VANNIE HOUT SAISON, Devil’s Peak Brewing Co, Cape Town, 750ml bottle, R65
Devil’s Peak Brewing Company’s Taproom in Woodstock is pure Instagram fodder. Think exposed brick, views of the mountains, colossal copper boilers, and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in just the right amount of light to rest on your beer.
Pick anything: from the citrus-sweet and mineral-sharp hop kick of the King’s Blockhouse IPA, to the impeccably balanced resin caramel of the Woodhead Amber Ale, Devil’s Peak’s flagship beers are some of the most dependably good in the country. But if you’re out for something special, take the Vannie Hout Saison. It’s excellent — and only available here.
Aged 14 months in reconditioned Burgundy wine barrels, Vannie Hout is a rewarding Belgian-accented farmhouse ale. An extended brewing and blending process adds layers of complexity to a beer that’s at once restrained and expressive, with good potential for further ageing.
Effervescent and jowl-pleasingly sour with rich strains of savoury bread and dried fruit, Vannie Hout is accented with typically fragrant saison esters, as well as a resonant funk from fermentation with two strains of Brettanomyces yeast. It might be a bit too out-there for some drinkers, but it’s incredibly flavoursome nonetheless. And at 7.5% alcohol, it’s satisfying sipping, too.
As the craze for sour aged beers sweeps the US and elsewhere, Cape Town has one that can easily hold its own.
You’ll have to hurry to taste it though: the Taproom is already through half of the 600 bottles made available to the public, with another batch still a long way off. Don’t fret too much if you miss it — come mid-January, Devil’s Peak will release their Vin de Saison, made with a generous dose of Chenin Blanc must from the Swartland. Either way, if Vannie Hout is anything to go by, this Taproom will be rammed full all summer with happy drinkers. Try to bring your camera.
This is the first in our new weekly series for beer lovers. Nick Mulgrew is a journalist and home brewer whose writing about beer has been published widely in SA and the US.