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.