So I recently returned from a 15 day trip to South Africa! It was a great trip and of course I had a few beers. Unfortunately there are too many main stream lagers but they are actually brewing some intresting beers with lots of British influence too.
One of the most fascinating things is that the Xosha tribe has been brewing beer for hundreds of years. In fact, it is such a part of their lives that they have constructed beer gardens outside their homes! They have structures that look like corrals where only men are allowed to enter and it is specifically designed for beer drinking! How awesome is that!? Unfortunately due to flooding our trip to the Xosha village was cancelled so I was unable to try the beer but I did get a pic if a beer garden!
I was also able to get into a small brewery called Mitchell’s. The beer was pretty decent and they had 4 varieties. A lager, a bitter, a scottish ale and a milk stout. The best of course was the bitter. However it only had 3.6% alcohol. Well below the 6-7% beers I’m used to drinking the states. Upon further investigation I learned that this is because it costs more in taxes if it has higher alcohol. I was also told this is also the case in the UK.
When most people think of South Africa they think of wine. Not that they don’t do great wine, but it is increasingly becoming known as a beer destination. Should you ever go and want to explore on of the beer routes here is a link :http://www.kzn.org.za/index.php?beerroute.
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