Words: Sarah Kobal / Photos: Paul Sanders. Article from the DO IT NOW Online Magazine
Entertainment
In its second year of running at Pirates Rugby Club, the Joburg Festival of Beer was a great success with more than 150 international and national beers to taste from over 50 breweries. From microbrewers, mega brewers, craft brewers, to home brewers, this festival had a huge selection of beer to choose from.
Welcomed with a Joburg Festival of Beer branded glass, Alex and I were immediately lured to the Dragon Fiery Ginger stand. Starting off with a cool and refreshingly tasty Apple Ginger Beer and Original Ginger Beer, we were ready to face a whole day of lip-smacking beer tasting.
With so many amazing beers on offer, we had a hard time narrowing down our favourites. However, as a dark-beer lover, I was immediately drawn to Smack! Republic’s Experimental Vanilla and Bourbon Milk Stout. The vanilla and chocolate aromas that teased my senses soon had me ordering a delicious-smelling milk stout, which tasted just as good as the aromas promised.
Although a sweltering day, visitors to the festival could chill out in either of the two huge tents provided. If anyone was hungry, there were numerous food stands scattered around the venue, offering a wide range of tasty treats. Catering for all types of people, TVs were installed around the venue for rugby fans, while there was also live music for the relaxed and games for the adventurous. For the kids, there was a kiddies corner and jumping castle to keep them entertained throughout the day, leaving mom and dad free to enjoy their beer-tasting experience.
In what has become one of the biggest beer judging competitions in South Africa at the Festival of Beer, several brewers were awarded prizes and the bragging rights for best beers on show. Congratulations goes to La Chouffe, which won Best Macrobrewed Ale, Devil’s Peak Kings Blockhouse IPA for Best Microbrewed Ale, Jack Black which won the award for Best Microbrewed Lager, and then finally to Cape Brewing Co which took the award for Best Beer on Show for their Krystal Weiss and the biggest award available.
Overall, the Joburg Festival of Beer was very well organised. There were no queues when looking for beer to taste and, what was pleasantly surprising, no queues for the toilets; extremely rare at festivals. The toilets were spotless too.
For our beer lovers in Cape Town, the Cape Town Festival of Beer will take place from 28 to 30 November. This festival is the biggest celebration of brewing heritage in the southern hemisphere. So prepare your palette and book tickets for this fantastic festival now!
More information
For more information on the event, visit http://capetownfestivalofbeer.co.za/