Locally Manufactured Beer ‘Ale Of Origin’ Wins Best Beer In Africa Award
Locally Manufactured Beer ‘Ale Of Origin’ Wins Best Beer In Africa Award. The African Beer Cup has announced Soul Barrel Brewing – Ale of Origin (South Africa) as the best beer in Africa. The company describes the Ale of Origin as a truly extraordinary spontaneously fermented ale.
Ale of Origin is a truly extraordinary spontaneously fermented ale. After brewing a laborious, old world turbid mash of local grains, the wort was boiled for three hours with aged hops, then cooled overnight in the company’s “coolship” – a converted wine vat in its century old cellar. The open air inoculated the beer with wild yeast and bacteria from its surrounding fruit farms and brewery rafters. It then undergoes a long, complex fermentation and three year aging period in large oak barrels. A careful blending of selected barrels realizes the final flavor. This method of brewing is inspired by authentic Belgian Lambic, one of the most traditional beers in the world. This beer is part of Soul Barrel Brewing’s journey to make beers with a sense of time and place that are uniquely South African.
Nick Smith believes great beer will change the world. After attending the Master Brewers Program at UC Davis, he spent ten years in the US craft beer industry including time in brewing, distribution, and sales for Abita Brewing Company in New Orleans and New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, CO. In 2016 he embarked on a new adventure and moved to Cape Town to start Soul Barrel Brewing. “It’s exciting for a locally inspired beer like this to score so highly with an esteemed group of international judges. It gives us hope for South Africa’s beer future. We believe South Africa has one of the most amazing beer cultures in the world, and we’ll continue to tell it’s story!” the company said.
Soul Barrel Brewing aims to create a world-class South African beer culture by brewing artisanal, innovative beer that reflects its time, place, and personality. It believes real beer is made with soul. The company’s brewing showcases its passion for local ingredients, hoppy ales, old world barrel fermentations and its uncompromising commitment to quality. The brewery is in the heart of the Cape Winelands outside of Franschhoek, builtwithin the old tank walls of the former Drakenstein Cooperative Winery.
The African Beer Cup was born out of a love for beer and a desire to nurture a stronger beer culture across the African continent. Drawing on experience judging in numerous other competitions both local and international, the organisers of the African Beer Cup aim to offer a fair and in-depth judging process, as well as detailed, considered feedback for brewers.
