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by far the best craft beers in the South African craft beer scene at the moment

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The day has finally come, I had my perfect hazy IPA! (Or, I had a couple of pints.)

We went out for a joy ride and happened to drive past one of the best craft beer breweries (in my drunken opinion). I had some of their beers a while ago and I was really happy to actually visit them now.

The brewery is located in the local wine district, with the iconic "Kaaps" or "Cape" buildings scattered throughout the area. The brewery is actually inside one of the old wineries, with so much of the old building kept for its aesthetic beauty.

So, please join me on this virtual beer and brewery journey as I show you one of the best in South Africa at the moment!

The Brewery

The brewery is housed in the old Drakenstein Winery building, in fact, in the very fermentation blocks! A lot of wines, I think, in the Cape is made and fermented in big square cement "blocks". As you enter the brewery, you see that the brewery is inside three or so of these old wine "fermenters" (I am not sure what you call them).

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As you walk down to the seating, you are greeted by many different vines, mostly hops, growing and providing some much needed shade. I am sure that they use some of these hops grown on site for their dry hopping. I did not ask them, but I am sure they do!

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As Always, The Mountains!

We are blessed in the Cape to have magnificent mountains that surround us, they are always part of our lives. We can in fact not escape them! As we drove to the brewery, and as we sat down to have a drink, you are again wrapped in by the mountains. They always, it seems to me, tempt me to walk and hike in them. They look to nice to just want to stay in them! Alas, we had our beer and we could only pondour their splendour.

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The Building: A Unique Experience and the Perfect Cellar Aging Environment

Why tear down everything just to rebuild it from the ground up? The brewery is situated in the middle of some of these old wine fermentation cement tanks. The remnants of it all remain there as decor. The thick building walls or fermentation tank walls are iconic in their rough and unfinished look.

I know a couple of wineries that also does this unfinished look after having broken through a couple of walls. The look really works.

Either way, the thick walls act as insulation from the extreme heat outside. It was shocking, as we walked inside, it felt like a fridge. The extreme heat outside did not affect the cool temperature inside.

This is perfect for the brewery, as they are brewing some of the most interesting beers, from open cask lambic sours, to aged stouts that challenge the very notion of what a beer is! Some of their beers age for longer than some wines...

(But more of this in my BeerSaturday posts...)

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The Beers

Soul Barrel Brewing Co offers so many unique beers, some on tap, some only in bottles. For me, they are doing what I think every single serious brewer dreams of: experimentation.

Some breweries have become stuck in their ways, brewing only what the market wants, and playing it safe.

But Soul Barrel is trying different things, with some really weird and whacky beers. I really enjoyed this aspect, as so few places are doing it. They are real craft brewers!

What was interesting is that they were labeling some beers in the brewery itself! A lot of places keep the brewing and the public seperate, but it felt like a real brewery as you walked between the barrels where the beers were aging, the place where they labeled the beers, and the fermentation tanks.

This all contributed to the atmosphere of the brewery, but also the wild yeast in the air. Some of their beers they brew with wild yeast captured in the brewery, the old winery building. How cool is that?

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As always with these tours, I brought my beer passport to get the stamp! I also ordered a couple of these hazy IPAs, and I really found my poison here. This was one of, if not, the best beers I had in my entire life. The balance between yeast, the tropical fruit hops, and the high-ish alcohol, I just loved every sip.

I tried a couple of other beers, just to make sure about my choice, but I could not miss the opportunity to drink a couple of these ones on tap.

My father had some of the other beers, and we shared it across the table, with each beer having its own unique set of characteristics, but my overall winner was the Hazy IPA.

It was funny, my fiance did not think much of the beers. These are real experimental beers, so for the beer drinker not well versed in beer drinking, these beers would be kind of a shock. But I will write more about this later. So, she only had some iced coffee!

But we also ordered some food, with their smash burgers also being some of the best that I have tasted. They take their time with the food, so if you are in a hurry don't settle down. But this gives you an excuse to drink another beer. The wait was definitely worth it, as the food was insanely good.

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Postscriptum, or so the boat floats and sets sail

The beers were amazing, the atmosphere unique and special, and the setting beautiful. This all made the beers just taste that much better.

I cannot wait for the next visit, and to see what they will come up with!

For now, happy drinking and keep well.