Craft beer is here to stay
Spira Tlhankane | Friday October 26, 2018 13:42
Craft brewery or microbrewery or is a brewery that produces small amounts of beer, typically much smaller than large-scale corporate breweries like KBL, and is independently owned. Such breweries are generally characterised by their emphasis on quality, flavor and brewing technique.
With more breweries now riding high on the reduction of alcohol levy, the drinking culture is back and now Batswana are even open to appreciate new avenues such as the beer craft business.
This is a small-scale production that allows craft distillers to find unique ingredients. Craft brewery is a hands-on experience from fermentation, distillation to blending and infusion techniques.
If you go around various places in town like bars, cafes and sometimes in festivals it is hard to miss a bottle of craft beer on the shelves.
While locally produced lagers like St. Louis have the potential to replace cans of Black Label in the bar fridge Batswana can also shift their focus to smaller, artisan producers like the craft beer breweries.
Just some few years ago there were few or no craft beers on the shelves. There was no exposure of the business in popular culture.
Other countries has experienced a similar phenomenon and they now seek bold flavours and quality-driven brewing techniques in the craft beer.
Your wine, spirits, mainstream beer and other mass-produced assortments continue to dominate the market but these craft beers provide diverse and unforgettable drinking experiences.
For those who have been resorting to beers with high alcohol percentage, the craft beer may be ‘small, independent and traditional’ as they say but too much bottles are not recommended.
Big breweries and hardcore consumers of beer may not recognise craft beer as valuable or important but the latter is necessary to push the culture and perhaps push local tourism.
To some tourists, on top of drinking the local beer, some always want to try the local craft beer. Speaking of local, this year Botswana opened doors to the first ever craft beer maker called Big Sip and it was indeed the perfect time to start this.
The founders of the craft business have outlined that they wanted a challenge and create a specialised craft beer in the land where water is scarce and hops don’t grow.
“We are proud to offer you an exceptional drinking experience right here in Botswana.
Our labour of love combines the highest quality ingredients, sourced from around the world, with modern brewing methods designed to bring new life and flavour to the beer market”.
Big Sip intends to tap into the unexplored with Botswana’s first craft beer. With that being said, it is safe to say, craft beer is here to stay!