Beer: Seven celebrities talk about their love

Beer: Seven celebrities talk about their loveBeer is one of the world's most popular beverages. We asked several celebrities about their favourite brews or beer-related memories. Here's more:

by Francois Jansen

19-04-2024 15:37

in Books

South Africa is the biggest producer of beer in Africa and the 12th-biggest in the world. Image: Pixabay

Drinking beer is about the experience, just as much as about the beverage. Culturally, passing around umqombothi (traditional isiZulu brew) means that you're being invited into the circle for a moment and not just having a drink.

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Beer can be a shared experience, or it could be a quiet and solitary one. Bukowski's continuous lover , where you love the beverage (or the person you're having one with).

What makes you choose one?

We asked some musicians, authors, and artists about their thoughts.

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Beer and Wynand Myburgh: The one Musician Wynand Myburgh plays bass for Van Coke Kartel and FPK. A good brew is the one in front of you. Beer, much like pizza and sex, is good even when it's bad.

Fokoflager is the band's own brew, made by Devil's Peak Brewery.

Fokoflager is for the everyone, it's more a manifesto than a following. A lot of South Africans can relate to the concept and message of FPK, so why not discuss it over a beer?

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The product itself is a tribute to traditional German lagers.

Beer and Jean Morrison: The fruit Jean Morrison proves that you don't have to be a beer connoisseur to enjoy a good brew. A friend who owns a brewery once gave me something fruity, and it was great, but that's the extent of my beer knowledge!

That's called flavour at work, usually a combination of the yeast and fruits added to the original fermentation process that you'll always notice even when you can't name the brew.

The great thing about beer is that you don't have to understand every step of the process to enjoy a good beer. You just have to appreciate it: brewing is a craft you can taste.

My cowriter and I haven't seen a bar in about ten years. I'll only go to bars if I'm playing. Even though we're 9, 500 miles apart, we can still agree on what makes a good beer and settle on the fact that some beers are best enjoyed at home.

Beer and Fran ois Bloemhof: The cooking Horror and mystery writer Fran ois Bloemhof isn't a traditional brew-haver, but might still keep a brew around for cooking purposes. I'll agree that steak over the coals is more flavourful when it gets a bit of Lion over the top.

Beer and Herman Lategan: The memories Author and columnist Herman Lategan remembers how a good beer brought back

memories from home. It was still long before the publication of his memoirs, Son of a Whore, in 2023.

I remember a cold night in New York, way back in 1986, standing on Times Square. I felt so alone and far from home.

Herman says, I walked into a cheap pizza joint, and ordered a pizza and a Heineken.

It was snowing outside. There were yellow cabs everywhere. I don't know why, but the warm feeling the beer gave me, the easy feeling, still stays with me to this day.

Beer and Deon Meyer: The smaller breweries Deon Meyer is an author and screenwriter, whose hard-drinking detective Benny Griessel has become a staple of mystery fiction.

Detective Benny Griessel first appeared in the novel Devil's Peak, followed by Thirteen Hours, Seven Days, Cobra, and Icarus. Three more novels make up the Griessel-series, an exciting journey that occasionally brings up the character's love for beer.

What about the author?

Marianne and I enjoy drinking a beer, especially after a mountain-biking ride and prefer it above wine. We especially enjoy the smaller, Cape-based breweries' products.

He points out Johnny Gold Weiss and Wild Honey Blonde Crystal Weiss (Boston Breweries), Jonkersweiss (Stellenbrau), and Devil's Peak Lager and nonalcoholic brews as some of their frequent favourites.

Isaac Mutant: The edge Isaac Mutant is a Cape Town hip-hop artist.

He's fronted bands like DOOKOOM, performed as solo artist, taught next generations rapping skills, and toured internationally. Mutant's music also features in Spinners, a Showmax drama about fast cars and gangster lifestyles.

The documentary about his life, called MUTANT, explores the musician's more personal side.

Beer is the first requirement on my rider (list of requirements), especially in my DOOKOOM days. Mutant writes from Cape Town. But now you're making me want a beer!

At least Mutant asks for a drink, unlike some of the more outlandish tour rider requests.

Prince requested all his food to be saran wrapped, while DMX asked for condoms and a gallon of Hennessey. Van Halen asks for M&Ms with one colour removed and reportedly, it's so the band knows promotors read through their requirements with care.

It's important, says Mutant. On stage or in the recording booth, beer makes me feel less boring. Down two quarts, hit the stage, and I feel like I'm flying. It takes the edge off.

Lockdown brought one more change, says Mutant. Suddenly, during COVID, everyone started to make beer. I think it was a great escape.

Chris Chameleon: The home brew Author and musician Chris Chameleon prefers the results of brewing at home.

My favourite beer is the beer my wife and I brew at home. It's clean, it's filled with love, and we always throw a flower or herb in there from the mountains behind the house.

Chris and his wife, Daniella Deysel, have recorded albums and toured, but rest their spirits at their farm.

They were late-beginners, he says. COVID made us realize that beer brewing is one of those non-negotiable trades for self-sustainability.

READ MORE ARTICLES BY FRANCOIS JANSEN (ALEX J COYNE)

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