Two local breweries, Stellar Brewery and Famous Brew and Still, have been included in the national BrewRoutes recently launched by the Beer Association of South Africa (Basa), in association with the Craft Brewers Association, Heineken South Africa and South African Breweries.
The BrewRoutes is an initiative of Beer Tourism Week to support local craft breweries hard hit by the four alcohol bans.
Patricia Pillay, CEO of Basa, has urged South Africans to visit breweries and taprooms in order to give these local businesses a boost, as craft breweries are still struggling to get back on their feet.
Pillay explained that there are 11 craft breweries located across the Free State, and Basa hopes all community members living in and around Bloemfontein will be making use of the BrewRoutes to discover and support local craft breweries within their province.
“The BrewRoutes are free and accessible to anyone wishing to enjoy them, and are available via an online interactive BrewRoute map, which showcases 180 craft breweries across the country,” added Pillay.
“South Africans can visit the online map to see the locations of these breweries in our nine provinces and to get more information on each of them. “The map can be accessed by visiting: https://brewroutes.co.za/.” Pillay stated that Basa plans to continue expanding the BrewRoutes map, including launching beer routes in all nine provinces over the coming months.
Nozibongo Socishe, the manager for marketing, communication and branding of FoodBev Seta, believes for her, coming from the skills department part of the sector, she is excited to see so many young people taking part in such initiatives, not only to be drinking beer but to learn about how it is crafted.
“For the future of the country’s economy, I would say we are safe because these skills will be moved on from one generation to the other.”
Corn Koteli
