Gqeberha-based microbrewery wins Best Beer in Africa

Based in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, Richmond Hill Brewing Co won a gold medal at the prestigious African Beer Cup beating 231 other beers for the title of Best Beer in Africa. Their dark ale aged in Shiraz barrels with raspberries and peaches, won the hearts of the 52 judges.

Niall Cook, the founder of Richmond Hill Brewing Co, expresses that the achievement of the award is a massive accolade for the brewery.

“To have a beer collect an award in the competition is an amazing achievement, however to further walk away with the Best Beer in Africa Award for 2023 is on another level! Everyone at RHBC is on an all-time high. We are extremely proud as a company and are thankful for all our supporters that have driven us to reach these new heights.”

The prestigious awards are held annually in Cape Town and this year the panel of judges included 52 beer experts from 16 countries to analyse and evaluate 232 beers from 20 African countries. Beers are judged twice with a blind testingapproach and against the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guidelines. These guidelines do not focus on personal preference but on stylistic accuracy.

Richmond Hill Brewing Co walked away with a custom painting to celebrate its title. The painting was crafted by Chanel Louise Gardner, a local artist who uses upcycled materials to create pieces of art.

The small brewery has come a long way since its inception in 2015, and now offers more than just beer with other craft beverages such as berry-infused London dry gin, hard lemonade and more.

Other winning breweries included Soul Barrel Brewing which won the BASA African Celebration Award. Based in Cape Town, the brewery was awarded for its African Wild Soul beer, made from a blend of farmhouse ale and umqombothi, also known as traditional sorghum beer.