I’ve never seen so many choices in terms of craft beer, both on tap and in bottles, it’s quite simply put: beer heaven!
The story goes: 4 friends, all in the eventing business, started the Capital Craft Beer Festival in 2013 in Pretoria and the response was so amazing that they decided to create a fixed venue offering the kinds of variety of craft beer you can only get at festivals, and they did. But, they went above and beyond making sure that they have more variety than any other beer venue in the country.
154 beers from around the world
They have 154 beers from around the world, 19 of which are on tap at any one point. It’s a cool setting, relaxed, unpretentious, but it’s big, with ample outside seating area and indoor as well as an indoor smoking area for when the weather turns. And, there’s a great grass area opposite for kids to play on.
The waiters have extensive knowledge of the beers on offer and are happy to recommend or help you decide on which best suits what your taste. A great new addition to the menu is the beer tasting platter which consists of 6 160ml glasses of different draught beers, I asked my waiter (PJ – who was a star) to choose for me, giving me a good variety of flavours and styles. He came up with 6 great options, my favourites of which were: the Citizen Alliance Amber Ale (very fruity and light), the Devil’s Peak IPA (floral and bitter-sweet) and the Drayman’s Weissbeir (slightly sweet with hints of banana.)
To eat: I opted for one of their famous burgers as well as a serving of specially smoked pork ribs and the pulled pork sandwich. The burger delivers on every level; I had the Mo-sister which consisted of a 200g free range beef patty, caramelised red onion, blue cheese, tomato relish and all the trimmings – succulent, rich, flavourful – an absolute win. The ribs had a gorgeous smoky flavour thanks to their in-house smoker – but I found the meat to be a bit dry for my liking, whilst the meat came off the bone easily, it lacked moisture. The pulled pork sandwich was pure decadence; sweet, succulent and served in a sour dough sandwich with homemade coleslaw it’s an absolute win.
The service is great all-round; I watched waiting staff being consistently attentive and not a single customer needed to call for service. That’s a big plus in my books.
They also offer Beer evenings on various Tuesdays of each month where various brewers come to talk to the public and also host brewing classes – both of which are free.
Draughts are around R30, meals around R70.
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