Best Beer on the Table – new award
Homebru.net and Suip! proudly present the Best Beer on the Table Award. The idea behind this award is to give it to the best new beer in Western Cape every year. Since this is the first year for this exclusive award we will incorporate all new and old brands of beer.
I have nominated:
Hammerhead IPA – Triggerfish Brewing
First I like to say that Eric Van Heerden at Triggerfish Brewing is doing a great job and is one of the best microbrewer in South Africa right now. This IPA has a beautiful clear red-amber colour with a medium high beige head that leaves some fine lacing along the side of the glass. The aroma is full of malt, bread and citrus fruit. The taste is well balanced and medium sweet and medium bitter. This is a damn nice IPA.
Bonito Bombshell Blonde – Triggerfish Brewing
Yet another beer from Triggerfish Brewing. This spiced variation of the Sweetlips blonde has a unique character. It is spiced with Buchu that add some nice orange and peppermint aromas to it. It has a clear light yellow colour with a high and creamy head. The taste is medium sweet but the Buchu gives that little extra to it. This is a beer spiced with finesse.
Renosterbos – Bierwerk
Christian Skovdal Andersen (Bierwerk) brewed three really good beers at Boston Breweries in Cape Town. This Barley Wine has been aged on Brettanomyces “infected” wine barrels for seven months. The beer is clear and red-brown in colour. It has a small, creamy, light brown head. The aroma is full of caramel, fruit and hops. The taste is heavy sweet and the texture is oily and creamy at the same time. Renosterbos feels fresh, light and smooth yet it is a complex, fruity and strong beer.
This Barley Wine is going to be a classic one. I urge all to buy at least a few bottles and let them stay in a dark and cool place for a couple of years.
Also check out the nominated beers from Suip!
Keep your eyes open because on 13th January we are going to announce the winner.
Winter and snow in the Summer
I am b
ack in Sweden again and it is 3 degrees below zero and snowing. In other words a beautiful winter weather. No problems getting a cold storage to work. Just heat the room up to 4-6 degrees. I brought back a couple of Renosterbos bottles (from Bierwerk) this time. I am planning to store them in order to see if they improve over time. Hopefully the “Brett” is going to the job.
Renosterbos is an interesting beer in many aspects. Not just because it has been on “infected” wine barrels for seven months and that it is one of the first Barley Wines in South Africa. I think this could be the beer that make wine-makers and wine-drinkers to understand the greatness of beer.
I put all my ratings on Ratebeer.
First ever RateBeer event – thank you all
I would like to thank you all for coming to the Ratebeer event at Triggerfish Brewing yesterday. We had 22 different beers to taste from 11 different breweries. More than 20 people participated in the tasting. 4 breweries where represented at the tasting as well and got the chance to meet costumers and fellow brewers.
This was the first time we had a Ratebeer event in South Africa. Next time will be even better.
The list of beers:
English Pale Ale
London Ale – Valley Brewery
Napier Ale – Napier
Scottish Ale
90 Shilling – Mitchell´s
Bitter
Milk & Honey Ale – Mitchell´s
Vlakvark – Bierwerk
Premium Lager
Premium Lager – Jack Black Beer
Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Robson East Coast Ale – Shongweni
Sweetlips – Triggerfish
American Pale Ale
Ocean Potion – Triggerfish
India Pale Ale
Hammerhead IPA – Triggerfish
Stout
Old Charlie Stout – Napier
Sweet stout
Aardwolf – Bierwerk
Empowered Stout – Triggerfish
Belgian White (Witbeer)
Bone Crusher – Darling Brew
German Hefeweizen
Wheat Beer – Shongweni
Great Weiss – Triggerfish
Abbey Dubbel
Dubbel – Honingklip
Abbey Tripel
Tripel – Honingklip
Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Christmas Edition Slow – Darling Brew
Van Hunks Pumpkin Ale – Boston Breweries
Bonito Bombshell Blonde – Triggerfish
Barley Wine
Renosterbos – Bierwerk
American Strong Ale
Black Snake – Birkenhead
Photo: Anna Backmann
First ever RateBeer gathering/event in South Africa
It is time for the first ever RateBeer gathering/event in South Africa. A full range of local craft beers are about to be tasted.
Where: Triggerfish Brewing in Somerset West.
When: 6th January at about 5 pm.
There will be beers from Triggerfish, Boston Breweries, Darling, Jack Black, Shongweni, Valley Brewery, Bierwerk, Napier, Birkenhead and hopefully from Saggy Stone, Devil´s Peak, Gallows Hill and some more.
In other words some really rare beers in RateBeer terms.
Homebru 