Beer festival in the brewing

Joburgers will have a chance to explore more than 150 locally and internationally brewed beers this weekend at the Joburg Festival of Beer.

We visited the Soweto Gold brewery to find out whether they're ready for the two-day event. The brewery plans to bring 1000 litres of its original brews - Gold Superior Lager and apple and cherry fruit ales.

Their crafted lager is smooth with a not-too-bitter aftertaste, and the fruit ales are sweet and zesty.

Mandla Mbatha, assistant brew-master at Soweto Gold, showed us around the collection of kettles, valves and cooling systems that came with a R7-million price tag. We learned how the brewing process evolves from boiling malts to fermentation at specific temperatures before the chemicals are added to obtain a perfectly clear, golden product.

Soweto Gold stores its beer in 30- and 50-litre kegs to increase the beer's shelf life.

''Our beer takes five to 10 days to mature with a month lifespan, so we don't sell to the public. Instead we sell kegs to bars in Sandton and Fourways," says Mbatha.

Master brewer at Soweto Gold, Ndumiso Madlala, fell in love with making beer while working at South African Breweries. He travelled around Africa to understand how beer is crafted and brought his ideas back home.

• Joburg Festival of Beer takes place at Pirates Sports Club in Greenside, Johannesburg, this weekend.