Roof of Africa wins gold in African Beer Cup

Namibian brewers have once again made the country proud by taking home various medals at this year’s African Beer Cup, the continent’s biggest beer competition.

Windhoek-based craft brewery Roof of Africa was awarded a gold medal for its Roof Draught, as well as a bronze medal for the Roof Pilsner.

The traditional bock beer and the Camelthorn Urbock, a winter favourite amongst Namibians, won a bronze medal under the Amber Malty European Lager category. Urbock is brewed by Namibia Breweries Ltd.

This was the third year of the competition and the first time that international judges were invited to join. Judges from 16 different countries evaluated the 251 entries over three days. The winners were announced on 14 May at an awards ceremony held at Jack Black’s Brewing Company in Cape Town.

“We want to elevate the competition to be in line with other international competitions,” says African Beer Cup founder Lucy Corne. “And inviting extremely experienced, highly respected beer industry experts from around the world is crucial for our competition. It’s the first time any beer competition in Africa has welcomed such highly esteemed judges.”

The judges awarded 10 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 27 bronze medals across 32 categories. The competition is judged in accordance with the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guidelines, which focus on stylistic accuracy rather than personal preference. Beers must reach a certain score threshold in order to be considered for a medal. The maximum per category is one gold, one silver and one bronze. This is the second time the Roof of Africa Craft Brewery has won awards at the competition. In 2021, Roof Draught won silver and Roof Pilsner won bronze, while Roof Woodxxxxer took silver in the Pale Malty European Lager category.

Soul Barrel Brewing, based in the Cape Winelands, took the coveted title of Best Beer in Africa with its Live Culture Grand Cru, which beat 250 entries from 14 different African countries.

“Winning Best Beer in Africa is one of the most significant accomplishments a brewery can achieve in Africa,” says Soul Barrel founder and brewer Nick Smith. “The African Beer Cup is the most competitive, intense beer competition on the continent with some of the best judges in the world. We are so proud to have won with a beer that features our very own malt and hops as well as fynbos from our garden. We believe in South African agriculture, and winning best beer in Africa with a beer that’s brewed with 100% local ingredients is a testament to that.”

The competition also includes a special award which goes to a brewery showcasing traditional African ingredients in a beer. The BASA African Celebration Award, sponsored by the Beer Association of South Africa, was awarded to Botswana’s Okavango Craft Brewery for its Old Bull Stout, which contains locally grown millet alongside malted barley. The brewery is spearheading a programme that supports local farmers and buys surplus millet, which is then malted at the brewery and used across the beer range.

The African Beer Cup was launched in 2019 by beer writer, editor and Certified Cicerone Lucy Corne. The competition attracts entries from across the continent. It is held annually in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Powwow, a three-day conference dedicated to beer and brewing.