Another Winery Brewing Beer

Yet another winery tried their hands on brewing beer. It is funny just how many wineries are attempting to either brew their own beer or to subcontract breweries to brew beers for them. But, in all of my beer-drinking experience, none of these attempts have succeeded in creating something out of the ordinary, none of these attempts push the boundaries of the style of beer they brewed.

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of these collaborative efforts have succeeded in brewing some fantastic beers – the Boet Beer range of beers brewed by The Boet Beer Brewing Co (by Four Cousins Wines) included (In a previous review, I tried the IPA by The Cape Collective, which I think is a winery or corporation.) But they are not memorable. They are perfect examples of brewing a quintessential beer, something you expect. And for most people drinking beer, especially the wine folks trying their hands at a beer, would find these beers by the Boet Beer Brewing Co incredibly good, satisfying, and pushing their own drinking habits to the limits. But for the avid beer drinker, trying to find their next good beer, this will be very unsatisfactory.

Again, these beers are fantastic, but they are what you expect to get from a winery trying to brew a beer.

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And in the bigger scheme of things, the craft beer market in South Africa has reached its peak now with so many breweries merely adding to the list of beers and not adding to the list of remarkable beers pushing the boundaries of the style they are brewing. One might say that we had in South Africa a moment of chaos, where different breweries came into existence, pushing boundaries, but now it is a state of entropy – moving from chaos to order –, where things are calming down, watered down, and conforming to expectations…

In any case, here is a small breakdown of my tasting notes of the beers I had. Sadly, their IPA was out of stock, the one beer that could possibly have redeemed them! Alas, I will try this at a later stage.

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Lager

This is what you expect from a lager. Crisp, clean, refreshing, what more could you want or need from a beer?

It was nice and malty on the nose and palate, with only a touch of fruity hops aromas. What more can I add to the fact that this beer, like the others as well, did not try to push the boundaries of the style, it gave me what I expected, and for me personally, that is disappointing.

Again, don’t get me wrong, this beer was fantastic, as I have had some incredibly bad lagers in my life.

But I wanted something interesting, especially because it was a winery that brewed it, and an incredibly well-established winery with (I am sure) endless supply of money… But this is speculation on my side. On to the ales!

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Easy Blonde

The smell is similar to the lager, but it was very “flat” on the nose with few if any yeasty aromas.

(Something I want in a blonde beer, especially comparing it to Leffe blond.)

I have some beef with South African craft breweries brewing Blonde beers, as they brew it in the style of a very watered-down pale ale, not focusing in the Belgian style in any sense of the word. This beer was not close to having a full-bodied mouthfeel, which was again disappointing.

Maybe I am wrong about the style of beer, or the whole market in South African gets the blond beers wrong. This, like all of the other blonde beers I have had in the recent past, was a bit of a hit and a miss to be honest.

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Pale Ale

The reason why I say the IPA could have redeemed them a bit is because the Pale Ale was really enjoyable. Again, nothing out of the ordinary, stock standard pale ale. A slight malty nose and aroma, but dominated by the hops and bitter first sip. It was a good beer, one that I would have loved to have on tap. And again, giving me with impression that the IPA would have been good. Alas, I only had this one! It was a bit fuller-bodied, better in every aspect compared to the blonde beer. But that does not tell us much really

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Maybe Don’t Drink Beers Brewed by Wineries (?)

All in all, my opinion of wineries trying to brew beer left a very unsatisfactory taste in my mouth. Not because it was bad, in fact only the Blonde Beer was a bit of a miss. I have had terrible beer in my life. And this was not at all the case. But it was so true to the styles that it became unnoteworthy. It was so true to the style that it said nothing to me in terms of beer; why drink the standard style when you can excite, challenge, and experiment with your palate? I am critical because I like experimentation, so take my opinions with a grain of salt (and a swig of beer).

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For now, happy drinking, and keep well!

All of the drunken opinions are my own, and the writing is also my own. The photographs were taken with my Nikon D300 and are thus also my own.

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Inside the Philosopher's Beer Fridge

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Bavik	Brews:
	🍺 Super Wit

Belgian Beers	Brews:
	🍺 Duvel Tripel Hop Citra IPA
	🍺 Maredsous Bruin
	🍺 Trappistes Rochefort 8

Cederberg Brewery	Brews:
	🍺 Voertsek IPA

Cape Collective	Brews:
	🍺 Session IPA

Clarens Brewery	Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post):
	🍺 IPA
	🍺 Hazelnut Brown Ale: Clarens Goes Nuts
	🍺 Stout
	🍺 Tondon Pilsner
	🍺 Village Lager
	🍺 Weiss
	🍺 English Ale
	🍺 Blonde
	🍺 Mulled Apple Cider
	🍺 Red Ale

Darling Brew	Brews:
	🍺 Warlord Imperial IPA
	🍺 Arrow Head Russian Imperial Stout
	🍺 Long Claw Modern Saison

Devil's Peak Beer Company	Brews:
	🍺 Jucy Lucy Hazy IPA
	🍺 King's Blockhouse IPA

Drakensberg Brewery	Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post):
	🍺 Cathedral Peak Pilsner
	🍺 Champagne Castle Blonde Ale
	🍺 Giant's Castle Stout
	🍺 Amphitheater Red Ale

Hey Joe Brewing Co	Brews:
	🍺 Session IPA

Mad Giant	Brews:
	🍺 Capital DIPA (in Collaboration with Capital Craft)
	🍺 Killer Hop Pale Ale

Route 96 Brewery	Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post):
	🍺 Zamalek Lager
	🍺 Summer Blond
	🍺 Africa Pilsner
	🍺 Stout

Sabie Brewing Co	Brews:
	🍺 Dravidian Draught IPA

Saggy Stone Brewing Co	Brews:
	🍺 Bear Jam - Session IPA
	🍺 Pale Weizenbock
	🍺 Rocky River Pale Ale
	🍺 Bomb Squad Lager

That Brewing Co.	Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post):
	🍺 That Blond Ale
	🍺 That Subtropical Ale (Delicious Monster)
	🍺 That American Pale Ale (APA)
	🍺 'el Juicy IPA
	🍺 VESS KISS IPA