Woolworths Taste – August 2019

“So, exactly who is

this Joe guy?” you’ll ask
when you walk into the Hey Joe Brewing
Company taproom on La Brasserie farm
in Franschhoek. His face appears on the
signage, the gigantic black-and-white
photographs on the walls, the figurines on
the draught taps behind the bar counter,
the labels on the bottles in the fridge ...
He’s clearly important. The owner? The
head brewer? The head chef perhaps?
But then you’ll notice the woman
behind the menu, Nicola Spilsbury,
moving between the tables and chatting
to guests. Petite. Blonde. Full of
energy. Definitely no relation to the
moustachioed fellow in the photos,
tobacco pipe resting jauntily in the
corner of his mouth. Then someone
will point out Anja van Zyl, visible
through the glass window as she goes
about her business in the brewery.
No, Joe is not the head brewer, either.
Dig a little deeper (okay, just search
heyjoebrewery.com) and you’ll find that
he is a fictitious character who, so the
story goes, embodies the adventurous
spirit that led to the founding of this
Belgian abbey-style brewery in the

heart of SA’s wine country. Three years

in the making, it opened in April and,

since news broke that both the Witbier

and Blonde had won silver at this year’s

African Beer Awards, everyone and

their dog (yes, this is a canine-friendly

zone) has arrived to sample the food and

drink. (Nicola even makes a hondbier for

your best friend. Made from beef and

chicken extract, it’s alcohol free, and, by

all accounts, the four-legged foodies of

Franschhoek are lapping it up.)

The accolades are still sinking in for

owner Gavin McGrath. “Winning two

major beer awards is a huge deal for us.

We were up against 15 countries and 155

breweries from Gabon to Mauritius, and

all the commercial breweries. It’s one

for the little guys. Anja has tremendous

experience behind her from her years at

Cape Brewing Company. And she’s young.

That’s what you need in this game.”

“Next year we’re going

for gold,” declares Anja, whose

passion for brewing beer started when she

was studying food science at Stellenbosch

University. “My interest wasn’t really

in drinking beer, it was more about

experimenting as a home brewer – every

time you brew, something different

happens. It’s like when you’re cooking

and tweak the recipe, you get something

new, maybe something crazy. There’s

a lot of science in making beer and I love

taking the hops, water, malt, yeast and

mixing them together, then getting this

amazing synergy of flavour and colour.”

What sets Belgian-style beers apart

from the rest? According to Anja, the

difference lies in the raw ingredients,

including Belgian malt, and the fact

that the Belgians make their beers using

old-school techniques – a key piece

of equipment in Hey Joe’s 4 000-litre

weekly batches is an imported traditional

copper brewhouse dating back to 1961

that Gavin, a fitter and turner by trade,

rebuilt over a period of five months.

86 TASTE AUGUST 2019

NEW RESTAURANT

“Winning two major

beer awards is a huge

deal for us”

• Gavin McGrath

The brewery’s five beers are

available on tap, or in bottles

(called Joes), to take home.