STELLENBOSCH CRAFT BEER FEST: YSTERBRU
With the Stellenbosch Craft Beer festival drawing closer, I had another chat with a brewer festival goers are eager to support. Yesterbru is a Cape Town based brewery with some insane Irish ales for us to enjoy.
Q:First off, tell the readers a bit more about your brewery and the kinds of beers they can expect.
A: I learnt how to make beer on the south coast of Ireland 5 years ago. My first batch of beer was cooked on our kitchen stove in an 8 litre stainless steel pot. From there the obsession to make a perfectly balanced beer just grew. I have had many bad batches of beer and thrown away hundreds of litres. One of my early beers even had Marmite in it, because I believe everything tastes better with Marmite, but it never really worked. I'm an owner Brewer and have funded everything myself. I built most of the machinery in my brewery by hand. Even up to today I still don't use off-the-shelve commercial brewing tanks. I still use the ones I built with my own hands and designed myself but I must say it did take 5 building attempts over a period of 3 years to get the machinery perfect and to the size it is currently. Currently the brewery is relocating from Johannesburg to Cape Town and I look forward to the the journey and hard work to establish myself in this wonderful new community.
Q:Do you have any signature brews that we must look out for at the festival?
A: Yes, the Traditional Irish ale and Red Irish ale. The red Irish Ale is my personal favorite. The traditional Irish Ale reminds me of a beer I fell in love with in Ireland and brings back good memories every time I drink it. All my beers have a secret ingredient that sets it apart from any other beer.
Q:Most girls (like me!) are still a bit weary of more bitter beers, do you make something on the lighter side for us too?
A: Yes, I do a Honey Ale which is beautifully subtle and balanced. It doesn’t linger in your mouth with overwhelming flavors, so it is not a mead. Just enough to taste and smell it. The Hops perfectly balances the beer out. It always keeps the ladies coming back for more.
Q:In such a crowded industry of micro-breweries, what have you done to ensure you stand out from the rest?
A:In South Africa I fall under the craft beer category but I don't make typical craft beer, I make Irish beer/ale. If you go to Ireland my beer would just be beer. All my beers are perfectly balanced between creaminess, soft bubbles, sweetness, hops, barley and mouthfeel.
Q: Can people purchase your beer anywhere else that at the brewery?
A: A number of pubs and restaurants in the Western Cape stock Ysterbru
Q:Are there other breweries at the festival that you would like to try out?
A:Yes, all of them, I love beer!!!!!
Q:For the true craft fanatics out there, would you suggest they try brewing their own batch at home or should we leave it up to the pros?
A:Everybody that loves beer should try to brew a batch of beer at least once in their life. It is lots of fun and u feel like an alchemist the first time…….
