Cape Town microbrewery triumphs at 2021 African Beer Cup

Afro Caribbean Brewing Company, a microbrewery based in Cape Town, scooped the title of Best Beer in Africa for its Space Llama double IPA at the 2021 African Beer Cup held recently.

The African Beer Cup is the continent’s largest beer competition and the only contest accepting entries from across Africa. Any commercial brewery is eligible to enter, regardless of size.

This year’s competition attracted 210 entries from 12 different African countries: Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Sixty-seven medals were awarded in 31 different categories, with winners hailing from eight different countries.

Judging process

Beers were judged in May by panels of beer experts, brewers and qualified judges in Cape Town and Johannesburg. All beers were judged to the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) guidelines, which place a strong focus on stylistic accuracy. “One thing that really sets our competition apart is that every entry gets judged twice by two different panels,” says competition co-founder and director Lucy Corne. “This really gives the most accurate results possible.”

The 16 gold medallists went head to head in a best-of-show round to determine the overall winner. Cape Town’s Afro Caribbean Brewing Company took the coveted top spot, with their Space Llama double IPA. “Being a relatively new brewer in the industry, it feels amazing to have won this prestigious award and I’m proud of us as a team,” says Afro Caribbean’s head brewer Rochelle Dunlop. “I’d also like to send big congratulations to all of the other winners.”

Honourable mention went to Hazeldean Brewing Company and Frontier Beer for their collaboration brew, The Haymaker Round 4. Rather than a trophy, winners of the Best Beer in Africa receive a once-off piece of art to commemorate their win. This year’s piece was designed by Thembisa artist Pappas Khoza.