Cheers! Prost! It’s International Beer Day, a global celebration of ales, lagers, stouts and a myriad of other fizzy liquids that make the sadness go away for a few blessed hours.
Booze lovers from throughout the globe are encouraged to give one another the ‘gift of beer’ by buying each other drinks, and to express gratitude to brewers, bartenders, and other beer-related industries .
In the international spirit of the holiday, it is also suggested that participants step out of their domestic beer comfort zone and sample a beer from another culture.
They also play beer pong and other bar games, enjoy food cooked using beer as an ingredient, hold quizzes, unveil new and rare brews and even organise beer flights.
Northern KZN, however, is sad that the famous Farmers’ Brewery, in Hattingspruit, is no more. The brewery closed down in around 2009 and to mark International Beer Day we pay tribute to that fine institution:
The final prost
This is one obituary that does not want to be written. It is an obituary that should have been left to an historian of the twenty eighth century during which time mankind will not hunger for the companionship of kindred spirits nor the fellowship of warm hearts and cold brews.
But it has happened. The Grim Reaper has visited the Farmers’ Brewery at Hattingspruit and taken of his evil fill. His scythe has cut down a tower of perfection. Taken away an oasis of hope and goodness.
But this is no one’s fault. No one pulled the life support system. A combination of circumstances and inevitability has lead to the Farmer’s Brewery leaving this mortal coil.
The heart of the patient was still strong: Josef Martin still speaks passionately of the exact science that goes into making the perfect beer – a trait that caused the ‘Farmer’s’ to become spoken about in almost hushed tones by those serious about their brew and the ambience that goes with such supremacy.
Tears well up in Josef’s eyes as he relates the history of the Brewery that opened in 1993 – the opening of which saw his father, Otto Martin, realise his life’s ambition to run his own Brewery.
Josef’s memory is almost as flawless as the beer he poured – he remembers all the customers: the locals, the ‘interesting’ passers-by and the celebrities who found themselves ensconced in the ambience.
A tranquil yet business-like atmosphere overlooking a beautiful dam.
A view that would leave Australians gasping in wonder. The anecdotes are humorous, philosophical and quirky.
A bit like the beer? You know, that first mouthful that teases and combs the taste buds?
There is the one about the hotel manager who chose to have a gentle rest on the counter after consuming an Oktoberfest or two. A naughty spirit playfully stapled his tie to the wooden counter. To free him, the manager’s tie was (rather unceremoniously) cut. The remains still hang proudly over the bar as a symbol of a culture that only asked for the pleasure of your company.
A symbolic wake was held last week by those who seek a deeper meaning to the mysteries of life and the uncertainties that accompany that great challenge. It was not a sad wake. It was an occasion to celebrate all what is good. Like the beer that was brewed there, the conversation was simple yet natural.
And from that comes a taste equal to life itself.
As Josef concluded in his usual articulate manner: “The Brewery is not dead. The plant been merely transplanted to the Magliesburg area where its new owners will continue to produce the same quality beer customers have come to know and love. Long live FB beer.”
