5 golden rules for South African beer drinkers

24 May 2015 - 02:00 By Nick Mulgrew
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Nick Mulgrew shares some Obvious-But-Still-Good-Advice for fellow beer enthusiasts.

1. Bigger isn't always better; but then again, neither is smaller. People love to hate on "boring", "mass-produced" beers, but let me tell you, I've had many more crap "handmade" beers from "craft" breweries than I have had from industrial outfits. The size of a brewery is no indication of how good its beer is.

2. Be honest with your barman. Drink something that tastes bad? Tell whoever it was who poured it for you. (Nicely, of course.) You wouldn't drink corked wine, so don't settle for off beer at your local.

3. Be honest with your brewer. If a brewery consistently serves up rank beer, whether on tap or in bottle, tell them. (Again, nicely.) No brewer worth their salt would purposefully make bad beer - and if they don't appreciate your feedback, they'd probably be better off doing something else.

4. Be adventurous... As the local industry grows, you'll likely come across styles of beer you've never heard of before; stuff that might at first seem gag-worthy. I implore you to try as much as you can, if only because you can never know what it is you'll fall in love with: whether it's the sour lactic bite of a Berliner Weiße , the pine-and-roast car crash of a heavy black IPA, or the chewy, grainy mouthfeel of homemade umqombothi .

5. Drink what you enjoy. In the beer industry's marketing maelstrom, it's often lost that the best beer in the world is in fact the one you enjoy most. Whether it's Castle or Westvleteren, if it makes you happy when it's in your glass - well, that's all that matters.

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