Craft beer lovers enjoy new festival

This weekend, Pretoria’s beer connoisseurs all met at the Harlequin Rugby Club for the SA on Tap Craft Beer festival. The festival, held at different times and places across the country, aims to help promote local brewers and introduce people to different styles of beer.

Taking part in the festival were a mix of new and experienced brewers, like That Brewing Company that started in 2013, and veterans Moritz Kallmeyer and Apiwe Nxusani, formerly of the SAB Shamdor team.

Although the festival is aimed at beer lovers, it was fun for everyone in the family, from the kids to the family pet.

For anyone who loves beer, these types of festivals are heaven on earth. Brewers from across the country brought their best, from Honey Beer similar to Ethiopian Tej, to Strawberry Weiss and Pumpkin Ale. More traditional styles like English Ale, and Dunkel Weiss were also available.

Events like these highlight the incredible talent that the South African home brewing and craft brewing community has. The brewers were all more than willing to discuss the intricate processes they follow with anyone willing to listen.

The one thing you realise when you attend craft beer festivals like these is that people are desperate for good quality beer, and are willing to pay a bit more, because they realise that they are buying a quality, hand-crafted product that is the culmination of the joint efforts of an entire community of dedicated, hard-working people.

The future of South African craft beer is definitely in the right hands.

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