Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Sharp haircut? Beard? Tight trousers? This is the festival for you, brew
THE sixth Cape Town Festival of Beer happens next week from Friday till Sunday at Hamilton’s Rugby Club, Green Point.
As with everything, it has to be bigger and better and this year craft ciders like Everson’s, Sxollie and The Drift Farm have been added. New kids on the beer-block like Newlands Spring, Jan Braai Beer, Drifter, Stone Circle, Aegir Project and Stickman Brewery will introduce their crafts to the festival, as well as long-standing crowd favourites such as Darling Brew and Devil’s Peak Brewing Company, which will be showcasing new products.
“Aegir Project is a small independent brewery which has only been established for the last two months,” said Rory Lancellas of Aegir.
“We are passionate about making real beer properly and what better place for us to introduce ourselves to the South African beer market than this leading-edge festival? The Cape Town Festival of Beer is a pioneer in the craft beer industry, bringing together the best beers and brewers from across the country at this vibrant event.
“As we are still a new brewery we will be showcasing our five core beers this year: Extra Pale Uil, which is a light and fruity American blonde style beer; California Steamin’, a well-balanced hybrid lager; Red Rye, a complex but easy rye beer; our Giant IPA which is a West Coast American IPA; and lastly the Midnight Porter, our full-bodied London porter.”
Nick Worsley, from Stone Circle Brewery, said it was opened less than a year ago to share a passion for the huge scope of interesting and exciting flavours in beer. “The Cape Town Festival of Beer provides a fantastic platform for people to find our brand, meet us and try our beers.
“The ability to interact with so many beer lovers in such a short time will be like a shot of nitrous for the brewery, and we are looking forward to introducing everyone to our unique range of handcrafted beers.”
Stone Circle will bring four beers to the festival: a light and refreshing Weiss beer; a delicious Americanstyle pale ale; its “very special” 8.5 percent Belgian-inspired Hallelujah blonde ale; and released for the first time, The Steam Machine, which is described as a Californian common lager with a Cape Town twist.
And that’s just the foam on the top.
Besides these exciting new beers you’ll be able to taste anything from a fruity pale ale to a hoppy IPA, a chocolatey stout or two and some crisp ciders from a selection of local and international mega and microbreweries.
To soak up all this beer the tummy must be lined, and taking care of that will be food stalls including Hudsons The Burger Joint, Raith Gourmet, I Love Pizza, Peter Goffe-Wood’s Kitchen Cowboys, Lotus Food Truck, Hog House, Black Market Sandwiches and Wicked Waffles.
It just wouldn’t be a beer festival without some jolly musical entertainment. Los Tacos, Nomadic Orchestra and Grassy Spark will perform on Friday and The Rockerfellas play next Saturday at 8pm.
When it comes to fun, highenergy party music the Rockerfellas are one of the most entertaining acts in South Africa and their annual gig at the Cape Town Festival of Beer is simply a marriage made in heaven, said frontman Frankie Halligan. Famous rock classics songs are delivered at lightning speed in mashed-up formats to a most appreciative singalong audience.
“If you’re looking for great beer, mouth-watering food, amazing live music and a festival for both the young and the young at heart, well, look no further,” he said.
Children? Worry not. Next Sunday is the perfect day to bring the whole family down for a laidback afternoon of music and fun, and areas will be set aside for them on all three days.
● Seating next Saturday will be tight so it’s a good idea to book a table now. Send an e-mail to info@capetownfestivalofbeer.co.za for reservations or queries. Tickets are R150 for adults and R50 for children (under 13 years) and available from Webtickets.co.za. Visit www.cape townfestivalofbeer.co.za for more info and follow on www.facebook.com/ CTFOB or @FestOfBeer, #CTFOB.