Draymans Berghof

Draymans Berghof

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Brewed by Draymans Brewery

Silverton, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Style:  Kölsch

4% Alcohol by Volume

Availability of this beer is unknown

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While the big-selling Pilseners in Germany are becoming blander, full-flavoured counterparts from Craft Breweries are increasingly being sought after. The smallest, the old established brewpubs of rural Bavaria, Bamberg and Franconia are a delight. Monks already brewed here in Klosterbräu Bamberg since it was founded in 1533. Its beers have great character and complexity. I think all Bavarian beer was like this when brewing was wholly an art and not only a science. Many German brewpubs specialize in beers such as unfiltered Keller or Zwickelbier and also a style identified as Obergärig Hell with its origins in the pre-lager era. A good example is Pinkus Müller Alt - in this instance Alt indicates simply an old style beer which is top fermented without suggesting anything in the lines of the Düsseldorf classics. Beers elsewhere with similarities would be English cask Pale Ale, certain Belgian Ales and of course the beerstyle unique to Köln, just across the border from Bavaria, Kölschbier. Most breweries have their own special tavern known as Ausschank where you can enjoy their beers fresh on tap. Berghof is as pale as a Pilsner but with the delicate fruitiness of an ale. Berghof is light gold in colour and clean tasting with a maltiness that is unmistakably German. A unique yeast strain imparts the flavourfull character and the light body is created by the use of a dash of winter wheatmalt. I follow the traditional Bayerische Braukunst involving a full programmed mash with protein-rest, conversion-rest, mashout and “vorlauf” for clarity. Single vat fermentation is employed (like a single cask Scotch Whiskey) and no final blending with carbonated water is allowed at Drayman’s Brewery. Other more modern and scientific brewing techniques like cold pitching of yeast, coldbreak removal and sterile filtration to ensure premium quality in the trade are also employed. Berghof is only available as fresh, unpasteurized “tapbier”. To give the beer a truly South African touch only local hops from the lush Outeniqua Valley in the Cape are used. Kettle hops are restrained for a soft bitterness using Southern Brewer hops. For flavour and a flowery aroma I use a new breed of hops with distant Yugoslavian origins called Southern Promise. Served cold, but not freezing, with a crisp, refreshing carbonation and with only 4% alcohol, Berghof is indeed worthy of the slogan: Das Gesellige Bier! (The jovial beer.)