Zwakala Naked Ale
Brewery: Zwakala
Town: Limpopo
Style: session ale
Color: unfiltered amber
Head: tight, white
Nose: slight biscuit, faint hops
Body: medium, medium carbonation
Palate: biscuit, some toffee, hint of honey, slight bitterness
Finish: fairly clean, slightly bitter
Served: from a bottle at Sausage Tree Safari Camp
Impression: You don’t go to South Africa for beer but when out on Safari, wine can be tiring and after a hot day on the dusty road, a beer is often what you want. Mass produced lagers get old quickly and I was happy to find South African craft beer more readily available than I’d imagined, even out in the bush! Our first safari experience at Sausage Tree would have been just fine without it but it sure was nice to find they had a local craft beer from the Zwakala brewery in Lompopo. The bottle was attractive and fit the setting and it looked impressive when poured. I’ll admit that in any other setting, it might not have done the trick but it sure tasted great that night. It wasn’t quite as bitter as I’d like but it was a nice introduction to South African craft beer and was a refreshing beer you could drink all night. It still had heaps more flavor than the lager I’d had the night before in Blyde River Canyon.
How about another South African craft beer?