Food & Wine News South Africa

Joburg Beerfest returns

The Joburg Festival of Beer will be returning to the Pirates Sports Club, Greenside, Joburg on Saturday, 27 and Sunday, 28 September, 2014. The two-day festival will feature up to 160 beers from local and international brewers, including some exciting new faces in the brewing industry.

Apart from offering a wide variety of beers to sample, the festival will also have home-brewing demonstrations, food-and-beer pairings, guided beer tours, a selection of delicious food stalls, great music and sport on TV screens. There will also be a campaign dedicated to getting beer fit in the weeks leading up to the festival, as well as live from the event, ensuring both mental and physical preparation of all things beer!

Joburg Beerfest returns

Brewers exhibiting include:

  • Brewhogs: Brewed by female brewmaster Apiwe Nxusani, Brewhogs is based in Kyalami and produces 32,000 litres of natural and preservative-free beer per month, including a Red Lager and Pilsener;
  • Swagga: One of the new brewers on the block, Joburg-based brewers Swagga Beer produces premium quality hand-crafted beers, such as Swagga Porter, Red, Blonde and IPA;
  • Stellenbrau: Having just won the 2014 Global Craft Beer Award for best lager, Stellenbrau has shot into the global limelight for superb beer. The brewery, based in Stellenbosch, produces beers such as Craven Craft Lager, Alumni Ale and Governors Red Lager;
  • Soweto Gold: Having opened in 2014, the brewery is situated in the tourist-popular area of Orlando West and is referred to as "the first regional township-branded craft beer targeting the aspiring black middle class". Beers include the Soweto Gold Lager, Weiss Gold and the Lady Gold.

"The Festival of Beer is about bringing beer champions from all over the country together to get a taste of the best brews on the local and international market," said Martin Tucker, co-founder the Festival of Beer. "We are thrilled to be heading back to Jozi again this year, a place that holds a lot of passion and promise in the brewing industry and visitors can look forward to plenty of exciting features and surprises up our sleeves this year."

For Cape-based beer lovers, fear not, the Festival of Beer will be heading to Hamilton's Rugby Club in Green Point, Cape Town on 28 to 30 November.

Early-bird tickets are R150, which includes a beer glass, and are available from Webtickets. For table bookings, contact az.oc.reebfolavitsefnwotepac@ofni.

For more information regarding the festival, go to www.joburgfestivalofbeer.co.za or www.facebook.com/JHBFOB] and on Twitter @Festofbeer #GetBeerFit.

Let's do Biz