Chapter Three, our Fruit Beers, are influenced by Belgium brewers. We use both malted barley and unmalted wheat together with Hallertau and Saaz hops to create our base beer for our different seasonal fruit beers.

While the European brewers may have a preference for Cherry beers we wanted to use only locally produced fruits in our beers. Depending on the time of year we will brew with either pineapple, strawberry, or the local mangoes which grow throughout Shongweni Valley.

We only use whole fruits to produce our beer, no extracts or flavourings here! This is always appreciated not only by those who drink our beer but also by the lucky pigs who get a nice fruit supplement to their normal malt or wheat diet from our spent grains.

The colour of the beer depends on the fruit that we use but all have a great natural carbonation and good head on the beer when poured, and all tend to a low bitterness of around 20 units with an ABV of between 3.5% and 4%.

Mango Beer at 4% ABV pours a very hazy pale yellow, with a thick, fluffy head with the aroma of mango on the nose, together with the clove arising from the wheat. The palate is dominated by the fresh, lemony bite of the beer and balanced with bittering hops which are just sweetened with juicy mango. Our Mango beer with its gentle flavours and aromas is the perfect accompaniment for the first warm rays of summer sunshine.

Strawberry Beer:
We have a great relationship with the local strawberry farmer here. He understands our needs as brewers and when strawberry season comes around we spend a lot of time talking to each other about the readiness of his crop. We use around 180kg of strawberries per brew and they are usually picked on the morning that we brew with them.

Our strawberry beer utilises a wheat beer base and then we steep the fruit in the copper at the end of the boil. In the glass there is an immediate ripe, summery strawberry on the nose and as the beer pours it gives a hazy, pale yellow/orange colour. There is a fruitiness, and warming, creamy malt. On the palate the strawberry comes through once more, followed by a reasonably bitter finish and malty mid-palate. Our Strawberry beer is released locally in February and March as a reminder of those fading summer days.

Pineapple Beer:
Like all of our Fruit beers the pineapple used to flavour this bottle-conditioned ale is grown locally, in fact we have planted part of the brewery grounds with pineapples for future brews. The beer is a pale hazy yellow when young, but does clear when cellared for twelve or more months, with a thick, foamy white head. The aroma is dominated by the clove like spice of the wheat, accompanied by the pineapple and hop behind. On the palate this beer is dry, lemony and has hints of the pineapple being followed by the dry hop character of the finish. This beer proves very popular with lovers of white wine and champagnes, we like it chilled on the beach after a day surfing.