There is something about Namibia that just says thirsty. There is not a patch of green to be spotted from the plane window as we fly from Cape Town to Windhoek, and the river beds are all dry. Inside the cabin though, I\u2019m anything but thirsty. The drinks service is the most generous I\u2019ve seen in years, with four passes of the beverage trolley on a flight that lasts a little less than two hours.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all setting the scene well, for my sole reason for being here is beer. Most trips to Namibia take in game drives, photogenic sand dunes, visits to ghost towns \u2013 I have four stops on my four-day itinerary and they all involve a certain malt-based beverage.<\/p>\n
German roots<\/strong><\/p>\n Swakopmund Brewing Co. is based in the Strand Hotel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As I jump into my budget rental car I realise this is the furthest I\u2019ve ever driven for a pint \u2013 a 400km trek across barren lands from the airport to coastal Swakopmund. It\u2019s not the most inspiring drive in Namibia but eventually the trucks start to thin out and the two-lane highways become long, straight, largely empty roads cutting through the desert. I crank the tunes and try to beat the sun as it slowly sinks, casting a purple glow on the dusty surrounds. I arrive in Swakopmund just after dusk, thirsty and hungry and definitely in the right place.<\/p>\n If you enjoy beer and travel \u2013 literally my two favourite pastimes \u2013 then the Strand Hotel<\/a> is a bucket list destination. It\u2019s right on the seafront in one of Namibia\u2019s top tourist towns, it has a busy restaurant \u2013 the Brewer & Butcher \u2013 serving great steak, and perhaps most importantly, it has an award-winning microbrewery on site.<\/p>\n Swakopmund Brewing Company<\/strong> gives a nod to an era of the country\u2019s history in its beer styles, for when it comes to beer culture, the German influence is strong in Namibia. I\u2019m too thirsty to bother with a taster tray so I go straight in for a pint of the award-winning Helles. It goes down just as a lager in the desert should, and I order another as I fill my belly with kapana<\/em> \u2013 spiced, braaied beef strips served with pap and salsa.<\/p>\n The next morning, I meet head brewer Thorsten Kolzing and Brewer & Butcher GM Shannon Kilian for the full tour and tasting. Brewing is Thorsten\u2019s life\u2019s work, stemming back to a career talk at school when he was just 16. He worked at Namibia Breweries during school holidays, studied brewing science in Germany and went on to work at the Hansa Brewery in Swakopmund for 11 years. He took over the reigns at Swakopmund Brewing Company in 2022 and won medals in last year\u2019s African Beer Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thorsten taps a mini keg of the Helles on the restaurant\u2019s deck and we kick off a food and beer pairing lunch. The rich and malty M\u00e4rzen is my top pick for a food pairing, but as the sun fights through the fog and the ocean roars just metres away, it\u2019s really the Helles that is hitting the mark, pairing perfectly with the setting.<\/p>\n The local scene<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOf course, Namibia\u2019s first craft brewery was Camelthorn<\/a>, which launched way back in 2008,\u201d he says. The brewery has since closed, with the brand being bought by Namibia Breweries, the equipment moving to Noon Gun Brewery in Cape Town and the founder, brewmaster J\u00f6rg Finkeldey, now working at Thirsty Fox Brewery in Mauritius.<\/p>\n Andre bucks local beer trends a little, his range including an IPA, Belgian style witbier and an Irish red ale alongside the expected Weissbier and a Vienna lager. His licence covers only manufacturing so there\u2019s no taproom, but his beers are found in local restaurants, a couple of liquor stores and one or two venues as far away as Windhoek.<\/p>\n Lager in Windhoek<\/strong><\/p>\n It is to Windhoek I\u2019m heading next, my first port of call being a stalwart of the local beer scene and a must for anyone looking for a pint in the Namibian capital. Joe\u2019s Beer House is better known for its array of mainstream lagers than for having a solid craft range, although that has certainly changed in the seven years since I was last there<\/a>. There are a few local microbrews, a couple of craft beers from South Africa and even a few European imports alongside Namibia\u2019s favourites \u2013 Hansa, Tafel and of course, the capital\u2019s namesake lager.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s is really known for its eclectic d\u00e9cor though \u2013 toilet seats for bar stools, rusty old wagon wheels on the walls, animal horns wearing hats, and the sort of pithy signs that can keep trigger happy Instagrammers happy for days. I take the requisite photos, grab a quick pint and move on to my second destination brewery of the trip. Like Swakopmund Brewing Company, Roof of Africa<\/a> has a restaurant and hotel on site, although it does lack the dramatic beachfront location of its coastal cousin.<\/p>\n It is brewday when I arrive and it is hot. Luckily brewer Alexander Arnold \u2013 better known as Axi \u2013 \u00a0takes a moment to step away from the kettle to grab me a beer. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in taster trays,\u201d he tells me, pouring me a half pint of their Roof Draught, a crisp, malt-forward lager. I look at the taps and a glad that I\u2019m spending the night here \u2013 there are 12 beers in the range. I\u2019m hoping he\u2019s not expecting me to manage a half pint of each, especially before dinner.<\/p>\n Land of thirst<\/strong><\/p>\n Originally from Germany, Alex arrived in Namibia on his Wanderjahre. <\/em>This 1000-year old German tradition sees travelling artisans spending three years and one day wandering the world to gain work experience in a sort of gap year-meets-apprenticeship set up. The Wandergesellen<\/em> \u2013 or journeymen \u2013 move from place to place offering their skills in carpentry, roofing and metalwork and it is this that brought Alex to Roof of Africa. Upstairs, some of his intricate handiwork is on show in the form of cabinets used to store the restaurant\u2019s impressive whisky selection. But Alex has long since completed his three-year stint and swapped carpentry for brewing, winning a number of medals for the wide range of beers brewed on site.<\/p>\n With the brewday complete and the beer safely transferred to the fermenter, we finally grab some food as we sit on the terrace and continue to tackle Roof\u2019s sizable repertoire, which includes an IPA and a Weissbier alongside lagers in every hue and strength.<\/p>\n The conversation flicks between German and English, but from its big beer brands playing heavily on their Reinheitsgebot roots to the handful of microbreweries here that all celebrate Weissbier and Pilsner and Helles, it is obvious where Namibia\u2019s beer allegiance lies. And in one department, Namibia has Germany beat, for the weather here sure is more conducive to polishing off a few pints of lager.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Thirsty for more? Check out these other Namibian craft breweries<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Based in Windhoek, Tholch Brew<\/a> is run by three brothers. They produce an IPA, Helles and an American wheat beer. You\u2019ll find their beers at select liquor stores in the capital and at certain weekend markets.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"copper](\"https:\/\/brewmistress.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/swakopmund-brewing-co-namibia.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/brewmistress.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/namib-dunes-craft-brewery-namibia.jpg\")
Swakopmund Brewing Company is the largest and best-known brewery in town, but it isn\u2019t the only craft brewery in Swakop. Nearby is Namib Dunes<\/a>, a distribution set up in a small industrial park on the outskirts of town. Owner Andre Genis takes time out from brewday to chat about Namibian craft, which has more of a pedigree than you might expect.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/brewmistress.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/roof-of-africa-brewery-namibia.jpg\")
I join for the end of the brew, where the banter is as thick as the steam rolling out of the brewhouse. Hotel manager Peter Wagener is a real character, flitting between English and German as the mood takes him. He has a great rapport with Axi and they exchange bilingual wisecracks, laughing at themselves and each other. Hailing from Germany, Axi has as intriguing a back story as any brewer, which he recounts as we continue to work our way through the Roof range.<\/p>\n