Craft Revolution Monte Casino

So this past weekend I got crafty at the Craft Revolution at Monte Casino. This was a beer festival unlike any other because you won’t find any of your normal beers. At this beer festival, craft beer was king.

This is the first year the revolution has hit Monte Casino as the craft beer trend has only recently started to pick up true momentum. Due to its newness the revolution was relatively small, but let us remember, there aren’t that many nationally successful micro-breweries yet. But the ones there were all the ones most of us craft-o-holics know and love very well, with names such as Jack Black, Slow Brew, Cape Brewing Co, Devils Peak, Copperlake, Ace Brew Works, Boston, Brauhaus Am Damm, Brewhogs, Soweto Gold, Citizen, The Cockpit Brewhouse, Everson Cider, Smack Republic, Swagga and Loxton. With each brewery offering between three to six different beers and ciders there was something for everyone to try.

But of course, where there is beer, there must be food to absorb it. The Craft Revolution had this too with some of the yummiest food stalls like Tutto, Barbeque Rib Manufacturers (BRM), Reds Roasts Sandwiches, Hogshead, The Smoooth Wagon, Longtom (Who I got a dynamist cheese griller hotdog from) and Amexicano.

With some fairly good live music (even if the speakers where too loud for a small outside event like the revolution) the whole experience was a fun Saturday day out. Sadly the weather was rather grey which put a slight dampener on things.

Events like these are expensive though with R120 for entrance which included a Craft Revolution beer glass. Then once in, you need to buy your “Castros” which are the currency used inside the event. These come in R100 booklets of 20 (1 Castros = R5) and the most beers were 4 castros for a half glass and 6 for a full glass which is about what you'll normally pay for a large glass of craft. With that in mind, to really sample a bit of everything and indulge you need to be prepare with about R500 person.

What makes me happy as a craft lover is most of the beers from the revolution can easily be found at The Beerhouse in the Pineslope Centre, so anything I missed out on, I can go find there any day of the week.

The revolution may have been small this year but if this craft beer trend continues this will surely become one of the biggest and best beer festivals around.

But no, this revolution won’t be televised. 

The Beer House Fourways Johannesburg

Lately there’s been a sudden and overwhelming surge in popularity around craft beer. The variety of tastes and textures of beers and ciders seems to have sent everyone a bit nuts. I know I personally have a deep love of craft beer and cider and the more restaurants and bars that have it, the happier I am.

There’s even a craft beer event at Monte next week and one in Sandton next month. That’s how nuts people have gone.

In the last three months or so three new bar/restaurants have sprung up in the Fourways area and all of them are using the craft beer trend as a cash cow of note. Today I went to the newest of the three restaurants: The Beerhouse. This Cape Town import is situated situated in the Pineslopes Centre right at the bottom. If you can’t find it just look for the bright yellow building. You can even see it as you drive past on Witkoppen, or should I say you can’t not see it as you drive past.

I was at the Beerhouse today for about four hours and I thoroughly enjoyed it. From the time I arrived to the time I left it was packed with people of all ages. And this is only after the Beerhouse has been open for about a week and a half. But it’s not hard to understand why it’s already so popular.

Let’s start with its food! From the chips to their pork belly sandwich, it’s was all delicious! The food menu isn’t very extensive but I’m sure you’ll find something good to eat on it.

Now let me tell you about the staff! I can’t speak for every waster at the Beerhouse as we only had the one but he was the friendliest waiter I’ve ever had and on top of that he was fast and efficient. He even took our playfully abuse and jokes with a smile. Even the manager when he came past was warm and friendly and willing to joke and talk with the customers. People like these really are ambassadors for what a place like the Beerhouse represents.

Now, it’s time to tell about the name sake behind the Beerhouse, their beer and cider selection. Normally you go to a bar and its drinks menu is a page and the food menu is seven pages. At the Beerhouse, that’s the other way round. Whether you like IPAs, ales, weiss beers or ciders, they have it all. One thing I really liked at the Beerhouse is you can get 100ml glasses of all of their on tap drinks. These range from R7.00 to R15.00. So you can sample a little bit of everything without braking the bank or being overly inebriated. You can also get 330mls, 440ml and 500ml which all range in price. This makes the Beerhouse very wallet friendly as you can often only get one size glass of craft beer at one rather high price. They do how ever have a few drinks that’ll make you raise your eyebrows such as a particular cider which will set you back R300.00 for 750mls. Now I’m sorry ladies and gents, unless that cider contains the elixir of life, I’m not paying R300 for one drink, but if one of you out there has, please tell us what it’s like.

Over all I give the Beerhouse an A++ for atmosphere, staff and food and drink and I’m looking forward to going back there again.