The previous two #BeerSaturday posts for me was on various craft lagers found in the South Africa craft beer scene. This week, I am continuing this series with two beers from Darling Brewery who have taken up this idea that South Africans cannot Braai (BBQ) without a lager!

a brewery high up in the mountainous region of Clarens, where you can enjoy a beer, eat good food, and play some board gamesWe traveled to the brewery in Clarens after a longish hike. We needed the refreshments and some good food.

taking small steps toward a new year breathing in breathing out another series of moons have come and gone now on the doorstep of a new year we can breathe a new breathAnd so, we are on the cusp, on the doorstep, of a new year. It is incredible that we made it this far, with so many new memories, so many new prospects, so many new friends, and so many new potential for connections.

Last week, I started my journey into craft lagers. I would argue that the market for lagers in South Africa is so big that if a craft brewery does not offer their unique spin on a lager that they will lose out on a big market share.

The end of the year syndrome is always a funny thing. We rush to finish things only to start them over again in the new year. For a brief moment, a thin slice in time, we stand still, to reflect. In fact, this is actually not a time in the year in which we stand still and reflect, it is actually a time of hyperactivity! We rush to get things done, only in order to rush to get our homes in order for friends and family to come over, to cook up a storm to feed the hungry bunch, and to “end the year off” — whatever that might mean in our day and age.

I think most South Africans grew up with the idea of an ice-cold lager (either Black Lable or Castle Lager) and a braai-vleis vuur (BBQ meat fire) on most weekends or even during the week. I grew up with my father and grandfather always lighting a fire and opening up a beer after a long week's work or after a weekend gardening process.