is not a sphere for hobbyists. “Never ever sell a bad beer” is great advice and if 150 of SA’s 200 breweries would listen to that, we might really be on to something!!!
The Point i’m trying to make is that true beer lovers, passionate about brewing and serious about owning their own business should not be dissuaded by the millions it cost to buy imported stainless steel cans. It can be done, at a fraction of the cost, supporting other small local businesses and staying true to your passion without compromising quality.
The 150 you’re referring to saw money and “fame” or being popular or being some kind of “celeb” among their friends. The fact that beer is the vehicle is incidental.
This makes it harder for legitimate brewers but, as a always tell those concerned industry followers, ultimately the public vote with their wallets and quality will prevail.
I am also a bit tired of the same old same old. A lot of brewers started with a Blond, Irish, Stout and IPA and never grew beyond that. They then start watering it down to pay less tax and we the consumers have to pay up to R45 for a crappie watered down beer. I understand that experimenting is expensive but that is why even big breweries still have 50 liter test systems.
I wish Eric was closer because he has those special kegs of awesomeness that is not on tap 🙂
I simply cannot agree more Elbie. Most beers are watered down. Believe it or not but I prefer a Milk Stout above most of the stouts out there. There is nothing wrong with staring small but that does not mean your beer needs to be small. We simply don’t have any bold beers. I was slated for brewing a 8.2% blonde. Why? Because it’s too bold. And attending the beer boot camp is a must if you are serious about beer
Well put Eric. Brilliant timing. We just registered Binary Brew Worx and was wondering what next. I think we’ll start small and grow from there
So true, As a beer drinker and appreciator of good beer I am becoming more and more disillusioned with Craft in SA. Sure charge R40 or whatever for your beer, but at that price point it had better be good, very good. If I pour a R40 beer down the drain I will not give you a second chance. ever. And even more pertinent is you will never hear of me, my R40 or my dissatisfaction because its too much hassle to take an open beer back…(and even contacting the brewery directly doesn’t yield a favourable response) So make sure its good from the get go. This past weekend, 2 beers went the way of the drain – Neither had brew dates on them nor sell by dates… Thats not good enough.
And the really sad thing is that often, it’s not just the offending brewer that suffers – it’s the entire industry. Someone forks out R40 for one bad craft beer, they maybe try a second – if that’s bad it’s so long “craft” and hello again Castle….
I agree with the problems listed above. I do however feel that attending these events is not the number one solution. If I had to (one day) start a brewery, one of the first things I would spend my money on is a qualified and trained brewer. Sure, I would send that person to these awesome/fun/social events to continue learning and get inspired, but at the end of the day, a good brewer will never blame his tools.
I agree Troye – the Boot Camp thing was just an example. It was the catalyst for this post really. When people put their asses on the line and a world-class event fails because it doesn’t have the support of the industry it’s trying to serve it makes me…sad…
But tell me – how many trained, qualified brewers can you count in the SA craft industry?
Not many have been to brewing schools.
Don’t be sad Lucy ?
As long as there are people like you to educate and entertain, we should be just fine. And by fine I mean great ?
The event I attended in JHB was pretty full. Was the Cape Town event so poorly attended that it sank the whole thing?
Not at all, but they book conference rooms based on ticket sales. The decision to cancel next year’s event was taken a month or so before this year’s events. The amount f money it must take to bring over all the world class speakers, not to mention venues, food etc., just isn’t being raised. It’s very sad ?
Well said Lucy. Making beer is not as easy as many people would think. The variables are many that getting it wrong is so easy. Education education is the key. And many brewers in SA dont like sharing information on how to improve their products. I applaud those who attend those gatherings as they are always helpful in educating the aspiring brewers. As always continuous improvement can only be had if you engage others in the same and bench mark your operatiins with others. Thank you Lucy for an insightful rand???
I have just started making a little beer a year ago, so I have a LOT to learn and are thirsty for information (pun intended). I am so upset every time I hear about something like the boot camp … to late! But I made a note and next year I’ll be there.
I come from a wine-,making back round and I am stunned at how easy it is to put a label on beer, put what ever you feel on that label and sell it!!! Wine is tasted blind 3 times by an independent committee who needs to decide that what you want to sell apply to certain standards. (This is a pain in the back side and an administrative nightmare…) I just wonder for how much longer the craft beer industry can go on without independent quality control before the image of the industry is damaged?
thanks Lucy for a great article and points to ponder. For a small brewer it’s often very difficult to take the time off or indeed to afford to attend boot camps but yes it’s essential that we learn learn learn. Getting independent lab tests of one’s beers is one way to do so; talk as much as you can with informed and involved brewers, customers, distributors, retailers;listen and be attuned to the marketplace. Give good service and backup. Use the best raw materials; do your product costings properly and above all love the product you make…
Thanks Brian. I do acknowledge that sometimes people can’t get away from their taprooms and this wasn’t something i had considered, but there are still too may people who don’t seek ways to improve their knowledge…and their beers! If this post can inspire just one brewer, I will feel that I achieved something this week!
Great piece, and I agree wholeheartedly. It’s not about the equipment as much as the passion, and dedication. Some of the best beer in the country,Anvil, Agars etc is brewed on very humble equipment, and some of the worst beer brewed on fancy Kaspar Schultz stuff. Brewers need to figure out why they are doing what they are doing, and implement some proper quality control. I really enjoyed Michaels talk and Stan and JPs feedback on my homebrew. I find myself buying less and less craft and rather brewing and sharing with other homebrewers!
I totally agree that it’s not all about equipment and I too first think of Uncle Theo at Anvil who has just won ANOTHER gold medal (plus some silvers) at the International Beer Challenge. I think passion is certainly key, and that passion should come with a willingness to part with some cash for lab testing, knowledge-gaining, constant improvement and indeed for wanting to taste as many beers as possible from everywhere!
I do disagree that some of the worst beer is being brewed on a Kaspar Schulz though…
First off, a big sorry that I wasn’t there Lucy. Broke isn’t the word to describe how tight finances are at the moment and while I know the ticket price was great value, I still could not afford it. Last year was really good and I had hoped to attend again this year.
Totally agree that brewers do need to attend these events. I don’t think people realize that the speakers who travel here would normally be talking to hundreds in the States or Europe – they are seriously sought-after.
We are going the “start small and build up” method. Hopefully it works. The beer is generally very good and consistent too. We have dumped a couple of batches though as losing customers is a terrible thought, especially for a brewery like ours still finding its feet.
99% of SA beer is trash-all SAB junk tops it -makes one ill. I have tried a few of the ‘crafts’ and it seems these brewers all all ex SAB hence the garbage.There is one primary reason and this genius Ferguson hasn’t figured it out. Go to Germany or better still Czechosolvakia & learn buddie. Will I divulge what that biggest single problem is with SA beer? (excluding the problems & bad practices of SAB which does not make beer) Not on your nellie!