Celebrate SA National Beer Day on February 2

If you missed out on the last two years, 2019 could be third time lucky for you to join beer lovers across South Africa in marking South African National Beer Day.

Celebrated annually on the first Saturday in February, the special day sees a series of beer-related events at breweries from Franschhoek to Woodstock, Pretoria to Rustenberg, Clarens to Nottingham Road and more.

Organiser and beer writer, Lucy Corne, describes South African National Beer Day as “a collection of small scale events, promotions, pairings, specials and mini festivals” and says that anyone can hold an event.

She came up with the idea of hosting a #SANBeerDay a couple of years ago.

“We tend to tip our hat to International Beer Day in August, but this was created with the northern hemisphere in mind, and a cold pint in South Africa goes down better in February than August. So I floated the idea of our own day and the brewing community responded with boundless enthusiasm.”

The inaugural #SANBeerDay in 2017 saw more than 50 events and promotions staged across the country.

“In 2018 there were more than 80 events, including brewery open days, food pairings, beery games, beer launches and roll-your-sleeves-up-andmuck-in brew days, so it is really gathering momentum and I’m excited to see what 2019 will bring.”

In cyberspace, South African Breweries’ brands like Castle Lite and Castle Lager marked the 2018 day with Twitter posts, getting into a friendly bantering ‘twitter war’, joined by Dissident Craft Beer.

Visit beerday.co.za to find a venue close to you that is getting involved with the action on Saturday, February 2.

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