It’s a hot Saturday afternoon, sweat’s floating down my mahogany face and thirst is crippling my body. Nothing could stand in the way of getting the taste of a strong beer, to quell the damaging heat and thirst of a summer’s day at the Cape Town Beer Festival.
After the massive success of the inaugural Johannesburg Festival of Beer, the Mother City hosted the fourth edition of the oh-so-beery, Cape Town Festival of Beer, at Hamilton’s Rugby Club in Green Point, on the 22nd-24th of November.
Live’s Abel Dantyi, attended the Festival, which showcased over 100 beers; local and international breweries; brewing demonstrations, food and beer pairing. Fashion and music were exhibited in the middle of the festival.
The Beer Festival was a celebration of brewing heritage and craft both locally and internationally. Featuring over 100 beers, it was the premier celebration of all things beer. The festival is Mzansi’s largest annual gathering. With beer enthusiasts, connoisseurs and beer dummies (those who are interested in learning about beer and the brewing process).
When you enter the venue, you buy a glass for R30. The glass comes with a “Beer Passport”. Oh, yes! A passport to taste over 100 beers on show. And of course, I had to taste a few beers, so I could have something to review. I first tasted The Liefmans Fruitsessem on rocks – it’s a sweet red beer that tastes like cranberry juice (exotic too).
From the sweet and exotic to sour and strong, that was my experience when I tasted a beer created by the Devils Peak Brewery. The dark look reminded me of our local brand, Milk Stout, and the taste is very strong. Devils Peak Brewery is one of Cape Town-based microbreweries that combines tastes from the US and Belgium with an injection of Mother City flair. Their collection of beers all have rich flavour and plenty of character.
Moving swiftly away from beer, to fashion and music:
Ke Summer Boss! The fashion favourite among the ladies was short denim-shorts and tanks tops with flops. And the guys out did themselves, combining different geometric prints in shorts, vests and tight-muscle tops. Different types of tattoos were on display by the beer enthusiasts, some of the body art was amazingly executed and some looked like they were created by 10-year-olds (who are high on marijuana).
The music scene at first turned me off because they were playing Afrikaans and country music. I wanted to crawl under the fake grass and.
Later on, they changed their tune and the singer did a cover version of Damien Rice’s Volcano (and I was in heaven, the guy hit all the right notes).
The beer enthusiasts were sitting under the shades of the stalls, chatting or listening to the live band. Rugby fans were not forgotten. Each stall had a Plasma TV, playing a rugby match.
My whole entire existence has been having a love affair with waffles (especially the vanilla and strawberry flavours), but I had never seen a beer waffle before in my life.
The Beer Festival event planners were clever. Outside the stalls was a kid’s area with jumping castle and babysitters around watching the kids, giving the parents a chance to explore the festival without worrying about the children going missing, or worse catching the kid’s tasting the beers.
Safety was a number one priority. There was a security guard roaming around every corner to make sure that you are safe. Nonetheless, the event was worth going to. Seeing girls in skimpy shorts and buff guys playing beer pong, was definitely entertaining.
I don’t speak Afrikaans but I can definitely say this about the Cape Town Festival of Beer. Dit was die beste bierfees oit. Ek kan nie vir volgende jaar se fees wag nie! . If my Afrikaans is broken, forgive me, I used to sleep during my Afrikaans classes. I’ll try call Julius Malema to give me lessons.
**All the images showcased in the article are taken by Live Magazine SA Photographer -Kgabo Kganyago
Abel Dantyi on twitter: @abel_dantyi
