Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Beer for the people, made by the people
Brewery makes a craft beer the African way
“A SPACE for people’s space” is how Mlondolozi Hempe, of the marketing direction and sales department at UkhambaBeerWorx, describes Ukhamba. “I mean, we live off the African saying of ‘ umntu ngumntu ngababantu’ (a person is a person through other people). We believe the people who create our environment make us who we are. It’s a social space where we meet, discuss ideas around good beer and food. Ukhamba is home.”
The space in question founded by brewer Lethu Tshabangu in July 2017 saw the birth of a gleaming new craft brewery in The Palms Lifestyle Centre in the Cape Town suburb of Woodstock.
Tshabangu, who started off as a waiter, said he saw an opportunity in the production industry and bought books and started to network with people to learn more about the brewing industry back in 2013.
“What inspired the business other than motivation is necessity, the need to have the first black-owned craft brewery in the Mother City,” said Hempe.
“An additional ingredient is curiosity that is inspired by a long tradition of beer-making in the African culture. “This led to a question: Can we make contemporary beer with trad- itional beer-making ingredients? The answer was, yes.”
UkhambaBeerWorx operates under the philosophy of being honest and genuine about what the brand is and who represents it.
Among UkhambaBeerWorx’s greatest achievements is being named Beer of the Month at Hudsons Burger Joint last November and “having our beer distributed to all the Hudson branches nationally”.
Also, Hempe said: “Creating a space that is socially acceptable to our peers as well as hav- ing people who we work with and look up to happy.”
The company’s long-term strategy is to create pop-up breweries around the country that carry the concept and philosophy of Ukhamba to other Africans, the idea of sharing and creating a space where people are welcomed and treated with the respect they deserve. “This is apart from our goal of increasing our market share and making certain concepts that are held dear to us accessible to all,” said Hempe.
Being one of the well estab- lished staple beer brands in the country and easily recognisable as a beer brand is where the Ukhamba team sees the company in five years.
Priding themselves on being experimental by nature, the team introduced a pre-mixed gin and tonic. “It’s something that we have put on pause while we develop the idea,” Hempe said.
The company distributes to various beer outlets at the V&A Waterfront as well as national outlets such as Hudson Restaurant, Beerhouse and League of Beer, to name a few.