BREWING
Sheldon Evans
The giant awakens Award-winning beers from Johannesburg
of the section it gives me great pleasure to see our past students prosper and grow within the industry. I rst met Eben after he had just launched his rst beer, a hop-forward beautifully-crafted Punk Hop Pale Ale. That beer created a real buzz within the then small craft beer world – but was actually just the start of many wonderful beers to later emerge from the Mad Giant stable. In those early stages, the brand was contract-manufactured while Eben still had his 8-5 job. It wasn’t long after though, when Eben went looking for investors to build his own brewery – which was opened in 2016. The brewery While many brewery owners strug- gle to nd a suitable location due to zoning and licensing restrictions in the country, Mad Giant managed to nd the perfect spot. The brewery is located within the 1 Fox Precinct, a collection of restored warehouses in downtown Johannesburg. This makes Mad Giant a desti- nation brewery that not only attracts local visitors but tourists as well. The company shares space with Urban- ologi, an award-winning restaurant
ByApiwe Nxusani-Mawela
With an estimated 200 micro-breweries in South Africa, it might seem dif- cult for one brewery to really stand out from the rest. This is not the case for Mad Giant however, which is by far one of the most popular and trendy operations in the country – and most-awarded brew- ery as well… T he brewery was founded in 2014 by chemical-engineering graduate Eben Uys, a passionate and driven brewer whose love and appreciation for beer has seen him develop some amazing beverages over the years. During his university days Eben used to be part of the Stellenbosch brewing team which took part in the SAB/IBD Africa organised intervarsity brewing competitions. As current Chair
Mad Giant Brewery 1 Fox Street Ferreirasdorp Johannesburg 2048
spear-headed by chef Jack Coetzee who focuses on ne eco-friendly food – with all ingredients sourced from selected local farmers. The Mad Giant space was designed by acclaimed furniture and interior designer Haldane Martin – who merged industrial history while contributing to the urban regeneration of inner-city Johannesburg. The bar is made of sculpted con- crete resembling a bottle top with back- drop of a big metal cut-out of the Mad Giant to welcome customers, behind which is the locally-designed and built brewing plant. The 30Hl, four-vessel brewhouse together with all other tanks were locally manufactured, making Mad Giant one of the few breweries to build in South Africa. It has two 30hL and seven 60 hL
5 ● BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL
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