NESTLED in the middle of buzzing St George’s Mall, Motherland Coffee is regarded by many as java heaven.
But Alistair Kernick, one of the partners, has cleverly transformed the storeroom into a trendy new bar – Motherland Brewers.
It was Kernick’s love for beer that gave rise to the idea of a craft beer bar. With just a few steps from the coffee shop into the bar, Motherland Brewers is one of only two bars of its kind in the Cape Town CBD.
Kernick said: “There are a few craft beer bars popping up but not many in the CBD. As far as I know we are the second bar where beer is our anchor product.”
As a beer enthusiast he has always been interested in owning a craft beer bar.
“I had a lot of extra space in the shop and I was looking to do something, so we thought why not develop a whole new concept and brand around beer? We took the existing space and turned the old storeroom into a bar and a kitchen.”
Kernick said the aim was to have a good selection for people to choose from. “The coffee shop is on one side and the beer is on the other side. The concept is for there to be a good selection for people so they can get something they like.
“It’s like an exploration where you can come in and explore various beers,” he said.
But what is it about craft beer that is causing such a craze?
Kernick believes it’s the unique taste that sets it apart from mass produced lagers.
“Craft beer is very much like a journey. Most people start off with a lager, which is an uncomplicated and easy-to-drink beer.
“Then they slowly move into a more complex taste, which is usually your ale. If you compare a mass-produced beer in flavour to what you get from the tap of a properly hand-crafted micro brew beer, it’s just not comparable.
“They don’t give you the same experience. There are so many more options available to craft beer because people are into tasting different flavours.”
Kernick explained the difference between brewing beer and brewing cider.
“A beer is brewed with a combination of malt, hops, water and yeast, whereas cider is brewed with apples,” he said.
“The difference in taste between a beer and a cider depends on how you ferment it.
"If you have a fermentation that takes out a lot of the sugar it leaves you with a dry beer.
"But if you have a fermentation that leaves in some of the sugar it’s going to be a bit sweeter. Some guys will cheat and add sugar.
"The really dry beers normally have a low level of sugar because the yeast has converted it into alcohol already,” Kernick said.
For the more daring drinkers who like their beer with a little more kick, there is ale.
“The ale is more hoppier,” saids Kernick.
“The hoppier the beer, the more the bitterness increases. It takes a little while to develop on your palate. There is a bit of a craft beer craze and once you start experimenting you tend to gravitate towards a specific type.”
Kernick said beer can be paired with a light snack.
“You can pair beer with food or on its own in copious quantities.
“We have a cheese and charcuterie board at our establishment.
“It has a lot of strong flavours so you can pair it with an Indian Pale Ale (IPA) which also has a lot of flavours.”
Motherland has six taps which are rotated on a regular basis.
“We own all of the taps. At a lot of the other bars the suppliers own the taps and you have to put on their beers, but we have the freedom to put on whatever we like and rotate them as well.”.
Kernick said: “Your selection this week may be different to your selection next week.
"The rotation is dependent on the genre of beer, but everything will be in rotation once a month.”