Founder Of Entrepid Brewing William Yell Details How He Created A Unique Drink By Mixing Craft Beer And Traditional Beer (Umqombhoti)
Founder Of Entrepid Brewing William Yell Details How He Created A Unique Drink By Mixing Craft Beer And Traditional Beer (Umqombhoti). It has been reported that South African entrepreneur and owner of Featherstone Brewery and Entrepid Brewing in Makhanya, William Yell has crafted a new drink by mixing Craft Beer with traditional beer (Umqombhoti), he believes the drink he made is as South African as possible.
In an interview with News24, Yell detailed how he came about this idea, he said, “”After moving from Johannesburg to the farm, it took a while to find someone to teach me to brew traditional umqombothi as everyone has their own unique process, so with some help that was the first step. Sour beers had also been gaining in popularity in the craft industry, so my idea was to merge these two concepts and create something local by a fusion of modern beer brewing and traditional methods.”
Yell sought to create a drink that would be proudly South African and he chose to mix the two drinks that a large general population of South Africans already likes and mix them to create something that they can all enjoy. The beer brand called ‘Ibhiya’ consists of 20% authentic African umqombothi sour mash, added to African sorghum/wheat beer, finished with South African hops and honey, and then fermented with beer yeast.
Yell has been in the beer industry for a while as he is the founder of Entrepid Brewing and is the owner of Featherstone Brewery. Featherstone Brewery started as a dream for founders Mark and Clare Riley in 2012 then becoming now Makhanda’s first licensed craft brewery in 2016. In late 2019 the Riley’s due to personal circumstances decided to pursue a new adventure and transferred the whole brewery to another local craft brewer and founder of Entrepid Brewing, William Yell in January 2020. Yell seeks to be innovative and provide a unique product to the market and this may be the start of a great brand that South Africans will love.
