Lock, stock and wine barrel: Mad Giant brewery

When you mix social responsibility with a cold one you could win an award. That’s what Mad Giant’s Eben Uys found out when the brewery won best overall beer at the African Beer Awards.

Behind the beer is a good cause – plastic reduction. The beers aren’t sullied in nasty shrink wrap, instead using cardboard to package the award-winning yeast delights. But changing from plastic to paper takes paper.

At first the brewery faced the challenge that the change increases production costs up to 10 times – plus they don’t do well in an ice bucket. But considering how popular the beer has become it has not impacted the popular Johannesburg-based brewery.

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The Mad Giant line-up:

Killer Hop (Pale Ale): Made with four types of aromatic hops and a touch of malt. Won a gold medal last year at the SA National Beer Trophy awards. It’s a staple.

Urban Legend (Indian Pale Ale): This is a bold and fruity beer with tastes of guava, papaya and mango. A great beer introduction for some.

Mad Giant (Lager): It’s a lager for lager drinkers with floral hops but a refined biscuitness.

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The Guzzler (Pilsner): A fresh beer with the zang of lemon and the bitter and sweet complexity of Pilsner malt.

Electric Light (Weiss): Taste freshly baked homemade bread with a bouquet of floral, clove, banana and fruity aromas brewing. Expect to pay around R25 for a bottle of Killer Hop and R90 for the four-pack with it’s anti-plastic packaging.

For more information, visit their website, Mad Giant, and find out about brewmaster Eben Uys’ facinating story on how he started the brewery (hint he has a Phd in chemical engineering).

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