MEET THE BREWER
Phumelelo Marali is a father of three, a coffee barista, basketball player and more recently added another string to his bow and is the master brewer at Airport Craft Brewers at OR Tambo International Airport
My passion for beer was introduced to me by a friend in 2010. At the time I was training baristas in Port Elizabeth and when he asked if I was keen to venture into something else, without a blink of an eye, I said I was in. When I started brewing it took me seven months to learn how to brew
beer but I did not understand the technicality behind brewing the beer. It’s a bit like mastering a recipe — it may be easy to make the recipe but the technique and skill behind it will take you much longer to master. There’s a lot happening in the brewing industry, with lots to learn and understand what style of beer you want to brew. You can’t walk away from making a craft beer, which requires your
attention and physical labour, whereas in a commercial brewery it’s about pressing a button and walking away. One of the big challenges as a brewer is to convince a customer who enjoys a commercial beer to drink a craft beer. Brian Skosana, owner of Airport Craft
Brewers, had the idea of setting up a new trend and establishing a restaurant and bar with a brewery at the OR Tambo airport. There was a lot of negativity around the idea and many said it wouldn’t work. In the craft brewing industry you don’t want to be brewing what everyone else is brewing. It’s not an easy thing and you have to work out what consumers want and follow the trends. I’m loving it.
Beer is made of water, hops, barley and yeast. What is unique about our beer is that it is a stand-alone brand made without sugar or preservatives and we try to keep it as local as we can. And we put love into it. Let me look back in my head for my
funniest moment. I once tasted the hop pellets and if you are looking for anything crazier than that there’s nothing worse, as I took a large handful and chewed it. It was so bitter it took me days to get the bitterness out of my mouth. My teacher said, ’ What were you thinking, you taste one pellet, not a handful!’ It’s not a good feeling to discard a beer you have brewed when you pay so much
attention (in making it). It happens every now and again. My first beer I made was a stout and
I know it was a good stout. I enjoy a good stout as the robust flavour gives you a body in the beer that doesn’t fade away after drinking. A dark porter is my preference.
We brew three beers on site — a pilsner, a red ale and a porter. In the UK beers are poured at room temperature. Can you imagine if I served warm beer in South Africa without a good head? Brewing beer is very time consuming. It’s like a baby that requires nurturing and most brewers spend most of their time in the brewing plant as anything can happen and if you are there you can rectify it immediately.
‘You can’t walk away from making a craft beer’