Namibia Wins Six Medals in the African Beer Cup

Namibian brewers made the country proud by winning six medals at Africa’s biggest beer competition in June.

The 2021 African Beer Cup saw Roof of Africa, a Windhoek-based restaurant, accommodation complex and microbrewery, take home bronze for the Roof Pilsner and silver for theRoof Draught under the Pale Bitter European Beer category, while their German-style Festbier, the Roof Woodxxxxer, won silver in the Pale Malty European Lager category. Camelthorn’s Urbock took home silver in the Amber Malty European Lager section. In the Strong European Beer and Amber Bitter European Beer categories, the Swakopmund Brewing Company won gold and bronze for Urbock and Helles respectively.

The African Beer Cup is Africa’s largest beer competition and entries are accepted from all over the continent. Any licensed commercial brewery, big or small, is eligible to participate as long as the beer is brewed in Africa. This year’s competition saw a record of 210 entries from 12 different countries including Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. A total of 67 medals were awarded in 31 different categories.

Based on the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) guidelines, each entry is judged by a panel of beer experts, brewers and qualified judges in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The BJCP is used for its strong focus on stylistic accuracy. Furthermore, each beer is judged twice by two different panels to ensure the most accurate results possible.

The 16 gold medallists went head-to-head in a best-of-show to determine the overall winner. The Space Llama double IPA by a relatively new brewer from Cape Town, Afro Caribbean Brewing Company, was crowned Best Beer in Africa. Winners of the Best Beer in Africa receive a once-off piece of art rather than a trophy, to commemorate their win. This year’s piece was designed by Thembisa artist Pappas Khoza.

This year a special award was added, called the African Celebration Award and sponsored by the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA). It celebrates the outstanding use of African ingredients in beer and was awarded to Nigeria’s Bature Brewery for its Black Gold Stout.