This micro brewery is situated at the highest point of the Long Tom Pass between Sabie and Lydenburg. Although the first beer was only brewed during February 2001, the initial concept and planning started in 1993. Beer brewed at Hops Hollow Brewpub is a combination of the brewer’s experience, scientific background, artistic flair and passion for his craft. As each batch of beer is handcrafted the outcome is not always predictable. For those amongst us that feel secure with the mundane this may seem to be a shortcoming, but to the real beer lover it is a constant source of enjoyment as each batch has changing nuances, providing great pleasure and enjoyment to the connoisseur.

Our all malt draught beer is brewed with absolutely no enhancers or unnatural additives being used anywhere in the brewing process, and is on a par with the world's best. The beer is coarse filtered and not pasteurized and thus contains a small percentage of active live yeast.

DIGGERS DRAUGHT

Kölschbier originated in the town of Köln where a guild of brewers have been active since 1254. This German ale is generally considered as being as close to a Pils as ale can be. Diggers Draught is brewed to approximate the same standards as a true Kölsch. As it is one of the very few beers in the world whose name is protected legally and in respect to the appellation contrôllée that the Köloners instituted to preserve the identity of their creation, Diggers Draught is called a “Kolsch style Ale”.

The light body and colour is the result of the local pale malt and imported German winter wheat malt used to brew this beer. The fermentation regime for this beer involves fermenting the beer at 18-20 °C and then allowing it to condition in cold storage for at least a month. This process combined with a unique highly attenuative top fermenting strain of yeast, bestows a delicate fruitiness to the beer that has to be tasted and makes for the best refreshing summer beer.

For such a light beer, pure soft water is important so as not to distract from the overall delicate fruity impression the drinker experiences. Like Köln’s water, the mountain water at Hops Hollow is soft with low levels of minerals and no added chlorine or fluoride.

Digger's draught’s hop charge is spread over three additions so that the hopping level is a fine balance between bitterness, flavour and aroma. Traditionally the noble-type variety hops are used for Kolschbier, but I have opted to use a locally developed hop with a very flowery aroma. US4/78 is cultivated on the Outiniqua pass in the Gorge region and was developed from Saaz and Hallertauer parents.

OLD BULL ALE

This beer is my all-time favourite. A lingering spicy hop character on the back of the palate balances the clean malty fullness on the front of the palate. This is combined with fruity estery overtones from the original Whitbread yeast strain. The aromatic floral hop character is the consequence of the late addition of unprocessed Styrian Goldings leaf hops imported from the UK. True to the British brewing traditions, this ale is fermented at warm temperatures using a top fermenting yeast. Old Bull tends to bring back memories of the pints of traditional bitter ales enjoyed at the local English Pub.

I designed this beer to have a mouthful of flavour yet be relatively low in alcohol, so that it can be enjoyed all evening without the drinker having an extreme personality change. There is nothing so enjoyable as a pint of Old Bull ale on the stoep of Hops Hollow while viewing the day's light fade over the valley towards Mount Anderson.

Man, life is tough in Africa.

MAC’S PORTER

When I formulated this old style of beer I had a smell of leather, hair on chest, me Tarzan, macho client in mind. How wrong I was proved to be. With a malty creamy fullness, smooth as silk with chocolate, mocca coffee undertones and a perceived light hop finish, Mac’s Porter has been described by the fairer sex as "hooligan juice", an "aphrodisiac" and plain old “lekker”.

This beer is not filtered resulting in a taste sensation where all the components are experienced as a whole while maintaining their separate entities. Although the beer appears to be black at first glance, it is in fact a translucent deep ruby that can only be described as sensuous. Despite this dark colour, it is surprisingly light in body

With a combination of local pale and chocolate malt, imported winter wheat and crystal malt, this beer has no difficulty holding with a glass of the best cabernet next to a crackling fire during the winter.

Ladies beware - Mac sneaks up on you as the evening lingers on and has not been described as hooligan juice without reason.