South African craft beer is fighting lager with lager
By Jim Clarke
Published November 2012, Volume 33, Number 5
Beer has deep roots in South Africa. That’s no surprise, since it was colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and later by the English. In addition, some tribes such as the Zulu and Xhosa have a history of sorghum and maize-based brewing. The brewing industry there is younger, however, dating to the 1895 founding of Castle Brewery, which catered to the mining industry after gold and diamonds were discovered in the area around Johannesburg. A century of consolidation, aided by anti-apartheid embargoes that led foreign companies to withdraw from the market, and eventually South African Breweries (SAB) controlled 98 percent of the country’s market, selling a number of brands including Castle and Carling Black Label. Internationally, of course, SABMiller is the second-largest brewery in the world.
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An inside look at craft beer and the middle tier
By Ken Weaver
Published November 2012, Volume 33, Number 5
If you were to ask fellow beer drinkers to describe their favorite brewery, where would they start? They’d probably mention things like stainless-steel tanks, certain flagship and seasonal offerings, pot-bellied growlers, the smell of steeped barley, intermittent beardedness, the tall rubber boots… What about their favorite retailer? Perhaps they’d start with the beer aisle or the line of bar stools, the chalkboard menu, the pub fare, the secret beer selection they keep in the back, their favorite bartenders…
But what if you asked about their favorite distributor?
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Is there a cure for the tragic, albeit self-induced malady?
By Ian Lloyd
Published November 2012, Volume 33, Number 5
“Never again is what you swore the time before.” These song lyrics from Depeche Mode
summarize our feelings about the curse of imbibing: the hangover. The symptoms are unmistakable: headache, body aches, nausea, fatigue and perhaps tremors. It is of little comfort to know that despite its widespread prevalence, medical science has not developed a cure for the hangover. Studies have shown that more than 75 percent of men and women have experienced a hangover at least once in their lives. Another 15 percent experience hangovers monthly. So what works and what doesn’t? My answer might not make you feel better, but at least you will understand why you feel so rotten.
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A rise in community-supported breweries is a good thing for craft beer, and for communities
By Whit Richardson
Published September 2012, Volume 33, Number 4
If you ask David Flynn what prompted him to buy a membership share in Seattle’s Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery last year, he’ll give you an honest answer. “I have no idea.”
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Some extinct beers make a return
By Ben Keene
Published September 2012, Volume 33, Number 4
Is it accurate to call gose, a salty, 1,000-year-old German wheat ale, mainstream? The answer from Brewmaster Brian Edmunds at Breakside Brewing in Portland, OR, is decidedly yes. “We actually do—or have done—a number of different ‘Old World’ styles at different points,” he says.
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China embraces craft beer
By Nick Yates
Published September 2012, Volume 33, Number 4
Finding Great Leap Brewing is a distinctly Chinese affair. The journey to the vanguard of Beijing’s nascent craft brewing scene involves leaving a historic tourist strip and wending your way into the old residential city. Here, eccentric old Communist China lingers alongside evidence of the country’s new capitalist dawn, encapsulating what makes life in the country known as the Middle Kingdom so textured.
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