Hop to it to find best craft beers

Published Oct 21, 2015

Share

Cape Town - There is a new category in this year’s Klink Awards called On The Hop.

The three nominees are wine farms which have craft breweries. In addition, On The Hop Tours has been launched, itself a nominee in the Best Cellar Door Attraction category, which will take you to visit all three farms on a convenient one-day excursion.

While all this is extremely attractive, there is the bonus of the trio of hot young men you will meet, who are making beer as well as wine. They – and the beer of course – are the common denominators; other than that, each farm offers a unique experience.

The first stop is Remhoogte in Stellenbosch, a magnificently beautiful farm, where Rob Boustred took us on a tour of his little brewery which produces Wild Beast beers. The tiny hands-on operation, which is housed in one of the farm’s original buildings, has evolved over the years; much of the equipment has been designed and made by Boustred and his brother Chris, and labelling of the bottles is done by hand. One of them will be there to explain the process and answer all your questions.

After the tour we strolled down to a gazebo, accompanied by some of the several dogs on the farm, where we tasted the beers complemented by a delicious thin-based pizza and a view across the fields of springbok, zebra and – appropriately – wildebeest.

Wild Beast Brewery makes three beers: a blonde ale, an amber ale, and a delectable stout full of coffee aromas. You can buy your favourite to take home in 500ml bottles, individually or by the case, and they are on tap if you wish to linger longer. When visiting Remhoogte on your own and not part of the tour, you can make a day of it with a picnic, and do some wine tasting as well. The scenery and the hospitality will encourage you to do that.

The second stop is Anura, also in Stellenbosch. Its name is Latin for “frog”, of which there is an abundance in the area. The amphibians are acknowledged everywhere in the form of statues and sculptures. Here the Wagon Trail brewery is more modern and sleek, as is the tasting room. Bobby Phenduka gave us a quick tour, after which we sat outside for the tasting. It’s a lovely, cool, shaded area with a pond full of water reeds in which weaver birds were industriously constructing new homes.

Wagon Trail’s beers are the Long Road lager, Settlers weiss, Cooper’s pale ale, and Ox Blood amber ale. We were joined by wine maker and brewer Lance Bouma who talked us through the range, which is only available on tap for now. Wisely, snacks are included along the way and here it was a cheese and charcuterie platter.

The cheeses and most of the meats are made on the farm too, and I strongly suggest you visit the deli to stock up on the fabulous cheeses which are ridiculously cheap – as in about half the price of what you’d pay in a supermarket. However, I was most upset the bacon jam on the platter was out of stock. The deli is also a Klink nominee.

The last place we visited was Signal Gun winery in the Durbanville valley, where Jannie Brand makes two beers under the Hoogeberg label – a delicious cream ale which goes by the name of Bonte Bok Five Crops, and Yster Vark hybrid lager.

The tasting is paired with biltong. Brand loves to chat about his beer, and beer in general.

The deal here is that you get another pizza (hey, it’s a long day), and a full glass of the beer you preferred in the tasting.

There’s also a boules set so we chucked those around for a while, beers in hand, as the late afternoon sun cast lengthening shadows over the lawn and the trees released puffs of pollen which drifted in the breeze like snowflakes.

Hoogeberg beers are on tap or in a bottle so you can buy to take home.

You can visit one or all of these places yourself, but doing it through On The Hop means the day is carefully paced and structured – but without feeling rushed.

Plus, you have a designated driver and guide. The cost of R1 250 a person includes pick up and drop off either at the V&A Waterfront or SAB in Newlands, beer tastings, transport, and food.

Tours take place Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (private group bookings can be arranged on other days) for groups large or small, and begin around 10am, finishing at about 4.30pm.

l For more information call 083 631 3393 or see www.onthehop.co.za

l Cast your votes for the Klink Awards at http://winetourismsouthafrica.co.za/klinkawards/ by November 13.

Weekend Argus

Related Topics: