on beer

Have a beery, cheery Festivus.
Today is Fetivus, and my Festivus coffee is actually pretty good (flavour 6, strength 7). I noticed from the comments that I have mistakenly given the impression that the beer here is good.

For a Commonwealth country with a history of Dutch colonization, it is shocking to see the state of beer culture here.

There are still several blue laws regarding alcohol sales, with no sales on Sunday, and only wine available in grocery stores. The bottle stores sell beer, wine, and spirits, and usually the beer is in a walk-in cooler maintained at about 3 degrees below the outside air (that is, about 4 degrees below boiling point of water). Inside the cooler, stacked to the ceiling are, best I can tell, 6 types of beer, all bottom fermented: Amstel Lager, Carling Black Label, Castle Lager, Castle Pilsner, Hansa Pilsner, and Castle Milk Stout. The first three are made with corn (much like Busch Beer in the States) and the last is the only beer with any colour, containing actual milk sugars to boost the sweetness. Yes, I am lactose intolerant.

Next to this are 300 varieties of ciders. Cider. The Horror...

I have not found an ale of any type, be it pale, dark, cream or IPA. I have not yet tasted a hop, although the Hansa label has a drawing of one... or is that a corn stalk?

There is one other beer seen occasionally: Miller Genuine Draft, in the clear bottle, and rarely in the cooler. Skunkiness ensues. Guinness is not mentioned. Apparently, the micro-brew phenomenon has not reached South Africa yet.

They make up for it with the wine. The variety and quality of $5 bottles of reds is substantial. If you step up to $7, the quality is phenomenal.

Still, it is hard to quaff red wine on the beach when it is 153,000 degrees out. So watery corn beer it will be.

For Festivus dinner, a special treat: Stella Artios on tap. Not bad for a lager.