I think most South Africans grew up with the idea of an ice-cold lager (either Black Lable or Castle Lager) and a braai-vleis vuur (BBQ meat fire) on most weekends or even during the week. I grew up with my father and grandfather always lighting a fire and opening up a beer after a long week's work or after a weekend gardening process.
With the advent of craft breweries opening up in South Africa, these breweries tried to capitalise on this truly South African feeling of opening a cold lager with a braai.
The market is thus flooded with different craft breweries giving their own unique idea of what a craft lager is.
Some are more successful than others.
In the following series of #BeerSaturday posts, I will sample only a tiny offering of craft lagers in South Africa. (I will obviously sample them with braai vleis!)
So, please join me on this tasting journey!
Without further ado.
Charlie's Brewery: Sandveld Lager
The first smell on my nose was very sweet, a delicate malty sweetness. There were also clear floral, yeasty, and bready notes, something unique to lagers (as I understand them).
But in this case, it really worked for this beer, or my first impression was good!
The first taste, even though I wanted and expected some full-bodied taste, it was a lager after all; the first taste was not full-bodied as my nose thought it would be!
There was a subtle hop taste to it, only mildly linger in the back of my mouth. On their label, they said they used Saaz hops, something familiar for most South African palates.
In the end, the beer became a very complex and beautiful beer for me. It is not the usual lager you will get, but I loved it!
Karoo Craft Breweries: The Kudu Lager
There was a pronounced malty nose when I opened the beer. I also had some nice bitterness (for a lager) on the nose.
My first taste was pleasant, almost full-bodied (in contrast to the first beer).
The malt also came through strongly on my first taste, with a pleasant bitterness on my tongue.
It was somehow more complex than a usual lager, but also not? It was strange, because I knew I was drinking a craft beer, but it also did not taste like one?
There was also a bit less carbonation than the previous beer, but it worked for this beer (or for me).
Of all the beers, it retained its head the best, with some good lacing.
St. Francis Brewing Co.: The Beach Blonde Lager
This beer was by far the closest to commercially brewed lagers, giving all the signals: crisp smell and taste, light colour, white head. But it was so refreshing.
The first smell was nothing out of the ordinary. Good mix between malt and hoppy bitterness.
The first sip was refreshing (as expected from the smell) and well-balanced. Nothing stood out as singular and unique. The beer did not have that classic craft twist to it.
Interestingly, a lot of craft breweries try to brew beers to challenge the corporate and commercial breweries. But this in my opinion closes down the experimentation these breweries can do with beers. The first beer in this review was the only on between these three that tasted like a craft beer!
Postscriptum, or So the Battle of the Lagers Begin
In the end, these three beers were all very different.
The last beer, the beach blonde, similar to its name conformed to standards set out by the industry and did not really veer to much from what one expected. This comes from these smaller breweries trying to compete with the "big dogs".
The first beer, the Sandveld Lager, was the only one that tried to break with the usual, imparting its unique malty and bready flavours from the malt with the floral notes from the hops.
But all in all, all three beers were refreshing, good, and fine beers by my lay perspective. I enjoyed them all.
For now, happy drinking, and keep well!
*All of the drunken opinions are my own, albeit inspired by these well-brewed beers. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.
Inside the Philosopher's Beer Fridge
| Boet Beer Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Boet Beer Lager | |
| 🍺 Boet Beer Easy Blonde | |
| 🍺 Boet Beer Pale Ale |
| Cape Brewing Company (CBC) | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Amber Weiss |
| Cape Collective | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Session IPA |
| Cederberg Brewery | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Voertsek IPA |
| Clarens Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 IPA | |
| 🍺 Hazelnut Brown Ale: Clarens Goes Nuts | |
| 🍺 Stout | |
| 🍺 Tondon Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Village Lager | |
| 🍺 Weiss | |
| 🍺 English Ale | |
| 🍺 Blonde | |
| 🍺 Mulled Apple Cider | |
| 🍺 Red Ale | |
| 🍺 Citrus Haze APA |
| Darling Brew | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Warlord Imperial IPA | |
| 🍺 Arrow Head Russian Imperial Stout | |
| 🍺 Long Claw Modern Saison | |
| 🍺 God Father IPA |
| Devil's Peak Beer Company | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Jucy Lucy Hazy IPA | |
| 🍺 King's Blockhouse IPA | |
| 🍺 Lucy loves Candy NEIPA |
| Drakensberg Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Cathedral Peak Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Champagne Castle Blonde Ale | |
| 🍺 Giant's Castle Stout | |
| 🍺 Amphitheater Red Ale |
| Folk & Goode | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Stout |
| Hey Joe Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Session IPA |
| Jack Black Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Skeleton Coast IPA | |
| 🍺 Butcher's Block Pale Ale | |
| 🍺 Original Cape Pale Ale |
| Route 96 Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Zamalek Lager | |
| 🍺 Summer Blond | |
| 🍺 Africa Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Stout |
| Sabie Brewing Co/Hops Hollow Sabie Brewery | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Dravidian Draught IPA | |
| 🍺 Glynn's Gold Golden Ale | |
| 🍺 Safari Gold Marula Infused Blonde Ale | |
| 🍺 Cockney Liz English Bitter | |
| 🍺 Shangaan Stout |
| Striped Horse | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Milk Stout |
| Swellenbrew | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 IPA |
| That Brewing Co. | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 That Blond Ale | |
| 🍺 That Subtropical Ale (Delicious Monster) | |
| 🍺 That American Pale Ale (APA) | |
| 🍺 'el Juicy IPA | |
| 🍺 VESS KISS IPA |
| Yeti Underground Movement | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Black H-Ops Black IPA |
| Imported (Non-South African) Beers | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Super Wit | |
| 🍺 Duvel Tripel Hop Citra IPA | |
| 🍺 Maredsous Bruin | |
| 🍺 Trappistes Rochefort 8 |
Cheers! 🍻 I think there will be a draw in this battle of the lagers :) All three are very good, it seems to me. 😎
!INDEED
(3/10)
@fermentedphil! @seckorama Totally agrees with your content! so I just sent 1 IDD to your account on behalf of @seckorama.