Three years ago I was lucky enough to attend Homebrew Con in the States. Homebrew Con<\/strong> is (or at least was) a three-day expo and conference that\u2019s attended not just by homebrewers from across the US, but also from around the world. Major suppliers like Fermentis, Castle Malting, Charles Faram and Weyermann exhibit and there are all manner of talks, both technical and anecdotal (I was there speaking about brewing umqombothi, complete with a batch I\u2019d brewed along with local homebrewer Paul Telford). And of course, amongst the exhibitor stands there was plenty of homebrew to taste, with bars offering rotating taps from different homebrew clubs across the country.<\/p>\n But if you really wanted to experience what American homebrewers are capable of, you had to attend Club Night. The grand finale of Homebrew Con, Club Night is a homebrew showcase on a scale that I had never experienced before. More than 30 clubs set up stands in the expo hall, but we\u2019re not talking about a table with a cooler box and a couple of banners. There was a tiki hut with Hawaiian themed beers and grass-skirt clad homebrewers handing out leis, a Caddy Shack-themed stand with gold clubs for tap handles, and the most amazing installation evoking Prohibition. Those lucky enough to have been given a card could tap on the door and when a shutter opened and an ear appeared, you whispered the password typed onto their business cards. A second shutter opened and a mystery beer was thrust into your hand. Pure genius.<\/p>\n I apologise for the terrible quality of these images \u2013 I was in denial about needing reading glasses and thought they were in focus at the time<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And of course the beer variety and innovation was outstanding. There were more goses than have ever been produced in South Africa (homebrewed or commercial), while one club served nothing but brown ales in different guises. There was a keptinis (a Lithuanian farmhouse ale where you bake the mash) and of course our umqombothi, served straight from the fermenter (because we couldn\u2019t think of a better way).<\/p>\n Clubs boast names with terrible puns and laboured acronyms, while beer names are increasingly inventive, such as \u2018Those who can\u2019t farm, farm celery\u2019 (a carrot and orange Berliner Weisse) and perhaps the best-named beer I\u2019ve ever seen, on a Big Lebowski themed stand: That Roggenbier (Really Tied the Room Together). And in among it all, the Colorado Wagon Train winds \u2013 a movable stand born many Homebrew Cons ago, when the Foam on the Range members didn\u2019t want to be stuck behind a stall so instead designed a way to serve their brews while walking around the hall, sampling everyone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n It is an experience I would suggest that every beer enthusiast \u2013 not just homebrewer \u2013 adds to their bucket list (although sadly Homebrew Con is currently on hiatus). At the time, it made me both ecstatically happy, because it was a truly wonderful experience, and a little sad because our homebrewing scene could offer nothing similar. Then. Two years on, and South Africa\u2019s homebrewing scene has exploded with a host of new clubs and some epic interclub festivals.<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/brewmistress.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Untitled-design-2-1024x512.png\")
<\/p>\nGetting inspired<\/h3>\n
South Africa\u2019s homebrewing scene<\/h3>\n
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